Garbage Dump in the Sky: Space Debris and Its Impact on Space Operations

by

Bill Cooke
NASA/MSFC Aerospace Engineer, Meteoroid Environment Office, EV13

Friday, 31 March 2006
Socialization : 10:15 a.m.
Presentation : 10:30 a.m.

Many people are at least vaguely aware that the space-capable countries of the world have placed many thousands of trackable objects into Earth orbit. However, most do not realize that this population - consisting of dead satellites, empty upper stages, explosion fragments, and other odds and ends - poses an ever-increasing risk to satellites and manned vehicles. As an example, this space junk and the ever present, naturally occuring meteoroids constitute the single greatest hazard to the Space Shuttle on-orbit, a risk so large that it is considered independently of all other factors when evaluating mission viability. Science and communications satellites are not immune; just recently the Terra satellite had to perform a maneuver to avoid a collision with debris produced by a NASA Scout vehicle. A few years ago, the French Cerise satellite had its gravity-gradient boom - used to help stablize the satellite - severed by another piece of debris.

What are the causes of all this junk? Can we stop the numbers from growing to the point where Earth orbit is too risky for spacecraft? Assuming this can be done, what are the implications for space stations, tethers, space elevators, and other large-scale space structures? What are the chances of casualties on the ground when the larger pieces re-enter the atmosphere? These questions - and others - will be addressed; the answers, while interesting, paint a sober picture. Not only is near-Earth space polluted, it is becoming downright dangerous - for both man and machines.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH:

The head of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office, Dr. Bill Cooke specializes in the meteoroid environment and its effects on space vehicles of all sorts. While a graduate student at the University of Florida, he worked on instruments flying onboard balloons, the Space Shuttle, Giotto (European mission to Halley's Comet), and LDEF. After obtaining his PhD, he came to work at Marshall Space Flight Center as a member of the Space Environments Team. When not occupied with meteor observations and shower forecasts, he dabbles as a free-lance author for magazines and is a member of an international team preparing a report on the current status of planetary defense.

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Questions? - Email the author William.J.Cooke@nasa.gov

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