Re: Traffic jam in space: USAF Space Command tracking 18,000 - 19,000 objects in Earth orbit.

On Mar 16, 10:04 pm, mg <mgkel...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On Mar 15, 6:46 pm, freeisbest <demeter547op...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

http://features.csmonitor.com/innovation/2009/03/15/close-call-puts-f...

PHOTO: [ Orbital traffic: An artist’s impression of the crowd of
satellites and debris floating in orbits close to Earth, all of which
risk colliding.  (ESA/AP)]

Close call puts focus on traffic jam in space

The International Space Station’s narrow miss last week highlights the
risk of collisions with space junk.
By Peter N. Spotts  |  Staff Writer for The Christian Science Monitor/
March 15, 2009 edition

Reporter Peter N. Spotts talks about the increased risk of objects
colliding in Earth's orbit.

Reporter Peter N. Spotts

Two Space Age surprises – a close encounter between the International
Space Station and a speeding piece of space junk, and an earlier
collision between a US and a Russian satellite – are adding urgency to
the efforts to improve collision alerts and reduce risks from space
debris.

Earlier this month, the US Air Force announced that it is designing a
pilot program to extend a suite of satellite tracking and debris-
related services to include civilian US and foreign satellite
operators. The goal is to help operators reduce the possibility that
their hardware could end up as space junk.

. . .

We're running out of things to pollute. I wonder how far away the
closest, unpolluted, habitable planet is?

I know how you feel. Unfortunately even the very closest
nominally habitable planet is not a trip we can ever undertake; we're
stuck here. And we're stuck with those fun-loving boys whospend the
earth's wealth on tossing their war toys in space:
"For all the junk on orbit, there have only been eight known
collisions between trackable space debris and satellites since
1991..." Isn't that priceless? Only EIGHT known collisions.
.

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