E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSS
Lockheed Martin
A next-generation space surveillance system will rely on high-resolution radar and high-performance computing.
The space-junk alerts that have been sounded on the International Space Station over the past couple of weeks highlight the need for the “Space Fence,” a next-generation system for tracking orbital debris that’s due to begin operation in 2015.
One of the alerts, on June 28, came so late that the station didn't have time to get out of the way. The six astronauts living aboard the orbital outpost had to take shelter in Russian Soyuz lifeboats while debris of unknown origin zoomed past at a distance of just 850 feet (260 meters).
The other alert came Sunday, just as the space shuttle Atlantis was beginning its last visit to the space station. Initially, mission managers worried that the station-shuttle complex would have to be moved out of the way of some Soviet-era satellite debris, but today they said the junk would pass by harmlessly at a distance of 11 miles (18 kilometers).
The first case in particular demonstrates why debris-trackers need to know more about what's out there, said Doug Burgess, manager for space situational awareness programs at Raytheon.
"They only had 15 hours to make a decision about whether to maneuver or not, and clearly human life was at stake," Burgess told me today. "If the capability that Space Fence brings to bear were available, they would have had a much longer lead time."
Today, orbital-debris trackers at NASA and the U.S. Strategic Command can keep track of only the tip of the iceberg: About 20,000 pieces of space junk have been cataloged, but experts estimate that somewhere between 100,000 and 500,000 objects larger than a centimeter (half an inch) are in Earth orbit. At orbital speeds of up to 17,500 mph, even an inch-wide piece of debris could destroy a satellite or damage the space station if it struck in the wrong place.
Lockheed Martin video explains the concept behind the Space Fence.
"This issue has always been on the minds of people who are trying to use space for all the things that it's used for today. ... We really are heavily reliant on space," John Morse, director of Lockheed Martin's Space Fence Program, told Discovery News.
More satellites in orbit tend to breed more space junk, as illustrated by the 2009 collision of a defunct Russian weather satellite and an Iridium telecom satellite, which left thousands of additional pieces of debris in orbit. "The situation is only going to get worse in time," Burgess said.
That's where the $3.5 billion Space Fence comes in. The existing radar tracking system, known as the Air Force Space Surveillance System, uses VHF and UHF frequency bands to track orbital debris, but those wavelengths are too wide to catch the small stuff. The new system will be far more sensitive because it'll operate in finer-resolution S-band wavelengths.
"It's an order-of-magnitude improvement," Burgess said.
But that's just the start: The next-generation Space Fence will also rely on high-performance computing to identify and keep track of orbital paths for what's likely to be hundreds of thousands of bits of orbiting junk. That should provide better "predict-ahead ability," Burgess said. Right now, NASA's rules call for the space station's crew to take evasive action — or prepare to abandon ship — if a piece of debris is projected to fly within an imaginary "pizza box" that's about 15 miles (25 kilometers) on each side and a half-mile (0.75 kilometers) above and below the station. The Space Fence would reduce the margin of error.
"Things like the pizza box get smaller, your uncertainty gets smaller, your ability to predict orbital tracks in advance becomes greater," Burgess said.
Raytheon video focuses on the company's experience with radar technology.
Raytheon and Lockheed Martin are in competition for the Space Fence contract, and in February, the U.S. Air Force provided each company with a $107 milllion, 18-month design contract. The designs are to get a preliminary review next February, with the contract awarded a year from now. The first of three planned globe-girdling radar installations is to be in operation in 2015, and the Space Fence should be fully operational in 2020. The favored sites for the installations are in Australia, the Marshall Islands and Ascension Island.
$3.5 billion may sound like a lot to pay for an invisible fence. But when you consider that the space station alone is a $100 billion-plus investment that needs to last until at least 2020 ... well, it just seems to me that they can't build that fence fast enough.
More about the space junk threat:
- Japan to go fishing ... for space debris
- Laser eyed to remove space junk from orbit
- NASA says it's stretched too thin to fight debris
- Europe creating a space-debris tracker of its own
Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page or following @b0yle on Twitter. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," Alan's book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.
Leave a Comment:
We saw how good a fence worked on our sothern borders :) All the junk is still getting though
You're Native American, right?
Because if you're not, I know people who'd lump you in with that "junk."
The U.S. has a laser system. Why can't it be fine tuned to blast the space junk out of orbit back to earth or vaporize the junk? That is something that appears more feasible. Just have the techies, sitting there zapping the material according to a computer and knock it out of orbit. Just another falling star. Or is that too much common sense?
Would you like to try shooting skeet, moving at 25,000 MPH while blindfolded?
The simple matter here is that we simply don't know what is where at any given time. This system will help us see the potential threats, and counter them.
The goal here isn't to clean up space, it's to allow us to dodge figurative (and literal) bullets, while the debris reenters the atmosphere naturally and burns up.
Also, the laser system is purely experimental at this point, and lacks the range to be effective against space debris. Though it is true that the US has a kinetic kill vehicle for anti satellite sorties, that system would prove ineffective against minuscule debris.
Oh I wasn't aware I could actually reply to your specific comment, I suppose I can repost this then so it gives you a notification. In anycase I was saying I happen to be a scientist, more specifically a physicist, I deal with particle physics and astrophysics. I'm currently at a Naval Research Facility at Sub-base bangor, the Plasma Physics Division and I can tell you right now the laser system is actually very well fortuitous, however it would take a lot of energy to blast every piece of space junk we encounter, it just wouldn't be worth it. The space fence seems to quite the idea. Oh and there are some laser systems that are still in experimental stages but there is also several laser systems with enough power and range to easily target space junk. If you think a laser lacks the range to hit space debris you're sadly mistaken. Lasers travel at C (186,000 mp/s) for one and for two, even though lasers are still subject to the usual optical laws governing diffraction, the high-quality ones can approach their theoretical minimum divergence, which is proportional to their wavelength, in other words the high quality lasers can reach very far ranges depending on its input power and output power.
The biggest problem is that a lot of the space debris that is potentially dangerous is no more than an inch long. You'd have to have some pretty dang accurate targeting systems to hit an inch wide target moving at 25,000 mph... not saying it can't be done, but this Space Fence system would definitely help out with the targeting.
There's hundreds of thousands of pieces of crap up there...
most seem to be locked in orbit and aren't reentering the atmosphere anytime soon...
I think a better solution might be a sort of automated space janitor...
Something that can travel around, and with magnetism, attract those tiny pieces,
and then aim them at the atmosphere, and reverse magnetic polarity, giving them a nudge downwards...
If you have several of these space janitors up there, they can work together on the larger pieces...
and little by little, one by one, it gets cleaned up.
That's my 2 cents anyway....
NASA should "cast a net" and collect our space junk and bring it home and sell it. From nuts and screws to whatever is floating around up there... (as long as it is safe). Just think of the money they could bring in from space debris trinkets. Quite a few people would buy something as long as they do not over price the "junk" .
Yeah, Space Net is a misnomer, if all it does is keep track of it all. It needs to be cleared out!
Actually, st the altitudes we're talking about, there is enough atmospheric resistance to slowly deorbit most of this junk in the next couple of decades.
This net just allows us to remain in one piece while that happens.
Imagine how long it would take you to drag a net around the surface of the earth, now imagine that the surface is 60% larger, and you would also have to go up and down vertically about 40 miles for every inch you were dragging that net. Now hopefully you have a better visual about why a real net won't work. Space is vast. It's hard to remember just how big it really is just around our little globe.
Also imagine trying to catch an object moving faster than a bullet in a near dragless environment (remember Newtons laws of motion). Each and every object you try to catch adds energy to the catching device which would have to be countered. Another problem is that the object are moving in different directions in true 3D space, This is not a movie studio up there,
They need a Tholian web
Polititians included?
We need one hell of a net.
wish i could buy a space trash truck. I'd go in the salvage business
a lot of the threatening debris is small stuff, it'd probably take you a while to fill that truck.
@Carl
There ya go. See? Now that the private sector is taking over space exploration, you may be one of the first SSEs (Space Sanitation Engineer).
I said it last week, the next major upgrade to the ISS might as well be a self defense system. Phasor array, or a good laser array at worst, toss in a gunners chair and unlimited comms to this new radar system and then for rest and relaxation the astronauts could go play "x-box" on the upper deck.....goal, total reduction of the debris field. A kind of asteroids, in real time with real lasers....that's only the funny part, rather, an automated system would constantly be blasting approaching micro meteorites, and hooked into this new radar system, the computer would make short work of the debris field...off the cuff, two years and the warnings become what they once were,natural anomolies drifting in from space. Total cost to the u.s taxpayer...billions and billions, total cost to the russian taxpayer, not much, an old co2 industial laser repacked for space and a celestron simple telescope tracker, hacked x-box maybe......great, sorry about that guys, now some commitee read the post, wants seperate impact statements from five agencies, a revised estimate on assumed expenditures for a dozen departments and cost benefit analysis by another 15 commitees (who will surely start their own inquiry..adding to the exponotational cost)....all that, just so if they are asked why they did not think of it, they can say, in all honesty, they did, and show how they spent a billion to prove spending a billion may or may not work.......??wtf??
All space-faring countries who are responsible for putting the debris in orbit are responsible for safeguarding their equipment and the lives of their space-farers. The only solution to the problem is an international treaty establishing a shared space junk collection system, because we sure can't leave it all up there. Ultimately people will be killed, and missions have better things to do than dodge floaters all the time. Rudy is right---it's probably a gold mine for the nations who bring stuff back and sell it. So.... when do we start?
Yes, an international treaty regarding space emissions would be wonderful, however, removing the trash is impossible.
No spacecraft can safely retrieve the debris, in a safe, efficient manner.
It would be far better to simply wait ten years for the debris to deoorbit normally.
There's really no practical or economic way to remove the space junk. It's about as unrealistic a plan as trying to clean up all of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
Most of it will slowly de-orbit from the slight amount of drag in the outer atmosphere. Even ISS experiences this.
There really just needs to be an international treaty on vehicle/satellite design in order to minimize adding more to the space junk problem. Things such as restricting the use of exploding bolts to a certain altitude. A ban on pretty much all paints because they eventually flake off after so many heating and freezing cycles. Things of that nature.
GendoIkari - yeah that would be ideal. Would need to have some real consequences for anyone found breaking those agreements though... China comes to mind as someone we would have trouble with on that.
We just have to get them to understand that over the long run it's in their own best interests as it is for everyone else.
Reminds me of early fictional writings of William Gibson, in particular his past-tense references to a character named "3-Jane." Apparently, Lady 3-Jane, along with a lot of other wealthy Libertarian types, got fed up with Earthly restrictions and decided to live aloft in orbiting Space-Mansions. Ah, decadence. "Space-junk," indeed! I do not recall ever reading anything by Gibson in which 3-Jane was a living character, but she is mentioned here and there as part of the common lore of which other characters are aware.
Much of the junk is worthless screws, hunks of metal, waste from previous missions - worth little. A few things could be retrieved but the cost would be billions of $$ as you would have to catch each piece by getting close at the same speed then retrieving it without being struck by it. Like finding a needle in a hay stack blind folded and rolling in it with the needle darting around at 17,000 mph. Much of it will eventually return to the atmosphere and burn up. So the best solution is to make a treaty and STOP poluting the space around our planet.
I think it was Asimov but likely may have been someone else who wrote about a giant cascading catastrophe where one peice of junk destroyed a satellite/space station and other satellites started being hit and breaking up leading to more junk. So we ended up with concentric rings of junk preventing us from traveling off our planet for fear of being hit and total loss of use of satellite technology. This is unlikely with just the US and Russia but with Iran, China and others launching garbage into and destroying stuff in space it could be a real possibility 50 yrs from now.
Would a large magnet help?
Unfortunately, most aerospace materials are non ferrous composites.
We still have to tackle the space junk menace under the same assumption that we can easily predict and manipulate the environment, just like we have, ahem...mastered down here.
How much money do we need for this again?
Maybe we could motivate the faux-"Artist" Christo to wrap the space junk in sheets of plastic, so as to lessen the environmental impact.
Call me crazy ...gather it up in a solar space net. Pack it into a rocket(s) and shoot it towards the sun. Get all parties with junk up there to foot the bill. I can think of a couple more flights for the space shuttle now!
Ever try to catch a Twinkie, at 20,000 miles per hour?
If they can catch the Hubble telescope the size of a bus at 25,000lbs going 17,500mph..they can catch most up there then..just to much now floating around. Best bet like another poster said..invent a laser to vaporize it.
Yeah, the hubble is the size of a Bus, that's easy to find and target. Most of the debris are the size of nuts and bolts, and this is the stuff that is still extremely dangerous to space craft and stations. You're simply failing to comprehend the scale of distance up there. Dangerous bolt A is probably a good 1000 miles apart (probably more though) from dangerous nut B.
just keep it up there for years and let it collect slowly and clean it out every few months or yearly
unbelievable. we've managed to pollute our earth, our oceans and now...we've managed to pollute SPACE? to the point of junk almost colliding with astronauts? this clinches it...human beings suck.
If we vaporize them with lasers the vapor will condense on the space station's windows and they wont be able to take pictures :)
About time you cleaned up your mess.
Use something like the Podkletnov gravity pulse generator to deorbit the stuff:
". . . at a higher discharge voltage, of around 10 million volts, the gravity wave pulse became so strong that it was able to substantially dent a 1-inch thick steel plate and punch a 4-inch diameter hole through a concrete block! . . . Podkletnov also disclosed that his improved pulse generator exhibited increased thrust power even when energized with 5 million-volt pulses. "
See scripturalphysics.org/4v4a/ADVPROP.html#3-30-11_Update
These pulses can be aimed from Earth with high precision and can traverse a vacuum. They can be used to deorbit (rather than destroy) space junk.
yeah, but what's the range on that thing? Also, how tightly can you focus the grav wave? Wouldn't want to accidentally pull down satellites as well, heheh.
-edit- Read the link you provided, it mentioned the beam should theoretically be infinite... but as this stuff is kind of on the fringe of science, we can't be sure if that is accurate or not. Very interesting either way though, I'll be keeping my eye out for more news on this :-)
@Macgruber Actually I happen to be a scientist, more specifically a physicist, I deal with particle physics and astrophysics. I'm currently at a Naval Research Facility at Sub-base bangor, the Plasma Physics Division and I can tell you right now the laser system is actually very well fortuitous, however it would take a lot of energy to blast every piece of space junk we encounter, it just wouldn't be worth it. The space fence seems to quite the idea. Oh and there are some laser systems that are still in experimental stages but there is also several laser systems with enough power and range to easily target space junk. If you think a laser lacks the range to hit space debris you're sadly mistaken. Lasers travel at C (186,000 mp/s) range is NOT a problem at all.
I nominate YOU to fund and complete this mission!
A drop of water at the speed of the trash is going it will go right through the ISS.....
Most orbital debris orbits in the same general direction in orbital space, so the potential collision speed is not as extreme as most people imagine most of the time. But serious collisions can still take place which can puncture the thin walls and storage tanks of orbital vehicles, not to mention seriously damage sensitive equipment and fragile solar panels. - RC
Rick you might be right but I for one would not like to be the one in the ISS to find out, thank you, thank you very much!
Even after the ISS reaches the future limit of its present usefulness in space, it still needs to be kept in orbit as an international orbital junk yard, for the storage and recycling of orbital junk and trash in space. This orbital space junk and trash is potentially worth its weight in gold given the cost of putting it into orbit in the first place. Even properly configured and recycled space trash has tremendous value as throw mass in advanced space propulsion systems of the future. It should be possible to remotely operate this orbital junk yard using robotics remotely controlled from here on Earth. I hope we can begin making plans to do this now, after all it did cost $100 billion to build the ISS. - Rick Carter
PS - It could also serve as a temporary emergency habitat in space for astronauts and cosmonauts of the future.
That's an interesting idea for sure. I would definitely like to see future space stations we put up be made a lot more modular. We need to be able to put up a shell and then fill the shell with the tech we have at the time, with the option to upgrade as new stuff comes along. This way the shell of the station will remain useful for quite a while. Of course, Bigelow Aerospace already has the most promising designs I've seen. If they can stick to their schedule, their first space station will have double the crew capacity of the ISS for a fraction of the costs and build time.
In a perverse sort of way this problem could be a sick, ironic epitaph for the entire human race. "Astronauts killed by man polluting space" on the Macro scale "Human race (and all life on Earth) wiped out by man made pollution". There is a major lesson here if we wern't so hell bent on self destruction. We deserve to take ourselves out but the least we could do is leave the cockroaches alive so something can repopulate the Big Blue Marble.
That's the job they chose so let them dodge the debris- the Earth won't be demolished any time soon by some pollution we couldn't have avoided (most of us, anyway).
I am hoping we can use fairly inexpensive (recyclable or reusable) sounding rockets to begin knocking down a lot of this dangerous orbital space debris in the future, once we finally have this advanced radar system in operation which can accurately guide these sounding rockets to their interception points in orbital space. - RC
(All we need to do is release a cloud of steam or similar vapor into the path of this orbital space debris in order to bring it down. That's what I call real "skunkworks".) - RC
PS - I would use a perforated whiffle ball design myself, which would use a chemical charge to vaporize and disperse this vapor cloud in an omni directional way. - RC
A few nukes should do the trick.
I'm intrigued by the last line: "But when you consider that the space station alone is a $100 billion-plus investment that needs to last until at least 2020 ..."
The ISS needs to last until 2020? To do what, exactly? It's just an exercise in flagpole-sitting, with no scientific benefit. There isn't much about near-Earth orbit we don't already know. It should be brought down in the Pacific quickly, before it adds to the space junk problem.
We really do need our satellites, which serve real functions, unlike the ISS. At this point, the ISS is an ongoing threat to those satellites - if it's broken up by a collision with other space junk, it will add enormously to the problem.
That $100 billion figure is especially depressing. Just think how much real science could have been accomplished by using those funds for interplanetary robotic missions or space-based telescopes.
Early, I liken the ISS to a huge tower with a red light at the top to warn aircraft of its presence. The purpose of the tower of course is to hold the light up. Otherwise how could we warn away the aircraft?
The fact that ISS cost $100 billion or so.... is irrelevant. It doesn't even pay for its maintenance costs and produces little science of value. I agree it should be deorbited before it trashes space even more.
Regards....
Not much of a solution to the problem. They must develop a way to gather the junk that is already up there. This is also a good way to recycle, as much of those satellites use very rare and expensive minerals. They must also develop rockets etc that firstly, don't release little bits of "stuff" into space, but also come back down to earth (like the shuttle tank and rockets).
Well, so much for deficit reduction. Now we are going to pay for a "Space Fence" in addition to new wars in Pakistan, Libya and who knows where else our current President decides to go. I can't wait till the riots that occured in Greece come to Washington, DC.
If you want a far-fetched idea, how about a bunch of "WALL-E" like solar-powered, ion propelled, little garbage collectors. They could locate the debris, and propel into the atmosphere. Sure it might take awhile, and we don't have the technology to do it, but it's a nice far-fetched idea, and WALL-E is cute.