More than a million objects, large enough to threaten operational spacecraft, are believed to reside in low Earth orbit (LEO) and this value is expected to increase significantly in the next decades.1 The resulting hazard to operational spacecraft could render certain LEO altitudes unusable, particularly above 600 km where atmospheric drag is ineffective for removing orbital debris. Certain objects, such as spent rocket stages and large defunct satellites, have the potential to create thousands of smaller bodies through impacts with other objects, some too small to track. 2 The United States is particularly vulnerable to the loss of space assets because its economy is so dependent on international commerce and its military forces are so widely spread across the planet. Researchers from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Orbital Debris Program Office prioritized the hazard posed by thousands of large objects in orbit as a function of object mass and collision probability. Their study concluded that the breakup of just three of the 500 highest priority objects could lead to collisions with other objects and debris population growth that would render certain altitudes too hazardous for satellite operations. NASA researchers also determined that the removal of just five high-priority objects from orbit each year would likely prevent anticipated growth in the LEO debris population.3 The growing population of orbital debris poses a real and growing threat of impact with active spacecraft that has caused and will increasingly cause millions of dollars in damage to operational spacecraft. In the coming decades debris impacts are also likely to degrade national security, adversely affect the economy, and threaten lives on manned spacecraft. Population growth in the next 50 years could be gradual or could be abrupt and could yield concentrations high enough to render parts of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) unusable, and transit through these regions hazardous.
Innovative and Cost Effective Remediation of Orbital Debris
2014
9 pages
Report
No indication
English
Cost and Benefit Analysis of Orbital Debris Remediation
NTIS | 2023
|Cost and Benefit Analysis of Orbital Debris Remediation
NTRS | 2023
|