Satellites collide in space

Marc Clifton

Thought it was interesting news.[^] Marc

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Richard Andrew x64

The number of objects in orbit that need to be tracked has just risen by several thousand! :doh:

Xiangyang Liu

Richard Andrew x64 wrote:

The number of objects in orbit that need to be tracked has just risen by several thousand!

Here is what an optimist would say: The number of objects in orbit that need to be tracked has just reduced by two! :)

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Douglas Troy

I believe this has been posted here before, but since the topic came up, I thought it might be worth reposting repostage sharing again ... Live Real Time Satellite Tracking[^]

Marc Clifton

Douglas Troy wrote:

Live Real Time Satellite Tracking[^]

So if the "common man" has access to this, why didn't they do something about it? I would have thought that at least the Iridium satellite would have some maneuvering capability. Marc

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Mike Hankey

It was bound to happen sooner or later. That poses another question, I wonder if anything, significant has been hit by space debris? There's a lot of junk up there! Mike

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Douglas Troy

I am by no means an expert in this area, but from what little I've read, and someone can correct me if I'm wrong, most satellites are put into orbit, and once there, cannot really adjust their altitude. They stay in a decaying orbit, until they fail, or reenter Earth's atmosphere and burn up; or, I guess in this case, collide with another non-functioning satellite, and THEN burn up. I have to imagine that newer communication, spy and Starwars satellites are capable of changing orbit, but they would have to have some kind of advanced collision detection system in place, to know it needed to change it's orbital path. In the case of the military, I'm sure they have that on newer generation equipment, but this older stuff, doubt anything can be done. I did forward the story onto Phil over a BadAstronomy.com, in hopes that he might ask his NASA contacts and post some more information about it on his blog. Orbital Debris Frequently Asked Questions[^]

Last modified: 12mins after originally posted --

Marc Clifton

Douglas Troy wrote:

and someone can correct me if I'm wrong, most satellites are put into orbit, and once there, cannot really adjust their altitude.

I don't think that's correct. Satellites have a small propellant supply to keep them in orbit because of atmospheric drag, but I think that only affects low earth orbit satellites. OK, so, after googling, here's an amusing link[^] On atmospheric drag: l. Atmospheric drag is a hazard for LEO satellites. Although the density of the atmosphere above 100 miles is very low, satellites at this altitude must travel at about 17,000 mph. There are enough molecules of atmospheric gasses at 100 miles altitude to induce low levels of drag. The more paraphernalia (especially solar arrays) protruding from the basic satellite, the higher the overall drag. Drag results in a decrease in orbital velocity. As the satellite slows, it drops in altitude, where drag is even greater. Unless its orbit is raised, the satellite will eventually enter even more dense atmosphere and will burn up. Above LEO, the atmosphere is not a threat because the satellite's life is shorter than the time it will take for the orbit to decay. High levels of solar activity cause the atmosphere to expand outward. This can result is a significant shortening of orbital lifetime. and Reliable thrusters with sufficient fuel provide thrust to raise a satellite's orbit to counter the effects of atmospheric and solar drag. Marc

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Ennis Ray Lynch Jr

I bet the odds of that happening are astronomical. How's the search going?

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oops... sorry... maybe I should have made that left turn at Albuquerque....

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Ashley van Gerven

Is that the equivalent of a crash between a Bugatti Veyron and an unroadworthy 1984 Land Rover 4x4? :~ Surely it wouldn't be hard to equip all satelites with a decomission function. I imagine it would only take a small burst of thrust to send it towards earth's atmosphere where it would vaporise :confused:

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Steve Echols

So.....who's working on shield technology? Looks like it will be in high demand. Or what about a space vaccuum (no pun intended) to suck all this little stuff up?

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Rage

Ah, that is why my TV turned black while watching the weather forecasts yesterday on Moscow TV.

Gary Wheeler

Ennis Ray Lynch, Jr. wrote:

astronomical

:groan: :thumbsdown:

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Gary Wheeler

Lots and lots of those satellites are fairly heavy, compact beasts that would not break up during re-entry.

Software Zen: delete this;

Zhat

Ah, you took a class in Albuquerqueing Culture?

MrPlankton

:suss: Satellites that have lost their capability to perform their primary function yet have functional motion capabilities still have uses.

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