NASA: Top 10 Space Junk Missions (networkworld.com) 68
coondoggie writes: NASA' s Orbital Debris Program Office said that by far the source of the greatest amount of orbital debris remains the Fengyun-1C spacecraft, which was the target of a People's Republic of China anti-satellite test in January 2007. Much more debris is now floating around Earth's atmosphere since the six years NASA last looked at the top 10 space junk missions. The space agency says that 10 missions out of the 5,160 space missions that have launched since 1957 account for approximately one-third of all cataloged objects now in Earth orbit. NASA said that the second and fourth most significant satellite breakups are Cosmos 2251 and Iridium 33 spacecraft, which were involved in the first ever accidental satellite collision February 2009.
Planetes (Score:1)
We need the Toybox.
Maybe somebody should go ahead and start building it?
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Came here for the Planetes references. Was not disappointed.
An Army Of Laser Magnet Drones (Score:2)
Space debris (Score:3)
Ah yes, space debris, another problem that's easy to create and practically fucking impossible to fix.
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I was under the impression that we're not really THAT far from a workable laser solution; at least technologically.
Re:Space debris (Score:5, Insightful)
This is something that giant killer lasers can totally fix. We should also deploy them in space, and create an advanced AI to autonomously control them, so it can clean up the skies for us.
What could possibly go wrong?
Re:Space debris (Score:5, Funny)
This is something that giant killer lasers can totally fix. We should also deploy them in space, and create an advanced AI to autonomously control them, so it can clean up the skies for us.
What could possibly go wrong?
There's an implementation issue. The sharks tend to die in the vacuum of space
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Where's your "can do" attitude? Obviously, this is where genetics engineering steps in.
I'm a big-picture guy. I'll leave it to others to figure out all the trivial details. My work here is done.
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It was a message (Score:4, Interesting)
When the Chinese used their ASAT weapon to destroy their own satellite, sending a huge cloud of debris in orbit, they were sending a message. Did anyone get it? What do you think the message was? I didn't see any discussion of this but it came through loud and clear.
The message was, don't fuck with us or we'll destroy your satellites and we don't give a shit how much space debris it creates. Since you are far more dependent on your satellites than we are on ours, you suffer much more in this scenario. If giving China an advantage means screwing up low earth orbit for hundreds of years, then so be it. You have the power to avoid this scenario by not putting us in a position where we feel threatened enough to use our ASAT weapons.
It's just weird seeing a government do things like this, in its own interest. Being an American, I just assume that my own government is going to regard its own country as best as an annoyance and at worst the enemy, and its real goals are global and trans-national. I assume a lot of Europeans feel the same way. It baffles me, seeing a government pursue goals that benefit its own country and not everyone else. I just don't have any frame of reference to compare it to.
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> It's just weird seeing a government do things like this, in its own interest. Being an American, I just assume that my own government is going to regard its own country as best as an annoyance and at worst the enemy, and its real goals are global and trans-national. I assume a lot of Europeans feel the same way. It baffles me, seeing a government pursue goals that benefit its own country and not everyone else. I just don't have any frame of reference to compare it to.
I hope you're being ironic / cynica
Like the message the US send in 1985? (Score:5, Informative)
Perhaps similar to the time in 1985 when America used ITS ASAT missile to hit the P78-1 SOLWIND satellite, resulting in a need for additional anti-collision design for the ISS?
FWIW the FY1C was 750kg, the SOLWIND was 850kg.. so they should have had rather similar debris clouds..
Or, perhaps it is somehow different? After all, when the US did it, no one else had... Perhaps being first makes it better?
Re: Like the message the US send in 1985? (Score:5, Informative)
OTOH, solwind was shot at 326 miles up, and created 285 trackable parts. All of that was gone by 2008.
Quite the difference. Also if you think that iss put up shielding due to solwnd, then you are kidding yourself. Plenty of other junk up there.
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Re: Like the message the US send in 1985? (Score:1)
So trying to play word games.
You clearly try and point the finger at china as somehow being at fault here, but want to absolve the us from doing the exact same thing, only much earlier.
The fact is the Americans started this particular game, and to then point the finger at others playing catch-up is at best childish.
Or does American view of itself as the world police absolve it from responsibility?
I suggest the rest of the world would not share your views.
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I don't know who you hang out with, but the first part was pretty obvious to everyone. The second part... meh. I d
good news, bad news (Score:1)
the good news is that SpaceX has made it possible to actually clean up the debris in orbit. the bad news is it's going to take a megashitton (aka kilofuckload) of launches to get it all.
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SpaceX did what, now? Launch some rockets successfully? What have the done about space junk?
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your ignorance isn't an excuse to comment and yet you have anyway.
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a megashitton (aka kilofuckload)
Metric or imperial?
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a megashitton (aka kilofuckload)
Metric or imperial?
Base 2 or base 10 ?
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Duh. Base 10. Otherwise it would be a mebishitton an kibifuckload.
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i'm sorry, were the prefixes not making it obvious or are you always this much of a fuckwit? ;)
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:(
Re: Damn Chinese and Americans (Score:2)
Take-back obligation... (Score:3, Insightful)
Be nice to see national totals (Score:2)
Should be obligatory viewing/reading (Score:2)
FWIW, Planetes is a hard science manga/anime that talks about the problems associated with space debris and the issues faced by people trying to fix said problems.
ground control to david letterman (Score:2)
"And now, from the home office in Sioux City Iowa, the Top 10 Junkiest Space Missions:"
"10: Pinata 11"
"9: The International Space Dumpster"
Accidental? (Score:2)
which were involved in the first ever accidental satellite collision February 2009.
That begs the question, "How many satellite collisions have been on purpose?"