Space debris is coming! New object map in near-earth orbit

Space debris is coming! New object map in near-earth orbit

Cosmos. The word itself hints at endless emptiness and isolation. However, it is useful for humanity to place objects outside the Earth, so now it’s hard to call space empty. We have been launching things into space for over 60 years. Air resistance is absent, so the mechanisms remain in orbit and do not fall to the surface of the planet.

Thus, the space around the planet is slowly filled with dead satellites, rockets, screws, nuts and bolts moving at a speed of thousands of km / h. At such speeds, even the smallest collision will lead to huge damage. This is a classic tragedy in society, because the cause of pollution was human activity, but we (every person on the planet) cannot be in orbit to observe catastrophic consequences.

What to do?

Now it’s worth finding out exactly where space debris accumulates. If we have this information, we can safely manage active satellites. But the overlooked parts become time bomb.

Map of distribution and movement of objects in near-Earth orbit, which will help to protect existing satellites from collision Therefore, scientists are actively developing space debris tracking systems, such as the Falcon or Desert Fireball telescope network. The latter is represented by 52 automatic cameras located throughout the United States. They track meteors entering the earth's atmosphere. In addition, they record all moving objects in the sky. Using the obtained photos and mathematical information, the team was able to create an exact map of all objects located in orbit.

New technologies are being tested to remove space debris from near-earth orbit

Scientists are now working with Lockheed Martin, an aerospace company, to install mapping systems around the world.

Stay alert

Awareness and understanding of the problem make it possible to avoid collisions and remove satellites from dangerous trajectories in time. In the future, they hope that it will turn out to completely clear the space of traces of human activity in space. Lasers and networks are already being developed.

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