Orbital Debris Junk in Orbit Problem and Remediation

tahanson43206 · 2022-06-30 06:53:32

A NewMars member wrote an email recently, about the problem of Orbital Debris.

The letter contains preliminary thoughts about possible innovative techniques that might be used to remove unwanted objects from orbit around the Earth.

While the letter itself remains confidential, this topic is available for the Creative Thinkers of NewMars forum to post suggestions, or news of actual mitigation efforts that are either planned or in process, or which were attempted.

(th)

tahanson43206 · 2022-06-30 06:58:35

I'll start things out with a suggestion for a possible orbital remediation procedure...

Given that orbits decay as molecules of atmosphere drift into the path of objects in orbit, it might be supposed that finding ways to increase the amount of atmosphere in the path of particular objects might accelerate the decay of the orbits of those objects.

Such a method would also introduce decay of the orbits of other objects that are still useful, so it is not a targeted solution, as proposed.

However, perhaps there is a way to introduce atmosphere into the paths of specific objects, while ? somehow ? avoiding interfering with other objects.

There may be enough of a structure here for NewMars members to work with.

(th)

Mars_B4_Moon · 2022-06-30 08:15:50

Perhaps the political people of Earth will pass an Earth Orbit tax as they have passed Carbon Taxes, one would hope removing sats would always be done for peaceful reasons. I believe some like China might even be looking ahead as they have already tested a Shijian clean up satellite. I have also seen ideas discussed like a satellite with an arm to grab a satellite and chuck it down, or a Space Debris Slingshot. Also using lasers to burn sats and make a self-powered flaming de-orbiting object, perhaps the laser system would be on a mountain a high altitude aircraft or the laser could come from another satellite in orbit. Some say a Solar Sail and new exotic technology could one day send something for exploration Alpha Centauri but for now why not for now use the Sail to slow down? Another was something of a sticky tongue rather than a sail, the end of a boom is a pad that uses a technology called electroadhesion to induce electrostatic charge, the boom would act as an electric drag sail for the de-orbiting of satellites, I guess different versions of the magnetic sail concept also fits here. I believe an article which might know something at DARPA talked of a giant web or space nets "capture mechanisms" with tentacles and fisherman type space lines to catch trash, others wanted to slow down sats and stat cleaning up space junk by adding more dust, this would cause the satellite debris to lose energy, making it to fall to a lower orbit and you could also be launching water on decommissioned missiles, or some form of Microdust. You could also briefly change the make up of our upper atmosphere, blend the Atmosphere, Exosphere and Mesosphere by having a machine making your planet 'puff' the Airburst could also be pulsed out of the Earth's upper atmosphere which is similar to the 'Dust' concept. Back in the Soviet times one of the Russian space corporations might have had a crude idea for some kind of garbage truck looking thing in space. Japanese and French companies reported on ideas for a electrodynamic tether whose current would slow down the speed of satellites make them gradually fall closer to Earth, Tethers have been tested and flow by ESA, JAXA and flown on the Shuttle and Boeing Delta rocket, Virgin Brason's LauncherOne and Falcon Heavy but I forget what these missions were called, I believe the Japanese was called S.T.A.R.S-2 mission. The Swiss once pushed an idea for a type of Kamikaze Self-Destructing Janitor Satellite that would wrestle another satellite from the Sky, they also had the idea for nanosatellites to push the garbage problem away elsewhere to another part of the Solar System to move it out of orbit, for some reason this idea reminds me of the largest man made structure on Earth, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

However since it cost a lot of money to put this stuff in orbit and people are talking about future space-mining facility then why not park the stuff into one big international car scrap yard where maybe in the future people can pick up old antique ports for their future space cars, keep it all up there and recycle it some time? With countries now carrying out ASAT weapons tests there might be a more urgent need to get rid of the debris and not just 'park' stuff to be taken care of in a future timeline. Also one nation trying to de-orbit something could damage the space region for other nations, putting out big clouds of gas and dust in orbit is going to be sued by other satellite operators and sued by insurance companies maybe to send them into bankruptcy or cause a political event and a break down in international relations, it is possible that in the future satellite clean up might require international consensus just like the South Pole Treaty. The space elevator an idea popular science fiction if it ever gets made, it might also solve a lot of problems and help remove defunct satellites that put the elevator itself at risk.

Tahanson debris might become very dangerous on the Lunar surface, I have seen an interesting online program called an Asteroid Impact Crater Calculator you could change the imp actor to stony, water/ice or metal and also put in different data like diameter of your object, density grams/cubic centimeter and put in info for velocity in mph numbers or kilometers/second angle I wonder if someone has a calculator for Mars and the Moon also? There has also been recent discussion these past months about debris for a Mars mission and Lunar Orbital debris, Mars now has a number of satellites from different countries in orbit, the Moon with no atmosphere will be even more dangerous recently NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter photographed Sat Rocket Impact Sites on Moon one crater photographed was actually two craters, an eastern crater (18-meter diameter, about 19.5 yards) superimposed on a western crater (16-meter diameter, about 17.5 yards) the Apollo debris craters greater than 35 meters, about 38 yards.

Last edited by Mars_B4_Moon (2022-06-30 08:17:18)

tahanson43206 · 2022-06-30 08:38:58

For Mars_B4_Moon re #3

Thank you for giving this new topic such a comprehensive boost!

I note that you included various versions of the atmosphere showing idea.

However, addition of the lawsuit issue is helpful. That specific tool doesn't seem very useful right now, since several nations have created clouds of debris with the anti-satellite tests, and as nearly as I can tell, they haven't paid a penalty of any kind, with the possible except of causing irritation to citizens of other nations.

SearchTerm:Debris Orbital comprehensive overview by Mars_B4_Moon
SearchTerm:Orbital Debris

update at 14:30 local time ...

Mars_B4_Moon ... the person I'm working with via email is a member of the National Space Society. Your gathering of links and citations about orbital debris removal is most helpful. Thanks again!

(th)

tahanson43206 · 2022-06-30 15:13:04

Here's an update from an email conversation about debris removal, following publication of Mars_B4_Moon list of links to previous work...

The latest iteration has a stream of low mass objects (ie, grains of material) that are placed in the path of an object to be de-orbited in such a way that ONLY the desired/intended object is impacted.

How this might be done is (of course) to be determined.

The method would appear to meet most of the objections cited by Mars_B4_Moon in his post.

(th)

tahanson43206 · 2024-02-28 18:58:05

An experiment is under way to visit a defunct Japanese rocket stage.

https://interestingengineering.com/inno … 28.02.24_6

First-ever attempt to remove dead rocket from Earth’s orbit kicks off
The ADRAS-J satellite began the rendezvous operation phase with this dead rocket on February 22.
Mrigakshi Dixit
Published: Feb 28, 2024 06:50 AM EST
INNOVATION
First-ever attempt to remove dead rocket from Earth’s orbit kicks off
Mission to remove dead rocket from Earth's orbit begins.

A space operation has begun to recover a dead rocket from Earth’s orbit.
This first-of-a-kind mission aims to address the escalating issue of space debris.
This space junk inspection mission is being carried out in collaboration with various companies and is funded by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
The ADRAS-J satellite was launched aboard an Electron rocket from Rocket Lab’s New Zealand launch site on February 18. ADRAS-J is short for Active Debris Removal by Astroscale-Japan.
SEE ALSO
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This invention might help us tackle debris in space
The primary objective of this satellite is to examine a defunct Japanese H-2A rocket stage floating in the low Earth orbit.
Moreover, this is said to be the world’s first technical demonstration for removing large-scale space junk.
The ADRAS-J satellite began the rendezvous operation phase with this dead rocket component on February 22.
“In this phase, the operations team based in Japan and the UK will use ADRAS-J’s propulsion system to start maneuvering towards the client orbit,” Astroscale mentioned.
Dead rocket is almost the size of a bus
Japanese H-IIA rocket was used to deploy the GOSAT Earth observation satellite in 2009.
This bus-sized space debris, weighing three tons, orbits Earth at a height of 600 kilometers (373 miles).
If left unattended, this dead rocket might stay in orbit for decades, posing a risk to satellites and spacecraft. Until atmospheric drag eventually drags it back into the Earth’s atmosphere. It will be burned at that time, and any surviving bits are expected to fall into the ocean.

ADRAS-J aims to inspect the dead rocket and develop strategies for a follow-up mission to safely return it to the atmosphere.
In the ongoing rendezvous phase, the spacecraft will meticulously approach the rocket. Moreover, the satellite will use advanced cameras and sensors to inspect it from as close as a meter away.
The spacecraft will study the rocket’s condition, identify potential grapple points, and assess whether any fragments pose additional risks.
“This initial rendezvous phase requires careful planning of several orbit raising maneuvers to ensure accurate, precise and safe approach to the client,” Astroscale’s statement noted.
It added: “ADRAS-J is the world’s first attempt to safely approach and characterize an existing piece of large debris through RPO [Rendezvous and proximity operations].”
Challenges to remove a dead rocket
However, retrieving a dead rocket from orbit involves several unique obstacles.
It is hard as such objects lack the technologies to provide visual aids, docking capabilities, and GPS data. That’s why the company categorizes such space junk as “unprepared” for safe docking.
The satellite must determine its exact location, altitude, and other relevant details about the dead rocket.
“Unprepared client objects [in this case, JAXA’s dead rocket] present several challenges. For example, the client does not transmit any GPS data on its own, so its precise location is not provided. The condition of the structure of the client is also unknown,” explained the company’s press release.
“Given these factors, the ADRAS-J mission will demonstrate the most challenging RPO capabilities necessary for on-orbit services,” it noted.
Throughout the history of space exploration, more than a thousand dead rockets have been left abandoned in space.
If successful, this mission could provide a blueprint for removing other large, dangerous, and uncontrolled pieces of space debris.

(th)

Mars_B4_Moon · 2024-04-19 12:39:46

NASA Confirms that a Piece of its Battery Pack Smashed into a Florida Home

https://www.universetoday.com/166681/na … rida-home/

Mars_B4_Moon · 2024-06-08 02:28:26

Over 40 Entities Join the Zero Debris Charter

https://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Over … r_999.html

GW Johnson · 2024-06-08 10:07:09

The orbital debris entry danger is not what "everybody" says. It never has been, but denial runs deep in a lot of quarters.

Skylab was 85-90 tons at entry. The Australians picked up 75 tons of debris. Some of it was big chunks, like the film vault. The rest was not. Bear in mind the basic shell was an aluminum rocket stage tank structure.

Quite a bit of shuttle Columbia was recovered on the ground, more than anybody has yet admitted.

Most of cosmos 954 was recovered from that Canadian lake, not surprising since this was powered by a nuclear reactor. They have to run chronically hot.

I saw a news story buried amongst other stuff indicating a piece of a Dragon external trunk shell was recovered from somebody's yard. That's made of composite.

There was a piece of an Atlas-D's internal plumbing washed up on an African beach several years ago. It was intact enough to be identified by its serial number as coming from John Glenn's booster. Bear in mind that the old Atlas was a thin SS balloon tank structure that would crush under its own weight, if not inflated.

Tons of this stuff is coming back all the time and striking the surface. Most often, the odds favor hitting the ocean. For the rest, odds favor hitting rural or in the yard, rather than an actual house. But regardless, eventually a house, a car, or a person is going to be struck.

I wish the industry and the powers-that-be would face up to that. Not to do so is dereliction of duty in my estimation.

GW

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#1 2022-06-30 06:53:32

Orbital Debris Junk in Orbit Problem and Remediation

#2 2022-06-30 06:58:35

Re: Orbital Debris Junk in Orbit Problem and Remediation

#3 2022-06-30 08:15:50

Re: Orbital Debris Junk in Orbit Problem and Remediation

#4 2022-06-30 08:38:58

Re: Orbital Debris Junk in Orbit Problem and Remediation

#5 2022-06-30 15:13:04

Re: Orbital Debris Junk in Orbit Problem and Remediation

#6 2024-02-28 18:58:05

Re: Orbital Debris Junk in Orbit Problem and Remediation

#7 2024-04-19 12:39:46

Re: Orbital Debris Junk in Orbit Problem and Remediation

#8 2024-06-08 02:28:26

Re: Orbital Debris Junk in Orbit Problem and Remediation

#9 2024-06-08 10:07:09

Re: Orbital Debris Junk in Orbit Problem and Remediation

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