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On 2009 February 10, Iridium 33 (an operational US communications satellite in low-Earth orbit) was struck and destroyed by Cosmos 2251 (a long-defunct Russian communications satellite). This is the first time since the dawn of the Space Age that two satellites have collided in orbit. Working directly with Iridium and the US Strategic Command to re...
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... pieces were just cataloged and are being propagated backward several months), the data was filtered to only show those objects within 100 km of the original parent objects at the time of the collision. That left 209 of the 406 pieces of Iridium 33 debris and 553 of the 960 pieces of Cosmos 2251 debris (762 of the total 1,366 pieces of debris). Fig. 6 shows the evolution of the debris clouds 180 minutes post-collision, almost two revolutions later. The spread of each debris cloud around its respective orbit is already becoming ...
Citations
... Two major events that contributed to this upward trend are: (1) In 2007, China conducted an anti-satellite missile test on the satellite Fengyun-1C, resulting in the largest debris cloud ever produced by a single event (increasing the debris population by nearly 25%). (2) In 2009, a collision between Iridium-33 and Cosmos-2251, a defunct Russian satellite, produced 2296 traceable debris and hundreds of thousands of untraceable pieces of junk, posing a threat to other satellites orbiting nearby [43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50]. According to Kessler and Cour-Palais (1978), if the orbital debris keeps on increasing, then a time will come when the debris population might reach a critical density above which cascading collisions occur, which could self-sustain even without future launches, rendering the space environment useless for hundreds to thousands of years. ...
The increasing population of space debris, also known as space junk, presents a significant challenge for all space economic activities, including those involving human-onboard spacecraft, due to the rising collision threats. Therefore, there is an urgent need for detecting and removing these debris. Numerous scientific investigations have focused on debris capture mechanisms in Earth orbits, including contact and contact-less capturing methods. However, the known debris population exhibits a multiscale distribution with broad statistics concerning size, shape, etc., making any general-purpose removal approach challenging, at the moment. As a result, summarising the various aspects related to the space debris removal mechanics would be of major benefit.
This review article aims at providing a concise discussion on the topic, starting from the fundamental description of Earth orbits, encompassing space debris statistics and specifications of interest to the mechanics of debris removal, up to the characterization of the different debris detection techniques. Therefore, we delve into the key parameters essential for the engineering of novel debris removal technologies. Furthermore, we shed light on ongoing mitigation strategies, with special focus on the net capturing method and its contact mechanics aspects. Finally, the preventive measures and the statutory guidelines for removing and preventing debris creation are discussed, emphasizing the serious issue of space debris to space agencies and relevant companies.
... Consider, for example, this statement expressed vis-à-vis in-orbit collision avoidance: "Unfortunately, the most accurate tracking data for active satellites is often closely held only by the satellite operators." (Kelso and Gorski 2009) In itself a data silo is not necessarily problematic. Depending on the purpose of the IS, it may be desirable at times. ...
The orbital debris problem presents an opportunity for inter-agency and international cooperation toward the mutually beneficial goals of debris prevention, mitigation, remediation, and improved space situational awareness (SSA). Achieving these goals requires sharing orbital debris and other SSA data. Toward this, I present an ontological architecture for the orbital debris domain, taking steps in the creation of an orbital debris ontology (ODO). The purpose of this ontological system is to (I) represent general orbital debris and SSA domain knowledge, (II) structure, and standardize where needed, orbital data and terminology, and (III) foster semantic interoperability and data-sharing. In doing so I hope to (IV) contribute to solving the orbital debris problem, improving peaceful global SSA, and ensuring safe space travel for future generations.
... Consider, for example, this statement expressed vis-à-vis in-orbit collision avoidance: "Unfortunately, the most accurate tracking data for active satellites is often closely held only by the satellite operators." (Kelso and Gorski 2009) In itself a data silo is not necessarily problematic. Depending on the purpose of the IS, it may be desirable at times. ...
The orbital debris problem presents an opportunity for international cooperation toward the mutually beneficial goals of orbital debris prevention, mitigation, remediation, and improved space situational awareness (SSA). Achieving these goals requires sharing orbital debris and other SSA data. Toward this, I present an ontological architecture for the orbital debris and related domains, taking steps in the creation of an orbital debris ontology. The purpose of the ontology is to capture general scientific domain knowledge; formally represent the entities within the domain; form, structure, and standardize (where needed) orbital and SSA terminology; and foster semantic interoperability and data-exchange. In doing so I hope to offer a scientifically accurate ontological representation of the orbital domain; contribute to research in astroinformatics, space ontology, and space data management; and improve spaceflight safety by providing a means to capture and communicate informaiton associated with space debris.
