Clean Orbit Newsletter: Jan. 13, 2022
NASA says space junk will definitely impact the James Webb Space Telescope, Why America should lead with a moratorium on kinetic ASAT tests, NASA attributes Chinese satellite breakup to Russian debris
Routine space operations create countless pieces of space junk that pose mission-critical risks to humanity’s future in space. At this crucial time for space exploration, utilization, and development, Clean Orbit is dedicated to mitigating the risks that could jeopardize safe access to space.
NASA SAYS SPACE DEBRIS WILL DEFINITELY SLAM INTO THE JAMES WEBB SPACE TELESCOPE
Futurism |
“NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is “fully deployed,” according to the agency’s science administrator Thomas Zurbuchen — and that’s certainly a reason to celebrate after decades of hard work and a ten billion dollar price tag.”
“Some small impacts from micrometeorites will happen,” NASA Goddard Space Flight Center scientist Michelle Thaller said during a livestream over the weekend. “You know, over the lifetime of the mission there will be some damage to the mirrors of the telescope.”
“The telescope itself is indeed vulnerable, but the team says it’s likely it’ll be able to survive some damage.”
“Let’s say a piece of debris hits it,” said Julie Van Campen, a NASA engineer, during the stream. “And then we had a problem like that broke a mirror.”
“In terms of protection, there’s “not much,” she explained. “What you see is what you get.”
“However, Van Campen said, if a micrometeor were to rip a tear into the telescope’s protective sunshield there would be at least four more layers to keep the shield together.”
“It was part of our lifetime calculations,” she added.”
TIME FOR A UNILATERAL U.S. MORATORIUM ON DEBRIS-GENERATING KE-ASAT TESTS?
“On the 15th anniversary of the Chinese antisatellite test that cluttered Earth orbit with debris, a group of national security space experts is proposing that the United States unilaterally declare a moratorium on such testing. Narrowly tailored to limit only debris-generating kinetic-energy tests against space objects, the goal is to ensure the sustainability of Earth orbit, not arms control in space.”
“The authors are Doug Loverro, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy (and a former head of NASA’s human spaceflight program), Brian Chow, an independent policy analyst (retired from RAND), Robert Cardillo, former Director of the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, Brian Weeden, Director of Program Planning for the Secure World Foundation, and Brandon Kelley, Director of Debate at Georgetown University.”
“In their commentary, published by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Loverro and his colleagues liken the situation to a “Prisoner’s Dilemma” where “two perfectly rational actors, ignorant of the decisions of the other, will wisely pursue their own self-interest, but ultimately suffer a worse fate than if they had cooperated.”
“In this case, countries are creating debris that can wreak havoc for all, while at the same time calling for international agreements to stop doing just that.”
WHY SPACE JUNK COULD THREATEN THE FUTURE OF INTERPLANETARY EXPLORATION
Inverse |
“Russia is back in space debris hot water,” writes Inverse science writer Jon Kelvey. “The update comes on the heels of a Russian military anti-satellite missile (ASAT) test in November, which destroyed a defunct Soviet spy satellite and generated more than 1,500 pieces of space debris.”
“Now, the U.S. Space Force has announced that debris from a 90’s-era Russian launch may have damaged a Chinese weather satellite in March 2021. Although the satellite is still “somewhat operational,” the collision prompts an important discussion on space safety.”
“Given that SpaceX plans to add tens of thousands of satellites in the coming years,” writes Kelvey, “space debris mitigation is something humans need to get a handle on or risk losing access to space entirely.”
“The millions of small, untrackable space debris clogging up our skies not only makes space unsafe for exploration but also threatens technology humans rely on, like Starlink.”
Breakup of China’s Yunhai-1 (02) satellite linked to space debris collision
“U.S. space tracking has linked the breakup of Chinese satellite Yunhai-1 (02) to a collision with a small piece of debris from a Russian satellite launch, according to NASA.”
“The Yunhai-1 (02) satellite was developed by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology and launched in September 2019 into a Sun-synchronous orbit with an altitude of around 783 kilometers. It suffered a breakup event on March 18, 2021, creating a number of pieces of debris.”
“Darren McKnight, senior technical fellow at LeoLabs and member of the International Academy of Astronautics’ Space Debris Committee, told SpaceNews that there is “moderate confidence that it was a collision,” adding that “the event was likely caused by a piece of debris in the 1-10 centimeter size range.”
“The breakup of Yunhai-1 (02) is the fifth confirmed accidental collision between two cataloged objects, according to the report. A total of 37 fragments from the collision have been cataloged by the 18 SPCS and as of 1 October 2021, with four of these having reentered the atmosphere.”
“I think what’s notable is that we were actually able to figure out that the breakup was caused by a collision with another object,” says Brian Weeden, director of program planning for the Secure World Foundation. “That’s fairly easy to do when the results are catastrophic, as in the case with the [2009] Iridium-Cosmos collision, but there are a lot more smaller scale events that result in minor satellite anomalies and/or release of only a few pieces of debris that are much harder to figure out.”
Watchmaker OMEGA Partners With ClearSpace To Remove Space Debris Under ESA-funded Mission
“The European Space Agency (ESA), on January 13, announced that Swiss watchmaking company OMEGA has been selected as a partner for the Clearspace-1 mission which aims to remove space debris from Earth’s orbit. Commissioned by ESA, the mission is being led by ClearSpace and has Omega as its first partner for the debris removal project.”
“Scheduled for a full-fledged launch in 2025, the mission aims to remove a piece of debris left behind by the European Vega rocket in 2013. Under this mission, the mission controller will employ a four-armed pincer mechanism, as shown in the image above, to grab the 112-kg target-- the Vega payload adapter, called ‘Vespa’, which is about the size of a small car and is spinning uncontrollably in the Earth’s orbit.”
“By the time this mission is launched, it will be 68 years since the first satellite 'Sputnik' was launched by the Soviet Union in 1957. According to estimates, over 12,000 satellites would have been launched by 2025 adding to an already crowded low-Earth orbit (LEO). The ESA had earlier revealed that there currently are over 36,000 debris objects larger than 10 cm circling the Earth which are dangerous enough to damage or destroy a functioning satellite.”
Astroscale looks to Orbit Fab space ‘gas stations’ to extend mission life
“The US arm of Japanese firm Astroscale has inked a deal to be the first customer in line to refuel at San Francisco startup Orbit Fab’s planned “gas stations” in Geosynchronous Orbit (GEO). Meanwhile the firm is gearing up its own pitch to the Space Force’s SpaceWERX innovation hub for cleaning up space junk.”
“Under a new contract, announced today, Astroscale is outfitting its new Life Extension In-Orbit (LEXI) Servicer spacecraft with Orbit Fab’s Rapidly Attachable Fluid Transfer Interface, or RAFTI — think of an aircraft refueling boom designed for space operations — that enables any spacecraft to dock with Orbit Fab’s orbiting fuel tanks.”
“LEXI, which is expected to launch in 2026, will provide “station keeping and attitude control, momentum management, inclination correction, GEO relocation and retirement to graveyard orbit” to satellite operators (commercial, civil and/or military) looking to keep ailing satellites functioning or to safely dispose of dead ones, according to the companies’ joint press release.”
“However, Ron Lopez, president of Astroscale US, Inc., told reporters Monday, LEXI it will not provide refueling — that instead, he said, will be Orbit Fab’s job.”
“By purchasing fuel from Orbit Fab, that will allow Astroscale’s LEXI servicers to be more flexible, more efficient and extend the capabilities of what we can do, and provide better value-added services to our customers at Geosynchronous Orbit,” he said. “That in turn ultimately enhances our value proposition to the customers, and customers will benefit from that as well. So having more options is always good thing.”
The Clean Orbit Team thanks our GEO Patrons: Zoena Howland and Vivian Newton for supporting our mission to keep humanity’s use of the space environment safe and sustainable. If you’d like to join our mission, consider joining our community on Patreon!
Clean Orbit advocates for proactive, sustainable solutions to the growing threat of space debris in low earth orbit. Follow our newsletter for the latest developments in Space Traffic Management (STM), Active Debris Removal (ADR), and orbital close calls.