#space junk reentry

[thoughtlessarse]

A Saskatchewan farmer’s near miss with potentially lethal debris falling from orbit highlights the skyrocketing risks and murky politics of space junk The e-mail arrived, like a bolt from blue, on the otherwise typical Thursday afternoon of May 9. The message was from a journalist, asking me, an astronomer, for an interview about a farmer who had reportedly found space junk while prepping his fields for springtime seeding, just an hour’s drive from my home in Saskatchewan. “Yeah, right,” I said to myself as I tapped out my affirmative reply. The odds are already long for any particular place on Earth to be struck by orbital debris—so the chances for it to happen practically in the backyard of someone like me who studies the issue felt astronomically low, simply too far-fetched to be true. A quick check of my news feed proved me wrong. One of the top stories was about the space junk strike, and even included a photo of the farmer, Barry Sawchuk, standing next to what looked like the charred, battered hood of a semitruck covered with woven carbon fiber and a few slightly melted aluminum protrusions. My jaw dropped in shock: The object looked exactly like debris that fell in an Australian sheep field in 2022, which the U.S. aerospace company SpaceX later admitted was part of a cargo trunk for its Crew Dragon spacecraft. This “trunk” is actually the size of a small grain silo, and is ejected in orbit well before the spacecraft’s atmospheric reentry, to naturally and chaotically reenter on its own and, supposedly, burn up completely. To confirm my hunch, I immediately e-mailed my collaborator Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, who maintains probably the best public database of launches, reentries and other space activities. McDowell responded within minutes, forwarding a graphic tracing the path of a SpaceX Crew Dragon trunk ejected by the Axiom 3 private astronaut mission that had reentered over the Canadian prairies on February 26, 2024. My hunch was confirmed.

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It's only a matter of time before someone dies.

[fishgut]

Collision frequency of artificial satellites: The creation of a debris belt Donald J. Kessler, Burton G. Cour-Palais First published: 1 June 1978 https://doi.org/10.1029/JA083iA06p02637 Citations: 564 PDFPDF Tools Share Abstract

As the number of artificial satellites in earth orbit increases, the probability of collisions between satellites also increases. Satellite collisions would produce orbiting fragments, each of which would increase the probability of further collisions, leading to the growth of a belt of debris around the earth. This process parallels certain theories concerning the growth of the asteroid belt. The debris flux in such an earth-orbiting belt could exceed the natural meteoroid flux, affecting future spacecraft designs. A mathematical model was used to predict the rate at which such a belt might form. Under certain conditions the belt could begin to form within this century and could be a significant problem during the next century. The possibility that numerous unobserved fragments already exist from spacecraft explosions would decrease this time interval. However, early implementation of specialized launch constraints and operational procedures could significantly delay the formation of the belt.

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But if we make it to Mars and then accidentally contaminate the planet with our literal shit, it might be harder to answer this question. How would we know if the life we find on Mars is truly Martian, or something that’s come from Earth? And if our microbes from Earth take a liking to Mars and spread, there may be no way to undo that.

The UN Outer Space Treaty — signed in 1967, two years before the Apollo 11 landing — stipulates that member states “shall avoid harmful contamination of space and celestial bodies.” That may be difficult if we get to Mars because wherever we go, our fecal matter goes too. Thinking about poop on the moon helps us think about a possible origin of life on Earth

As new missions to the moon are planned, we need to think carefully about the need to preserve the artifacts left at the Apollo landing sites. NPR’s Nell Greenfieldboyce recently reported that just landing within 100 meters of an Apollo site could potentially damage it.

Protecting the history of human exploration on the moon also means protecting the garbage — its historic value is immense, but so is its scientific value. We need to preserve these sites so scientists can return to them and take samples.

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The European-built Cupola was added to the International Space Station in 2010 and continues to provide the best room with a view anywhere.

In addition to serving as an observation and work area when the crew operates the Station’s robotic arms, it also provides excellent views of Earth, celestial objects and visiting vehicles.

Its fused-silica and borosilicate-glass windows, however, sometime suffer from impacts by tiny artificial objects: space debris.

ESA astronaut Tim Peake took this photo from inside Cupola last month, showing a 7 mm-diameter circular chip gouged out by the impact from a tiny piece of space debris, possibly a paint flake or small metal fragment no bigger than a few thousandths of a millimetre across. The background just shows the inky blackness of space.

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Space debris targeted for orbital cleanup has been hit, possibly by other space debris

The payload adaptor from a 2013 launch by the European Space Agency has been fragmented by a collision in orbit, officials say

In May, the ESA announced it would be the target of the ClearSpace-1 mission, an “active debris removal mission” designed to fly to VESPA, grab it, and then burn up during reentry, destroying both itself and the space junk. The plan was to launch as early as the first half of 2026.

Now that mission is in doubt. “On 10 August 2023, ESA’s Space Debris Office was informed by the United States 18th Space Defense Squadron that new objects have been detected in the vicinity of (the) payload adapter,” the space agency said in a press release on Tuesday.

[sergioguymanproust]

Space junk is indeed a clear signature of our technological advancement and of the reckless behavior of our species.We must go to the moon he said because it is there.We must build a space station because we must test our ability to survive in outer space,excuses to hide the Cold War. Well,some 40 years later,we are choking ourselves and have created a floating junkyard in our orbits.Don’t worry they say it will eventually fall into a lower orbit and burn in reentry. Well, guess where the junk is finally ending up? You guessed it right in our own backyard,our oceans and deserts,jungles and who is cleaning up this mess? Nobody! There’s an agency ,that says , never mind we are keeping a close eye on that falling debris.Oh,yeah?! More lies and more cover up! By the time humans establish a permanent base on the moon ,the real hazards will be our own space junk hitting us as we leave this earth.The next meteor shower will come thanks to our own selfish and irresponsible actions,all in the name of science, well,politically correct lingo is space exploration.What we need is Sanford &Son Salvage now! Haaaa! Just a hint.Words by Sergio GuymanProust.

[interdimensionalburnout]

There is a public beach near my apartment. I can't exactly say that it's populated, though. Too much junk in the water.

The sand's like 60% seaglass by volume, too. And on occasion you get a Hurler coming ashore and killing the odd bum who's sleeping it off outside.

Anyways, I've earned a trip down there. There is a surprising amount of boat traffic at the Space Port, because ultimately it's cheaper than the fuel costs to move flying vessels in-atmo, and even cheaper than constant exits/reentries through atmo. Watching the boat lights at night is real pretty.

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

Cluster mission set to end with reentry over South Pacific

On 8 September 2024, the first of four satellites that make up ESA’s Cluster mission will reenter Earth’s atmosphere over the South Pacific Ocean Uninhabited Area.

This marks the end of the historic mission, over 24 years after it was sent into space to measure Earth’s magnetic environment. Though the remaining three satellites will also stop making scientific observations, discoveries using existing mission data are expected for years to come.

This ‘targeted reentry’ is the first of its kind. ESA’s efforts to ensure a clean end to the Cluster mission go beyond international standards, making the agency a world-leader in sustainable space exploration.

A lifetime monitoring space weather

Launched in 2000, Cluster has spent 24 years studying perhaps the one thing that makes Earth a unique habitable world where life can thrive: its powerful magnetic shield, the magnetosphere.

Like an enormous umbrella, the magnetosphere protects us from most of the driving rain of particles that the Sun relentlessly sends in our direction.

But gusts of this solar wind can still push through, sending bursts of energetic particles cascading towards Earth’s surface. The most common result is the northern and southern lights (auroras), but more rarely, these particles can cut our power supplies, disrupt radio communications, or damage satellites.

We call the influence of the solar wind on Earth’s magnetic environment ‘space weather’.  And until Cluster came along, space weather remained something of a mystery.

“For over two decades, Cluster has shown us time and time again how important the magnetosphere is in shielding us from the solar wind,” says Cluster Mission Manager Philippe Escoubet. “It has watched the effects of solar storms to help us better understand and forecast space weather.”

A zero-debris finale

Cluster was never designed to last this long, nor was it designed for such a safe finale. It was initially launched on a two-year mission to study the Sun–Earth interaction. Because it was carrying out such impressive and world-changing science, ESA’s spacecraft operators kept it going.

But all good things must come to an end, and Cluster’s time has finally come. With this targeted reentry, ESA is turning Cluster from a pioneer in space weather monitoring to a pioneer in mitigating space debris – two key elements in the agency’s space safety goals.

Without intervention, the four Cluster satellites would have reentered naturally in a less predictable manner, potentially over a more densely populated region. By targeting the satellites reentries, ESA is taking the opportunity to ensure that Cluster’s demise doesn’t contribute to the rocketing amount of space junk in orbit around Earth.

Salsa’s last dance

Of the four Cluster satellites – nicknamed Rumba (Cluster 1), Salsa (Cluster 2), Samba (Cluster 3) and Tango (Cluster 4) – Salsa will be the first to take the plunge back into Earth’s atmosphere. It is targeting a specific region of the South Pacific Ocean that is as far as possible from populated regions.

“Back in January we tweaked Salsa’s orbit to make sure that on 8 September it experiences its final steep drop from an altitude of roughly 110 km to 80 km,” explains Cluster Operations Manager Bruno Sousa. “This gives us the greatest possible control over where the spacecraft will be captured by the atmosphere and begin to burn up.”

Bruno’s team is now watching the satellite from a distance. A targeted reentry allows for so much predictability in the reentry time and location that there is no need for further manoeuvres.

Despite being confident that no surviving fragments will fall anywhere near land, we still have very little data about how spacecraft behave as they pass through the lower layers of the atmosphere. We would like to know more to predict even better the time and location of satellite reentries and ensure the safety of humans on Earth.

ESA is considering observing Salsa’s reentry from an aircraft; this will be confirmed later in August. The four Cluster satellites are identical and so by watching them reenter the atmosphere with slightly different trajectories and in different weather conditions, we would have the unique opportunity to conduct a valuable reentry experiment to study the break-up of satellites.

A brighter future

Cluster’s reentry follows those of ESA’s Aeolus and ERS-2 Earth observation missions. ESA is setting a precedent for a responsible approach to reducing the every-increasing problem of space debris and uncontrolled reentries.

With this targeted reentry, ESA is again pioneering a new strategy to reduce its environmental impact by disposing of its missions more safely and sustainably than envisaged at the time of their design.

“By studying how Salsa burns up, which parts might survive, for how long and in what state, we will learn much about how to build ‘zero-debris’ satellites,” explains Tim Flohrer, Head of ESA’s Space Debris Office.

“The lessons learned from this activity will help turn targeted reentries into a safe and well-understood option for the disposal of other space missions in similar orbits, such as Smile and Proba-3.”

What’s next?

Following Salsa’s reentry, the three remaining Cluster satellites will enter ‘caretaker’ mode; whilst they will not be making scientific measurements, operators will be monitoring them to minimise the risk of collision with other satellites or Earth itself.

Bruno’s team will adjust the orbit of Rumba (Cluster 1) in August 2024 in preparation for a similar targeted reentry in November 2025. They will then manoeuvre Samba (Cluster 3) and Tango (Cluster 4) in November 2024 ready for Cluster’s final goodbye in August 2026.

At the end of 2025, ESA plans to launch its next mission to tackle Earth’s magnetic environment: the Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer, or Smile for short. A joint venture with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Smile will build upon Cluster to reveal even more about the complex and intriguing magnetic environment surrounding planet Earth.

[anumberofhobbies]

Hope is not enough. SpaceX and other companies, as well as governments, are producing space debris that could very easily kill people. Countries need to enforce the rules that already exist, and regulations need to be updated to account for the unprecedented numbers of launches and reentries now occurring.The hundreds of pounds of space debris that fell near my home were a clear warning. To avoid disaster, the nations of the world must heed it, and catch up with the reality of today’s commercialization of orbit before it’s too late. This is an opinion and analysis article, and the views expressed by the author or authors are not necessarily those of Scientific American. Samantha Lawler is an associate professor of astronomy at the University of Regina in Saskatchewan, Canada, where she researches orbital dynamics and teaches. She lives on a farm, raising goats and cherishing the huge prairie sky.

[stavee]

Boy oh boy are there lots of angles to consider on this!! I've been talking about this on my post to help spread awareness but here's a decent article on what space agency leaders think of it

"'To move the ISS from its present 400-kilometer altitude to an 800-kilometer altitude circular orbit requires a boost of about 220 meters per second, about the same as required for precise de-orbit control,' explains [Jean-Jacques Dordain, Director General of the European Space Agency when the ISS was being built and expanded, and former NASA Administrator Michael Griffin] in an open letter, published via SpaceNews, to colleagues, friends and allies scattered across the space partners that co-constructed the orbital outpost.

'Our question to the current generation is: since the boost stage must be built anyway, would it not be better to use that stage to place the ISS in a higher orbit for the possible use of a future generation than to destroy it upon reentry?'"

Then there's alllll sorts of other things to consider like: a higher orbit will allow the ISS to continue existing, but without manned maintenance, how will it survive long term? Space junk/debris is a eternal problem at the moment regardless of some (but not all) countries putting policies in place

Would there be enough oxygen/other gasses to maneuver the ISS out of the way of such debris if needed? The last thing anyone wants is an uncontrolled deorbit of something this large, let alone historic. They'd need to send up occasional stores and hook it up. And being in a further orbit makes that increase both time and cost. Also the ground operations cost alone of having to monitor the ISS's path for debris strikes

It'd be great if they could make the ISS get like, a job like Gateway's goal to be a lunar outpost. (100% not happening) But the fuel cost on that alone would probably be outrageous, and they'd much rather have an updated outpost than something with 1990s tech (and a few holes in her here and there)

No matter how much we all love the ISS there really is no good long-term solution. NASA doesn't get the funding it used to, and KSC is already considered a commercial spaceport (yes, we have those now)

Tensions with the "I" in "ISS" have been getting worse over the past decade+, and it really all comes down to money. NASA will do it's best to save what it can, and I'm sure ESA and Roscosmos will save what they can. But the cheapest, long-term solution is, unfortunately, to deorbit.

i know the de-orbiting of the ISS has been planned for the end of 2030 for like a year now but having to read that elon musk gets to kill it. do you know what the ISS is. the international space station. what it has meant for science, for collaboration between nations, what a symbol of hope for the future it is. I hope elon musk dies before 2030 so he doesnt get to feel a damn thing about getting to put his fucking name anywhere near it.

[dertaglichedan]

5,800 pounds of batteries tossed off the ISS in 2021 will fall to Earth today

A nearly 3-ton leftover tossed overboard from the International Space Station is nearing its plunge toward Earth.

The multi-ton Exposed Pallet 9 (EP9) was jettisoned from the space station back in March 2021. At the time, it was reported to be the most massive object ever tossed overboard from the International Space Station. Disposing of used or unnecessary equipment in such a way is common practice aboard the space station, as the objects typically burn up harmlessly in Earth's atmosphere. 

Ahead of EP9's reentry, the Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Relief, National Warning Center 1 in Bonn, Germany issued this information:

"Between midday on March 8 and midday on March 9, a larger space object is expected to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere and possibly fragment," the translated statement explains. "The object is battery packs from the International Space Station (ISS). Luminous phenomena or the perception of a sonic boom are possible."

Related: Space station tosses 2.9-ton hunk of space junk overboard. It will stay in orbit for years.

[spacenutspod]

One of the largest reentries in recent years, ESA’s ERS-2 satellite is coming down this week. After almost three decades in orbit, an early Earth-observation satellite is finally coming down this week. The European Space Agency’s (ESA) European Remote Sensing satellite ERS-2 is set to reenter the Earth’s atmosphere on or around Wednesday, February 21st. A Trail Blazing Mission Launched atop an Ariane-4 rocket from the Kourou Space Center in French Guiana on April 21st, 1995, ERS-2 was one of ESA’s first Earth observation satellites. ERS-2 monitored land masses, oceans, rivers, vegetation and the polar regions of the Earth using visible light and ultraviolet sensors. The mission was on hand for several natural disasters, including the flood of the Elbe River across Germany in 2006. ERS-2 ceased operations in September 2011. Anatomy of the reentry of ERS-2. ESA ERS-2 was placed in a retrograde, Sun-synchronous low Earth orbit, inclined 98.5 degrees relative to the equator. This orbit is typical for Earth-observing and clandestine spy satellites, as it allows the mission to image key target sites at the same relative Sun angle, an attribute handy for image interpretation. ERS-2 tracks and ice floe. ESA The Last Days of ERS-2 Reentry predictions for the satellite are centered on February 21st at 00:19 Universal Time (UT)+/- 25 hours. As we get closer, expect that time to get refined. The mass of ERS-2 at launch (including fuel) was 2,516 kilograms. Expect most of the satellite to burn up on reentry. The orbital path of ERS-2. Orbitron For context, recent high profile reentries include the UARS satellite (6.5 tons, in 2011), and the massive Long March-5B booster that launched the core module for China’s Tiangong Space Station in late 2022 (weighing in at 23 tons). ERS-2 in the clean room on Earth prior to launch. ESA ESA passed its first space debris mitigation policy in 2008, 13 years after ERS-2 was launched. In 2011, ESA decided to passively reenter the satellite, and began a series of 66 deorbiting maneuvers to bring its orbit down from 785 kilometers to 573 kilometers. Its fuel drained and batteries exhausted, ERS-2 is now succumbing to the increased drag of the Earth’s atmosphere as we near the peak of the current solar cycle. Flooding in Prague, seen by ERS-2. ESA Tracking the Reentry Tracking the satellite is as simple as knowing where and when to look. The ID number for ERS-2 is 1995-021A/23560. ESA has a site set up dedicated to tracking the decay of ERS-2. Aerospace.Org, Space-Track and Heavens-Above are other good sites to follow the end of ERS-2. Expect the satellite to be a real ‘fast mover’ on its final passes. We saw UARS on its final orbit, flashing as it tumbled swiftly across the sky. Taking out ERS-2 highlights the growing dilemma posed by space junk. There are currently over 25,800 objects in Earth orbit. That amount is growing exponentially as the annual launch cadence increases. 2023 saw a record 212 launches reach orbit, and 2024 is on track to break that number. The rise of mega-constellations such as SpaceX’s Starlink is adding to this burden. The Age of Space Debris Space junk adds to the number of artificial ‘stars’ seen whizzing across the night sky, impacts astronomical sky surveys, and poses a hazard to crewed missions and the International Space Station and the Tiangong Space Station. Reentries also contaminate the atmosphere, and a recent study suggests that mega-constellations may even impact the Earth’s magnet field. And while it’s mainly wealthier countries in the northern hemisphere that are launching satellites, the global south disproportionately bears the brunt of uncontrolled reentries. Finally, all of these are consequences we don’t fully understand and are worthy of further study. For now, you can still track the demise of ERS-2, as it comes to a fiery end this week. The post European Satellite ERS-2 to Reenter Earth’s Atmosphere This Week appeared first on Universe Today.

[monterplant]

How European satellite's landmark demise can aid the fight against space junk

Mission scientists and engineers took on the tricky task of targeting a remote stretch of the Atlantic Ocean for the reentry of Europe’s Aeolus satellite. Continue reading Untitled

[29pageshomestuckeveryday]

Homestuck, page 4,536

Dirk: Take sord.....

You pick up the mighty SORD…..

The easiest thing to do here is ditch the SLICE, stick the SORD….. in the weapons row, and rhyme it with BOARD.

Your bro had a lot of junk like this manufactured over the years. He patented the technology for producing THREE DIMENSIONAL JPEG ARTIFACTS, to make products shittier than was ever previously imaginable. He made a killing off them. Not because anyone bought this garbage. But because they were so cheap to manufacture, their cost was actually NEGATIVE, therefore miraculously netting him profit for every unit produced. He made so much money this way, he had enough to finance manned space missions to haul all of the hideous unwanted jpeg shit off the Earth, and launch it into the sun. But years thereafter, every now and then someone would report a stray shitty skateboard slowly drifting back into Earth's atmosphere. People would pray they would burn up on reentry. But they never would.

[maeamian]

managed to crash all the debris from this mission which is oddly satisfying

[synnthamonsugar]

Okay who had "20 tons of space junk making an uncontrolled reentry potentially over major population centers" on their 2020/2021 Cataclysm Bingo card?????

[planetsam]

Latest fics are up on ao3

Reentry (I combined two because they struck me as very unintentionally interconnected and I have an additional prompt for pt 3 so the previous fit that was in the collection Twice Burned is no longer there and has been moved here.)

Space Junk (Alex gets Buffy)