Satellites collide in space
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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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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 --
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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 --
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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Thought it was interesting news.[^] Marc
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I bet the odds of that happening are astronomical. How's the search going?
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Thought it was interesting news.[^] Marc
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I hadn't heard. :~
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Thought it was interesting news.[^] Marc
Available for consulting and full time employment. Contact me. Interacx
oops... sorry... maybe I should have made that left turn at Albuquerque....
_________________________ John Andrew Holmes "It is well to remember that the entire universe, with one trifling exception, is composed of others." Proudly folding for Team Code Project!! and Keeping "Team Lavaboy" at bay since 2009-02-04
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oops... sorry... maybe I should have made that left turn at Albuquerque....
_________________________ John Andrew Holmes "It is well to remember that the entire universe, with one trifling exception, is composed of others." Proudly folding for Team Code Project!! and Keeping "Team Lavaboy" at bay since 2009-02-04
5 for being able to spell Alb... Alba... Albakirkee... got it!
-------------------------------------------------------- Knowledge is knowing that the tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in fruit salad!!
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Thought it was interesting news.[^] Marc
Available for consulting and full time employment. Contact me. Interacx
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:
"For fifty bucks I'd put my face in their soup and blow." - George Costanza
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5 for being able to spell Alb... Alba... Albakirkee... got it!
-------------------------------------------------------- Knowledge is knowing that the tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in fruit salad!!
I applied to UNM and I learned the hard way how many times you can get Albuquerque wrong and we're not talking just directions either
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Thought it was interesting news.[^] Marc
Available for consulting and full time employment. Contact me. Interacx
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?
- S 50 cups of coffee and you know it's on! A post a day, keeps the white coats away!
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Thought it was interesting news.[^] Marc
Available for consulting and full time employment. Contact me. Interacx
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I bet the odds of that happening are astronomical. How's the search going?
Need custom software developed? I do C# development and consulting all over the United States.
If you don't ask questions the answers won't stand in your way.
Doing a job is like selecting a mule, you can't choose just the front half xor the back half so when you ask me to do a job don't expect me to do it half-assed.Ennis Ray Lynch, Jr. wrote:
astronomical
:groan: :thumbsdown:
Software Zen:
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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:
"For fifty bucks I'd put my face in their soup and blow." - George Costanza
CP article: SmartPager - a Flickr-style pager control with go-to-page popup layer.
Lots and lots of those satellites are fairly heavy, compact beasts that would not break up during re-entry.
Software Zen:
delete this; -
I applied to UNM and I learned the hard way how many times you can get Albuquerque wrong and we're not talking just directions either
Don't forget to vote if the response was helpful
Sig history "dad" Ishmail-Samuel Mustafa Unix is a Four Letter Word, and Vi is a Two Letter Abbreviation
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Thought it was interesting news.[^] Marc
Available for consulting and full time employment. Contact me. Interacx
:suss: Satellites that have lost their capability to perform their primary function yet have functional motion capabilities still have uses.
MrPlankton
“If I had my choice I would kill every reporter in the world but I am sure we would be getting reports from hell before breakfast.” William Tecumseh Sherman -
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:
"For fifty bucks I'd put my face in their soup and blow." - George Costanza
CP article: SmartPager - a Flickr-style pager control with go-to-page popup layer.
actually it would take a fairly large amount of fuel with a conventional engine to deorbit it. Most current LEO sats do have a small engine to kick that's used to kick them to a higher, unused orbital area. That only works if they're decomissioned instead of failing in orbit. Once they become more mature mounting ion drives and shoving them out of orbit entirely might be an option.
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No, I'm a PhD in Computational Biology fall 2009 hopeful :)
Don't forget to vote if the response was helpful
Sig history "dad" Ishmail-Samuel Mustafa Unix is a Four Letter Word, and Vi is a Two Letter Abbreviation
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5 for being able to spell Alb... Alba... Albakirkee... got it!
-------------------------------------------------------- Knowledge is knowing that the tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in fruit salad!!
I cheated. I grew up there. 1 year old to 6th grade and then 2 years of college. Plus I still have family there.
_________________________ John Andrew Holmes "It is well to remember that the entire universe, with one trifling exception, is composed of others." Proudly folding for Team Code Project!! and Keeping "Team Lavaboy" at bay since 2009-02-04
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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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The scary thing here is a cascade effect. So two satellites crash…big deal. Now the debris field scatters and collides with another satellite, causing more debris. This cascades until there isn’t a safe place to put a satellite, or space station, or a space ship. The human race could be trapped on the Earth by space junk. NASA is investigating how to remove the space junk, but right now nothing is feasible.
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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?
- S 50 cups of coffee and you know it's on! A post a day, keeps the white coats away!
You were probably joking, but I just wanted to point out that the concept of "sucking" does not exist in space.
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You were probably joking, but I just wanted to point out that the concept of "sucking" does not exist in space.
So much for the space porn inudstry! :) Guess we'll have to use a good old fashioned broom and dustpan instead.
- S 50 cups of coffee and you know it's on! A post a day, keeps the white coats away!
