Can some bright spark advise please.. watched the space station fly over a while back and amazed that it’s orbiting us at approx 25,000 mph! Got me thinking all that space junk up there, broken satellites to dropped spanner’s etc, does it all orbit in one direction or is it possible to be 2 way? For obviously if it’s 2 way For the ISS it’s a case of “Houston we have a problem” Must be some very valuable scrap up there, or, out there.. X
There are several types of earth orbit, so definitely More than two way. https://www.spacefoundation.org/space_brief/types-of-orbits/ As these orbital paths cross, there is greater potential for collisions as the quantity of satellites and debris increase, but the probability of crashes is low as the satellites and spaceships are so small in comparison with the size of space. Strikes from meteorites are also a risk. What hit Tom Hanks in Apollo 13, wasn’t that a space rock?
Space rock? I though oxygen machine was busted following an minor explosion so they jerry rigged the lunar lander to get them home?
May I suggest Musk/NASA a basking shark (or As I’d name it, The Basket Craft), spacecraft design to orbit With its huge mouth open and collect the junk up there, recycling the titanium etc send 50% to me in return for the design idea.. X oh, is it medication time again?
“Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space.” ― Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy The problem that causes is that although there is space junk orbiting, the gaps between them are so big that on average there’s nothing to sweep up. Whereas setting up an asteroid smelting plant on the dark side of the moon could be very lucrative, unless the Chinese, Russians or Americans have already done so.
If they could get a border line MOT failure Ford Tranny tipper into orbit the gypo’s would have it all back and weighed in within the day. Problem is because it’s always dark in space they’ll be round nicking the lead and slates off the space station roof!
Yes it’s BIG as is the space between my ears but, it’s a major issue apparently I read where NASA said even a flake of paint from an old satellite would still damage the ISS if it hit it.. They also have to monitor it all so as to manoeuvre around it .. X
All space debris over the size of a basketball is monitored by NORAD in the US, their satellite tracking and missile warning hub buried in a mountain in Colarado (IIRC); it numbers up in the tens of thousands and doesn't include the innumerable smaller pieces that are too small to detect with current radar technology. They publish the info for anybody that is interested, there are websites. Anybody launching anything into space will check with them first to ensure that their launch trajectory, low orbit and insertion burns and final destination are safe as it is a massive problem and only getting worse. Junk orbits in all directions, trajectories and altitudes; think of a bright light in the Summer and all the mad midges going crazy around it! The ISS and other orbital hardware have manoeuvring thrusters that are use to move the object out of a potential collision trajectory should the need arise, they do it all the time. These thrusters are also used to move the object around for various purposes but the fuel is not finite, they usually use the last reserves to conduct a de-orbit burn and drop the junk in the Pacific. It is now a legal requirement that the hardware can't be left floating about to cause future navigation hazards, the 'end-of-service' plan is considered from inception. It is one of the reasons that Earth orbiting satellites don't have nuclear power as dropping fissile material into the atmosphere can prove tricky and some of the local don't like it. There is active research going into cleaning up our near space environment, there is money to be made. If I remember correctly a British firm recently launched a proof of concept prototype on just such a mission. It's also one of the many reasons that Space X is now using re-usable boosters that return after inserting their payload into orbit, nae junk, money saved, happy people and shareholders; everybody's a winner. It is very, very impressive to see as these boosters are not tiddlers. It is a very interesting subject in general. If you want to know more go have a look at Utube and seek out NASA, the European Space Agency et al then for easy, stimulating explanations go find these guys and others. Scott Manly Smarter every day the every day astronaut Enjoy but be warned you will get sucked in!
Gravity is of course tripe. But the effects are very impressive and its worth watching just to see what's her name in her skivvies. I may be a Space geek but I know quality when I see it.
Funny though whenever you see a live space station feed....with that amount of debris flying about you'd have thought you'd have seen bits whizzing past...scaremongering id say...
I read many moons ago that not only would you not see it as it toodled in at a leisurely combined orbital velocity of 30-40000 mph, you probably wouldn't even feel it as it went through the station, through you and out the other side without a noticeable drop in said velocity; and that's just the wee bolt, not the spanner following it. scary stuff! It would be handy if there are any mathematicians here that could work out the energies of a strike of a one kg spanner at that speed, it must be like a bomb. Even more sobering, I suppose you could be floating about inside next to your buddy munching on a space burrito and the next thing they would be floating there without a heid! Double scary! A bit like when I hit a wasp square in the visor 25 years ago doing about 130, nearly knocked me off my Aprila and soiled ma leathers; triple scary!
So I’ve learnt space is a big big place but I feel space and orbit are two very different situations.. What keeps space junk in orbit around our earth? Is it a gravity thing? Or that the junk has no ability to power itself away from the orbit... If it did/could break the orbit surely it would float off into deep space and probably burn up via the Sun? Or possibly fall to earth I guess... X
Anything is kept in orbit by its velocity overcoming the Earths Gravity well. Escape velocity to get to orbit is around 17500mph. Once you reach that speed, and more importantly maintain it, you will remain in orbit as you are effectively moving in a straight line round the planet or "falling" round the planet. However, it will not last for ever, our atmosphere doesn't just come to an abrupt halt at 100 klicks, it peters out very, very slowly. Molecules of air, however sparse, will have an accumulative effect on your velocity over an extended period of time until the inevitable happens. Atmospheric drag will eventually "pull" you back to Earth as it slowly, inexorably and inevitably pulls you into ever decreasing orbits. At this point the atmosphere becomes so thick and the friction induced temperature so high that it will overcome the integrity of your craft unless it is shielded, or you boost your orbit back into place. But fuel is finite, it will run out and option one will return with a vengeance! Go here for a nice explanation of space debris:
It seems to me that no matter how much space there is, Murphy's law will make sure that the most unlikely things will happen. For example; You're driving down the road and there is nothing to be seen as far as the eye can see except for maybe one tree. Suddenly a squirrel appears out of nowhere and runs across the road. You will either run over the squirrel or hit the tree.
