Dylan Jeffery
ESS 102
4/19/18
Cut off from the Stars : Space Debris & Space Travel
As time passes, humanity seems to inch closer and closer to the tipping point of becoming a truly space faring species. However, that momentous step in our evolution could potentially be cut off from us forever if we are not careful with how we handle the already growing space debris problem today. Space debris, in this context, is all of the bits of destroyed man-made technology left in space, some of which fall into orbit. While in orbit, this space debris poses massive risks to active satellites or other spacecraft. Some efforts are being made to reduce the volume of debris but they may not be enough. It is entirely possible that a chain reaction has already begun and it is too late (http://webpages.charter.net/dkessler/files/KesSym.html). For this reason, it is of the utmost urgency that we begin to take this problem seriously.
In order to evaluate solutions to this problem we first have to look at the debris itself. Most of this space junk used …show more content…
Kessler to propose his Kessler Syndrome(http://webpages.charter.net/dkessler/files/KesSym.html). The Kessler syndrome is a possible chain reaction of satellite crashes that could destroy nearly all of the objects in low earth orbit, potentially making any space travel impossible. It presents a much smaller risk to the higher altitude orbits, as things are more spread out, and nowhere near, as Kessler puts it, their critical density. Additionally the amount of time it takes for an orbit at that height to decay naturally can reach thousands of years. The most important notes about the Kessler syndrome’s terrifying scenario are twofold. Firstly, there is a point after which the chain reaction cannot be stopped, and second, that it may be impossible to tell whether or not we are already past that point. Given that depressing revelation, what can we do to try to fix this before it’s too
ESS 102
4/19/18
Cut off from the Stars : Space Debris & Space Travel
As time passes, humanity seems to inch closer and closer to the tipping point of becoming a truly space faring species. However, that momentous step in our evolution could potentially be cut off from us forever if we are not careful with how we handle the already growing space debris problem today. Space debris, in this context, is all of the bits of destroyed man-made technology left in space, some of which fall into orbit. While in orbit, this space debris poses massive risks to active satellites or other spacecraft. Some efforts are being made to reduce the volume of debris but they may not be enough. It is entirely possible that a chain reaction has already begun and it is too late (http://webpages.charter.net/dkessler/files/KesSym.html). For this reason, it is of the utmost urgency that we begin to take this problem seriously.
In order to evaluate solutions to this problem we first have to look at the debris itself. Most of this space junk used …show more content…
Kessler to propose his Kessler Syndrome(http://webpages.charter.net/dkessler/files/KesSym.html). The Kessler syndrome is a possible chain reaction of satellite crashes that could destroy nearly all of the objects in low earth orbit, potentially making any space travel impossible. It presents a much smaller risk to the higher altitude orbits, as things are more spread out, and nowhere near, as Kessler puts it, their critical density. Additionally the amount of time it takes for an orbit at that height to decay naturally can reach thousands of years. The most important notes about the Kessler syndrome’s terrifying scenario are twofold. Firstly, there is a point after which the chain reaction cannot be stopped, and second, that it may be impossible to tell whether or not we are already past that point. Given that depressing revelation, what can we do to try to fix this before it’s too