E
eosophobiac
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I wasn't sure where to post this, but I found it interesting. I've often wondered with the amount of stuff in orbit, why there aren't more collisions, etc. Now at least I have an inkling. Anyone else ever wonder/hear about this?<br /><br />Cataloging space junk<br />Working on the 'world's largest jigsaw puzzle'<br />(CNN) -- When space shuttle Discovery blasted off, it joined thousands and thousands of manmade objects orbiting Earth.<br />But should one of those objects hit the craft as it orbits at 16,000 mph, it could cause severe damage and a scuttled mission.<br />The shuttle crew is too busy to watch out for objects in Discovery's orbit, and because no traffic cops patrol space, tracking is the responsibility of the 1st Space Control Squadron (SPCS) of the U.S. Air Force Space Command, which operates the Space Control Center (SCC) inside Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.<br />The squadron is charged with detecting, tracking, identifying and cataloging all manmade objects orbiting Earth larger than 10 centimeters (4 inches) long.<br />"We kind-of liken it to working on the world's largest jigsaw puzzle," said Robin Thurston, a historical data analyst employed by the 1st SPCS.<br />There are plenty of pieces to the puzzle. Thurston said the squadron is tracking 13,400 objects, of which 8,800 are cataloged, meaning that the squadron has associated them with a specific launch. The other 4,600 are awaiting identification.<br />'Floating around up there'<br />When the space shuttle is flying, the squadron performs "collision avoidance analysis" for NASA.<br />To do this, the squadron plots "a theoretical box around the shuttle" that measures 10- by-10-by-40 kilometers (6.2-by-6.6-by-24.8 miles). If any of the objects intersects this theoretical box, the squadron sends its analysis to NASA, which determines whether to change the shuttle's flight path.<br />NASA has changed the shuttle's flight path 12 times since the SCC began performing its an <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p> </p> </div>