Space debris

[job1207]

""When we do long-term projections of the space debris environment, it turns out that space debris mitigation measures will delay, but not prevent, collisional cascading from happening in the low Earth orbit regime," Klinkrad advised. "This is even so if we stop all launching activities right now," he added, and "once that [cascading] process has started there is no way of controlling it again.""

"Ailor said that untracked objects — greater than one centimeter in size — are estimated to range between 200,000 and 600,000 bits of flotsam, such as slag from solid rocket motors, liquid metal droplets from nuclear reactors, as well as items like lens covers that are shed during operations. "

It is interesting. They track 20000 objects, but any of THESE objects could take out an ISS or an STS or anything else for that matter. ( as long as the close speed is critical )

http://www.space.com/news/091006-space- ... eanup.html

Basically, the first paragraph is saying the world is determined by mathematics, we just live in it. Even though the govt is in charge of this, and not private enterprise, no one figured in the social costs to all of these launches. ( Externalities )

Laser weapons?, anti satellite ( debris ) space ships, driven by ion propulsion? Just how are they going to fix this???

 

[MeteorWayne]

I updated a thread in Space Business and Technology with this information today. It's been a longer running discussion of the subject, though this one is OK here.