Last February, a dead Russian satellite known as Cosmos 2221 and a NASA spacecraft, specifically the TIMED craft, had a near-miss encounter. This means they narrowly avoided colliding with each other. However, it appears that this encounter was actually closer than what scientists initially thought.
Near-Miss Encounter Between NASA Spacecraft, Russian Satellite
Last February 28, the dead Cosmos 2221 Russian satellite moved past the TIMED (Thermosphere, Ionosphere, Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics) craft of NASA at a distance that was uncomfortably close. Just a narrow margin avoided a collision. The TIMED craft is a NASA mission that is studying the dynamics of the Mesosphere and Lower Thermosphere, which are the least explored and understood regions of the Earth's atmosphere.
These two were thought to have had a distance of 65 feet when this happened. However, further investigations revealed that they may have just been roughly 33 feet apart from each other.
Pam Melroy, the Deputy Administrator of NASA, revealed in a presentation during the 39th Space Symposium in Colorado Springs that they were startled to discover that the pass was actually less than 10 meters in distance. This revelation has sparked a sense of urgency within the agency.
Melroy emphasizes that if the two satellites had collided, it could have led to a significant generation of debris. These would have been minuscule fragments hurtling through tens of thousands of miles per hour, posing potential risks to human lives and spacecraft.
Earth's Orbit and Space Debris
The Earth's orbit contains much debris ranging from rocket stages and dead satellites to tiny shrapnel shards from earlier collisions. All of these move at grave speeds.
The European Space Agency (ESA) has conducted extensive research on space debris. They have found that there are roughly 130 million pieces of space debris that are between one millimeter and one centimeter in length. A further million have a length of from one centimeter to 10 centimeters, while more than 35,000 of these exceed the 10-centimeter mark. These findings highlight the significant amount of space debris present in Earth's orbit.
The number of satellites orbiting the Earth has dramatically increased in the past few decades. Roughly 11,500 satellites currently orbit the Earth, with roughly 9,000 of them still operational.
More than half of these satellites are actually part of SpaceX's Starlink. This is a broadband network that aims to provide global internet coverage. The network currently consists of almost 5,800 satellites and continues to expand, contributing significantly to the increasing number of satellites in Earth's orbit.
Wendy N. Whitman Copp, a strategies and security studies professor from Air University, has expressed serious concerns about the growing space debris problem. As the space surrounding the Earth becomes even more congested and heavily used, and as space junks keep increasing, there is a rising concern about the damage caused on the ground and in space. Even tiny space debris pieces could result in notable damage to spacecraft and satellites. This is due to how they move upwards at a speed of 18,000 mph.
This has already begun happening. In 2021, some space junk crashed into the Yunhai 1-02 Chinese military satellite. In the same year, ISS astronauts also discovered a hole in a robotic arm that may have come from a fast-moving debris chunk.
If the accumulation of space debris continues, it could lead to a scenario known as Kessler syndrome. This is a runaway chain reaction that begins with a debris piece colliding with a spacecraft or satellite. The collision leads to the craft's destruction and the production of even more debris. This could subsequently result in more destruction and collisions, creating a self-sustaining cycle of space debris.
NASA is actively working to address the growing space debris issue. The agency has already been implementing measures to reduce the amount of debris left behind by rocket launches. Now, they are aiming to develop a comprehensive 'space sustainability strategy' to further mitigate the risks associated with space debris.
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