SPACE JUNK

1. SPACE JUNK Problems, Types, China’s Role, Risks Posed, and Addressing the Problem

2. The Problems of Space Junk

3. Space junk is a serious problem with thousands of pieces of space junk orbiting our planet. It is expected to get worse There is not an easy way to clean it up. No Way to Dispose of Junk in Space

4. Space junk collides with other space junk and breaks into pieces Most junk came from satellite explosions Russia and U.S. biggest contributors. No Way to Dispose of Junk in Space

5. Space is more and more crowded resulting in collisions between spacecraft, satellites and junk. Need air traffic control May take a major collision to get countries to work on this Space is Running Out in Space

6. 9000 pieces of space junk in space Pieces 4 inches or longer combined weigh 5500 tons No technical means to clean it up! 9000

7. Solar flare-ups can cause space junk Every 11 years Flare-ups turn communication satellites into space junk Working to better predict solar activity Interest Rising as Sun Cycle Quickens

8. One night an eye-catching flashed across the night sky Fireball NORAD tracks pieces of space junk including screwdrivers and astronaut gloves. They determined that it was not space junk What Was that Light in the Sky?

9. Chunk of metal landed in the bedroom of a house in Illinois Either a meteorite or a piece of space junk Geologists concerned that more things may fall from space in the future Suspected Meteorite Hits Bloomington Home

10. 50 years ago: no space junk Now: 25,000 pieces the size of baseball or larger 10,000 have re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere No one hurt or killed Much Ado About Space Debris

11. Most space junk burns on the way to Earth Junk is potentially harmful if it doesn’t burn before hitting the Earth Junk could hit spacecraft Much Ado About Space Debris

12. Spent Rocket boosters are difficult to eliminate Soviet Space Station junk from cosmonauts could have been stopped Several countries have caused space junk Litter Kings

13. U.S. produced 3,176 pieces of space junk that are in orbit Russia produced 2,917 pieces China has produced 1,822 pieces 85% of new junk will orbit 100 years later Litter Kings

14. Space travel has turned the universe into a dump Junk increasing Many sources One Giant Skip for Mankind

15. British spacecraft supposed to enter Mars atmosphere…never seen or heard from again NASA let 1400 lb refrigeration tank into space, but will warn US if next spring there is danger of harm One Giant Skip for Mankind • Oldest space junk orbiting Earth is Vanguard 1, a small satellite launched in 1958. It doesn’t pose danger but will orbit for 400 years

16. Vanguard1: Oldest space junk Is the size of a cantaloupe 4th manmade object in space Circled Earth 200,000 times Trash or Treasure? Saving Space Junk

17. Video game where sphere of space rock is actually space junk Children can learn about the problem of space junk at an early age Marvelous New “Super Mario Galaxy”

18. Types of Space Debris

19. Canadian golf club marketing program Astronaut launch a golf ball off International Space Station Golf ball will orbit for 4 years and burn up on re-entry Heard This One?

20. Astronaut lost a $2700.00 putty knife which is now orbiting in space as space junk NASA monitoring to ensure it won’t damage Discovery or the International Space Station Spatula Off on Space Odyssey

21. Lunar probe used to show the chemical and geographical composition of the moon, after 62 million miles and 3 years was turned into space debris One Giant Lump from Mankind

22. Hubble might become space junk Hubble Telescope needs repairs but a manned shuttle is too dangerous and robotic device is unreliable and too expensive. Manned shuttle in 2009 NASA Rescuing Hubble Telescope

23. Dec 28, 2006 Space junk from a U.S. spy satellite will hit Cassiopeia, the queen constellation Space Junk to Intrude on a Celestial Queen

24. Jan 4, 2007 bright light seen moving quickly across the sky was a piece of Russian rocket that launched a French telescope space junk NORAD believes it may have it the ground in Wyoming Mysterious Light in Sky was Russian Space Junk

25. NASA adding to space junk by pushing External Ammonia Supply into space Size of refrigerator Weighs 1500 pounds Must monitor so it won’t collide with people on space missions in the future Probably will survive re-entry 1 in 5000 chance falling to earth and endangering a populated area Waste Management: Just Throw it Out

26. Jan, 2007 metal from space landed in home in New Jersey. 4 inch hole in ceiling May have been an iron meteorite On Impact

27. NASA Astronaut and Russian Cosmonaut released a camera mounting into space Will disintegrate upon re-entry Won’t pose a threat to humans Space Station Crew Dump Trash Overboard

28. Space debris is semiprecious Iron and Olivine fell from space New York auction likely to bring $630,000 to700,000 It Came From Outer Space

29. China and Space Junk

30. China tested a new anti-satellite weapon to destroy an old weather satellite Millions of new pieces of space junk now orbiting Earth Traveling 528 miles an hour posing danger to other satellites Blast Leaves More Junk Littering Earth’s orbit

31. China should have put the satellite out of commission instead of destroying it Before this, there were 9,949 pieces of junk larger than nearly 4 inches Blast Leaves More Junk Littering Earth’s orbit

32. Blowing up satellite caused large debris cloud adding to threats of space junk to other satellites and spacecrafts Spread across 2000 miles of space 800 pieces are nearly 4 inches Meteor showers used to be the biggest problem for space flight…now it is manmade debris China’s Clutter is Not Lost in Space

33. China’s satellite destruction test has caused problems for other things orbiting Experts hope it was destroyed by a bullet instead of a bomb. Bullet will cause a smaller cloud. Bomb will cause a big cloud Explosion Will Create Hazard for Other Craft

34. Beijing tested an anti-satellite weapon which violated an agreement between US and China. U.S. had wanted to work together on some projects with China, but no longer! China wants international treaty banning development of space weapons. U.S. rejects this proposal. U.S. Halts China Space Ventures

35. March 2007 – meeting to set up international guidelines to reduce problem of space junk. China will have to explain why they added 10% increase of space junk Worst Ever

36. China destroyed satellite at high altitude Junk expected to orbit for more than 100 years US wants to know why China resorted to using space for non peaceful purposes. Worst Ever

37. UN panel met in Vienna to create international guidelines for reducing space junk China was criticized by France, Germany, Japan and the U.S. Draft requires that that the intentional breakup of an space object should be done in a way that doesn’t produce space debris that can orbit for a long period of time. Hunkering Down

38. As a result of China’s test of an anti-satellite weapon, there are now 15,000 objects of space junk being monitored China is investing more in space related matters in recent years China expects to have enough has enough anti-satellite missiles by 2010 to destroy all U.S. satellites Beijing Space Test Scattered Debris

39. Government and military leaders concerned about the risks posed by the Kessler Syndrome Kessler Syndrome is the point which the low Earth orbit becomes so packed with space junk that collisions make space almost entirely unusable Since only large pieces are tracked and it takes several decades to decay, no one knows for sure how close we are to the Kessler Syndrome being a reality. Waste Mismanagement

40. Risks Posed by Space Junk

41. Space junk poses threat to a space shuttle orbiter U.S. space shuttles fly tail first and upside down to minimize risks of getting hit head on with space junk Space Junk Makes an Impact

42. Biggest Space debris hit ever Atlantis radiator ½ inch X 1/8 inch Missed by 3 inspections Either meteoroid or space junk Shuttle Damage Missed

43. Sensors detected a ding to the space shuttle, Discovery Unexpected inspection delayed by 30 minutes a delivery of a girder Dings like this one resulted in the disintegration of Columbia where 7 people were killed Shuttle Crew Conducts Unexpected Inspection, Delays Deliveries to Station

44. Astronauts working on equipment run risk of getting hit by space junk Spacesuit could get pierced and lose air. Spacewalks last from 5-7 hours…making risks great Unplanned Spacewalk to Target Solar-Panel Problem

45. Miscalculation of re entry time of a falling satellite put a jetliner with passengers at risk Flaming pieces of satellite were in 5 nautical miles of plane Jet’s Near Miss with Satellite

46. Space experts fear space junk smashing a spacecraft into 100’s of pieces Cause chain reaction China’s recent test of anti-satellite rocket heightens fears Space around Earth may be so filled with orbiting junk that space launchings will no longer be possible Orbiting Junk, Once a Nuisance, is Now a Threat

47. Fast moving piece of garbage less than ¼ inch can pierce spacesuit Fast moving piece 1/3 inch can disable a satellite Larger pieces can threaten spacecrafts and people on the ground The Problem of Space Junk

48. Junk is increasing levels of radiation in the environment surrounding the Earth Russia responsible for 4 dozen radiation sources… satellites fuel assemblies closed-down reactor nuclear-fuel assemblies If nuclear satellites ever collide with space debris and fall apart, it could contaminate Earth’s atmosphere!!! The Problem of Space Junk

49. Space Shuttle, Endeavour’s visit cut short due to hurricane threats Didn’t have time to secure shields to protect from space junk Spent time the next day looking for potential damage by space junk to wings and nose Shuttle Coming Home Day Early as Dean Nears

50. Space shuttle Endeavour had chip in heat resistant tiles after being hit be space debris Ding located close to entry point of interior parts NASA relaxed after Endeavour re-entered safely Shuttle Gets Dinged Again