Space debris is a growing environmental problem. Accumulation of objects in earth orbit threatens space systems through the possibility of collisions and runaway debris multiplication. The amount of debris in orbit is uncertain due to the lack of information on the population of debris between 1 and 10 centimeters diameter. Collisions with debris even smaller than 1 cm can be catastrophic due to the high orbital velocities involved. Research efforts are under way at NASA, United States Space Command and the Air Force Phillips Laboratory to detect and catalog the debris population in near-earth space. Current international and national laws are inadequate to control the proliferation of space debris. Space debris is a serious problem with large economic, military, technical and diplomatic components. Actions need to be taken now to: determine the full extent of the orbital debris problem; accurately predict the future evolution of the debris population; decide the extent of the debris mitigation procedures required; implement these policies on a global basis via an international treaty. Action must be initiated now, before the loss of critical space systems such as the space shuttle or the space station.
Orbiting Space Debris: Dangers, Measurement and Mitigation
1992
238 pages
Report
Keine Angabe
Englisch
Astronautics , Space Safety , Debris , Earth orbits , Spacecraft debris , Safety , Collisions , Unmanned spacecraft , Manned spacecraft , Space shuttles , Velocity , Space objects , Space stations , Scientific satellites , Kinetic energy , Environmental protection , Damage assessment , Space surveillance , Meteorological satellites , Optical detection , Radar , Legislation , Orbital debris , Space debris policy , Space law , Debris mitigation , Hypervelocity , Geosynchronous orbits
Orbiting Debris: A Space Environmental Problem
NTIS | 1990
Historical profiles of orbiting space debris
AIAA | 1996
|Historical Profiles of Orbiting Space Debris
British Library Conference Proceedings | 1996
|