Not only did man pollute the Earth, but he crossed the planet's borders and spread his waste into space! Some may think that considering this as a problem is exaggerated and that we have no direct relationship with space. We only care about the land we live on, and that is enough! But when we know how dangerous it is, we will realize how space waste constitutes a real disaster.
What is space waste?
They are the material objects that resulted or were left over from the launch of missiles or satellites into space and were left to continue their orbit around the Earth. They may be of huge sizes, such as the satellites themselves that failed or their missions ended, or parts of rockets that separated after launching from the Earth. Small pieces, such as paint stains that fell off rockets, etc.
These wastes began to appear with the beginning of the era of space exploration in the 1950s, when from then until now thousands of rockets and satellites have been launched without taking into account what might result from that.
To what extent has space waste reached?
As we speak, there are nearly 3,000 defunct satellites polluting Earth's orbits. Not only that, but there are more than 34,000 pieces of space debris larger than 10 centimeters in size, along with millions of smaller pieces swimming non-stop around the Earth.
Why do we consider the presence of these wastes to be potentially dangerous?
Do you remember science fiction movies in which spacecraft maneuver and try to navigate their way through small stones that come across? This perception is what frightens scientists and makes them consider waste a real problem. Increasing the percentage of space waste hinders the movement of effective satellites orbiting around the Earth, as well as the movement of the International Space Station inhabited by astronauts. Therefore, they are programmed to perform some maneuvers during their orbit around the Earth to avoid... Colliding with these wastes as much as possible during their journey.
So far, the matter is well controlled to avoid any possible collisions, but despite this, there are a number of accidents that have already been caused by these wastes, and they may increase significantly in the future. In 1996, a French satellite collided with the debris of another French missile that had exploded a full decade ago. Before that incident!
In 2009, a retired Russian spacecraft collided with another American spacecraft, and the collision completely destroyed the latter, resulting in 2,300 other pieces that were added to space waste!
Even the smallest pieces, such as paint splatters, can cause damage to spacecraft when they are traveling at these high speeds. Many of the International Space Station's windows have been replaced due to damage from collided materials that were later analyzed to be paint residue.
Are there effective solutions for removing space debris?
Indeed, the United Nations has appealed to all satellite manufacturers to remove these satellites within 25 years after the end of their work, and therefore many companies are trying to reach practical solutions. Indeed, some of them have come up with new solutions in which the satellites are pulled from their orbit and attracted to the Earth, penetrating the atmosphere and burning most of their parts.
Some of them believe that they can be pulled out using strong magnets or directing laser beams at them to heat them so that the atmosphere can pull them out more easily. The most innovative solution is to collect them in a giant network and then direct them into the atmosphere to complete the combustion process. A team of scientists from the University of Surrey in the United Kingdom is already working. A satellite called the RemoveDEBRIS satellite has already been launched, which is capable of creating a giant network to capture part of the waste around the Earth and then send it into the atmosphere.
It may be that the space waste problem currently as we speak has not yet reached its critical stages, but if things continue as they are, the consequences will not be good in the future! Therefore, many efforts now seek to create effective solutions to it or even avoid it in the first place. Some parties plan for any satellite launched in the future to have a specific plan for what will happen after its work is completed in order to avoid leaving it floating in Earth’s orbits forever.