Next time you happen to be star-gazing with a loved one take the time to consider just what exactly is up there. You could be wishing on a floating screwdriver or a fleck of paint chipped from a satellite in the late 80’s. The Sputnik1 satellite launch in 1957 was not only the beginning of the space age but also the beginning of space waste. If it isn’t bad enough to pollute the planet we inhabit and the space around it, we are now littering on Venus, Earth’s moon and Mars (her moon included). So in total there is between eight to ten thousand man-made objects officially in orbit. This equates to 4 million pounds of junk floating around Earth marring the beauty of seeing it from space and creating potential hazards to astronauts and us helmet-less people on the ground.
Of the objects floating around, 2671 are satellites with only 7 percent of this number actually operational, 90 are space probes and the rest is just useless debris. Since surveillance began on these floating litter fragments over 1700 objects of space waste have fallen back to Earth. This works out to be around 50 to 60 pieces per year. The problem of collision with space stations and operational satellites has become so great that each detected piece of debris, even those smaller than 5mm,is monitored by the U.S Space Command which reports to NASA and other relevant authorities should a threat of orbital impact occur.
So how did the debris come to be up there and why has nobody attempted to clean up space? Since humans began exploring space they have been leaving waste behind, even the flags left on the moon and plaques on other planets all equate to space waste. In it’s first ten years of operation the Mir Space station released over 200 objects of waste into space, and most of the objects were rubbish bags. Each time a shuttle ascends to work on a space station or to take astronauts up to the great beyond, it releases enough junk as the equivalent of a small office building. Each repair done on a space craft has the potential threat of added pollution, a missing screwdriver, nuts and bolts, even a toothbrush has been reported zipping around in orbit. In some cases it is easier and safer to release parts of a space craft rather than try to bring them back to Earth. However those clever space-obsessed people have created a major problem for themselves. That space junk that they knowingly released into orbit now poses a serious threat to the future of space flight and to those of us down below. Remember Skylab? It’s re-entry created a memorable moment in 1979 as it fell over the Indian Ocean and parts of Australia. Thousands of people worldwide were affected by it’s falling, the phenomenon provoking a ‘Chicken Little’ response in major cities and countries around the globe. Debris falling back into our atmosphere resembles a regular meteor, lighting up the sky.
The countries most guilty of polluting space are the Former Soviet Union, closely followed by the good ol’ U.S.A. Perhaps because of this major stint of space waste release, NASA and the United nations are working on passing an international law regulating the restrictions on releasing debris into outer space. But the bureaucratic process being what it is, the passing of these laws will take time and money.
In the meantime, ideas floating around seem silly and complicated. One proposed solution is to laser blast debris to effectively pulverize it. Another is to find a method to launch debris directly to the moon to bypass the low earth orbit range which doesn’t really seem like a long term solution. Some space nerds have proposed a clean-up operation involving black holes and long fan-like blades to sweep the junk together. The only real solution seems to be to stop further debris entering the atmosphere and monitor what is up there so we aren’t surprised when it falls on us.
