What is space debris
Space waste encompasses any piece of debris left behind by humans in space and
therefore originating on Earth. Space debris can be as large as an inactive
satellite, similar to the size of a car, or as small as a flake of paint. The real
danger is the speed at which these objects move, more than 28,000 kilometres per
hour, which turns them into real projectiles.
At the dawn of the space age in 1957, the North American Aerospace Defense Command
(NORAD) started a database with information about all this waste. The first piece
of space junk was the Sputnik satellite, which the Soviet Union launched that same
year. These days, the European Space Agency (ESA), says there are around 900,000
objects measuring between 1 and 10 cm in orbit and around 34,000 larger than 10 cm.
Many are visible on this interactive mapExternal link, opens in new window..
The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) has been drawing
attention to the dangers of space wasteExternal link, opens in new window. and the
need for prevention for many years, to the extent that back in 2007 the UN General
Assembly approved a set of guidelines to mitigate the threat. For its part, the ESA
also has an information programmeExternal link, opens in new window. on the risks
of space debris.
Types of space debris
According to the ESA, space debris include:
Payload: these are mainly satellites. This includes fragments produced by wear and
tear and collisions.
Rockets: remains of stages used to propel missions in orbit. This also includes
fragments produced by wear and tear and collisions.
Mission-related objects: for example, dropped tools, screws, cables, cameras, etc.
Space waste is classified by size as follows:
Below 1 cm: it is estimated that there are more than 128 million of these fragments
and most of them are undetectable.
Between 1 and 10 cm: it is calculated that there are around 900,000 in orbit, which
range from the size of a marble to a tennis ball.
More than 10 cm: these objects include everything from tools lost during missions
to defunct satellites.
Basura espacial
Space debris in figures.
SEE INFOGRAPHIC: Space debris in figures [PDF]External link, opens in new window.
Causes of space debris
What causes space waste? There are numerous causes:
Defunct satellites
Satellites have a limited useful life and, when their batteries are spent or they
break down, they are left drifting about in space. At the beginning of the space
race, it was assumed that sooner or later these abandoned objects would fall to
earth and would burn up on re-entry. However, and particularly at higher orbits,
this may never happen.
Missing equipment
Astronauts sometimes drop tools or other objects during space walks. In 2008, for
example, astronaut Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper dropped a box of tools. This
disintegrated when it entered the Earth's atmosphere almost a year later, after
orbiting the Earth more than 4,000 times.
Rocket stages
Some rocket stages are discarded in low orbits and fall to Earth shortly after
takeoff. However, the higher ones are left drifting in space and sometimes explode
because they contain the remains of fuel. These explosions create thousands of
fragments.
Weapons
Both the United States and the Soviet Union began to conduct tests with
anti-satellite weapons in the sixties and seventies. In 1985, for example, the
United States destroyed a one-ton satellite (Solwind) with one of these weapons.
Similar missions of this type were carried out in later years by other countries
including China and India.
Consequences of space debris
According to the ESA, since 1961 there have been more than 560 fragmentation
incidents, most of them caused by fuel explosions in rocket stages. As for direct
collisions, there have only been seven, the most serious of which destroyed an
inactive Russian satellite called Kosmos 2251 and the operational satellite Iridium
33.
However, it is the small fragments that pose the greatest danger. Micrometeorites
like paint flakes and solidified droplets of antifreeze can damage solar panels on
active satellites. Other dangerous debris includes vestiges of solid fuel which
float about in space and are highly flammable. They can cause damage and disperse
pollutants into the atmosphere if they explode.
Some Russian satellites contain nuclear batteries with radioactive material that
could cause dangerous contamination if they returned to Earth. In any case, the
heat of reentry destroys the majority of this space debris before it reaches the
Earth. On rare occasions, larger fragments have reached the surface and caused
considerable damage.
Solutions to space debris
