Research Paper about Space Debris
From the 20th century space race to the 21st century company SpaceX, mankind has explored space for years. Yuri Gagarin was the first person to enter space in 1961, and since then, men such as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin have explored the surface of the moon, and even prominent figures such as Jeff Bezos have experienced space as a leisure activity. As expected, this increasing amount of space expeditions has resulted in an increasing amount of debris drifting aimlessly in space. Man-made space debris affects future space expeditions negatively, because though the amount of space debris may prove insignificant,F even small amounts can prove detrimental to the efficiency and safety of a mission, and even small pieces of debris can significantly damage a spacecraft.
Space debris can create detrimental problems to the success of a mission. Space expeditions are already extremely dangerous, and the introduction of space debris as a factor can make an already dangerous mission deadly. According to Nicolas L. Johnson, “even a single one-millimeter grain could wreck a mission” (Johnson 62-63). This reveals that even the smallest amount of space debris could ruin the efficacy of a mission, and make the entire trip pointless, as well as an expensive waste of money. Space debris can also cause astronauts to have to go off-course, which in the worst-case scenario, could lead to the team getting lost in space. In 1992, “the space shuttle Endeavor had to maneuver during orbit to avoid colliding with a spent Russian rocket” (Macauley 560). This information proves that space debris can and has caused astronauts to change their course in order to avoid a potential threat to their safety and to their mission. Additionally, “space activities have produced large quantities of discarded equipment” meaning that as astronauts complete their missions, they also endangering future generations of astronauts unless they find a way to effectively remove or minimize space debris (Chen 537-538).
Space debris can cause significant damage to a spacecraft or satellite. The tiniest objects can turn a promising space mission into a hellish nightmare for it’s crew, or turn an important satellite into scrap metal. Even a crash with a one centimeter large pebble could completely destroy a spacecraft as items in orbit must move at extremely high speeds in order to remain in space. The lethal population of debris includes pieces between 1 and 10 cm in size, because efficient tracking is impossible and could cause massive amounts of damage to a satellite. Due to the debris’s small size, satellites cannot utilize effective shielding, and while shielding can protect from debris that range from 1 mm to 1 cm, shielding would only increase the cost of production, and the current satellites in orbit have minimal shielding (Chen 537-540; Crowther 158). The likelihood of a spacecraft or satellite colliding with debris has already starting to increase, as near-earth orbits become cluttered due to an increase in the number of objects in space -- satellites and orbital space debris (Chen 537). Debris in space can range from all sorts of sizes, “there are objects larger than 10 cm in size, which can be routinely detected and tracked, and are known as the catalogued population. Objects between 1 cm and 10 cm in size are referred to as the lethal population, as they cannot be tracked or catalogued and can cause catastrophic damage when colliding with another satellite. Objects smaller than 1 cm could disable a satellite upon impact but can be defeated by physical shields and are termed the risk population” (Crowther 158).
While the number of space expeditions has increased as technology advances, many people would argue that a substantial amount of space debris in orbit that would pose a significant problem to astronauts doesn’t exist. While experts conclude that the current amount of space debris is manageable, they warn that the quantity of space debris will likely increase, however the rate at which it will do so creates debate among scientists. Thousands of pieces of debris currently float in orbit, and 4,500 tons of material remain in space in the form of functioning spacecraft. However, this number only pertains to debris that is large enough to track, meaning that thousands more pieces of tiny space debris may exist, and could pose extreme threats to the safety of astronauts. Of 4,800 spacecrafts that have gone into orbit, an astounding 2,400 remain in space. Of those space crafts, around 1800 of them have completed their missions and remain abandoned (Johnson 62-63; Macaulay 562). The debris ranges from all kinds of materials, including spent rockets and damaged satellites, camera lens caps, nuts, bolts, and more. These objects move at 6 miles per second, which could make a piece of metal the size of a marble as dangerous as a hand-held grenade in the sense that it could easily penetrate a two-inch metal wall (Macauley 560-561). According to DELTA projections of the spatial density of objects in orbit, our future does not look promising. Experts predict significant growth in population density in all fields, which would increase the risk of collision between debris and satellites, (Crowther 163-164).
Space debris has slowly but surely proved itself to create an impending threat to astronauts and satellites as mankind explores deeper into space. In order to combat this, and protect our astronauts and space environment, mankind must reduce the amount of waste that they introduce into space.
