There have been small objects colliding in space before, but now we have two full fledged satellites that have run into each other. An Iridium communication satellite collided with an old Russian Cosmos Communication satellite. This collision created hundreds of new pieces of debris that could in turn collide with other satellites. The collision occurred about 500 miles over Siberia.
The first thing most people are concerned about is the International Space Station or Hubble. Both of these orbit a lot lower, so they are not in immediate danger from this debris. However, there are a lot of satellites in similar orbits to these to that are now at increased risk of collision with space debris.
A company called Analytic Graphics created a pretty neat animation of the collision and the resulting debris cloud (based computer models of course).
You can see the debris spread out fairly quickly. When they add all the other objects up there it starts looking pretty crowded.
You can even listen for radar echos from the debris cloud. Spaceweather is streaming the Air Force Space Surveillance Radar signals from Texas. The next time to listen is 11:56pm to 12:07am EST tonight.
Reprinted with permission from the Half-Astrophysicist Blog.
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So much garbage in space, it is now colliding. We humans are messy beings...
Yikes!
Now there’s a job opportunity waiting to happen.
Molly Maid Inter-Planetary Cleaning Service!
We need space traffic cops.
We have street sweepers, maybe we need space sweepers. (I do understand the vastness of space, hale) Remember Rosie the Robot from The Jetsons? That would be a great model, right down to the maid's costume!
An outer space pooper scooper.
no I don't buy the debris fields.
It shows both fields remaining in their orbits but fanning out from the specific orbits that the satellites were in. No can do. Some of the debris will also go off in the combined tangent of an entirely new orbit. Not only that, but there will be cones of debris. If the vid had shown a cloud with more massed parts still moving in the original orbits, I'd be much happier.
The question begs to be asked. if the asshats knew this was going to happen (the news story said they knew), don't these satellites have small propulsion tubes? To keep them in location? Why couldn't they squeak the one under control away from the dead one? Not just a waste of a working satellite, but debris that will cause problems the 10,000 years
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