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UserRemoved1 · 01-19-2007, 09:42 AM

THIS has some VERY serious implications...

China anti-satellite test sparks space junk outcry

Jan 19 6:16 AM US/Eastern

China's test of an anti-satellite weapon has sparked concerns that the trial had caused dangerous debris to scatter into orbit, potentially threatening commercial and military satellites of other nations.

The website space.com, quoting sources that it did not identify, said the January 1 strike against the old Chinese weather satellite had caused it to smash up into "hundreds of pieces, fluttering through low Earth orbit."

"The mess of space junk does put other satellites, including the International Space Station, at some risk," space.com's Leonard David said, adding though that the chances of a strike were "very small."

The main repercussion of the Chinese test has been fears of an arms race in space -- but debris is another big source of concern.

The space age reaches 50 years on October 4 this year -- the anniversary of the launch of the Soviet satellite Sputnik -- and there are hundreds of thousands of pieces whirling in orbit, the result mainly of exploded rocket stages and broken-up satellites.

David Wright, co-director of the Global Security Programme at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), a US private advocacy group, said the satellite that was destroyed had a mass of 750 kilogrammes (1,650 pounds) and was orbiting at an altitude of 850 kilometers (520 miles).

Many commercial, military and navigational satellites orbit in the region of 900 kilometers (560 miles), he said. The maximum altitude of the International Space Station is around 450 kilometers (280 miles).

"The collision would be expected to completely fragment the satellite into millions of pieces of debris -- nearly 800 debris fragments of size 10 centimeters (four inches) or larger, nearly 40,000 debris fragments with size between one and 10 centimeters (half to four inches) and some two million fragments of size one millimeter (0.04 inch) or larger," said Wright.

"At the very high speeds these debris particles would have, particles as small as one millimeter (0.04 inch) can be very destructive."

Most satellites do not carry sufficient shielding for even tiny particles like this, and in any case shielding is ineffective against any debris larger than about one centimetre (half an inch) in size," said Wright in a statement.

The orbital region "is very heavily used by satellites for both civil and military uses, which are threatened by the added debris," he warned

Among those who voiced fears was Australia, which said on Friday that, in addition to worries about the militarisation of space, "we're concerned about the impact that debris from destroyed satellites could have on other satellites, which are very expensive pieces of equipment."

The danger from debris comes from the enormous speeds at which they travel, which means even very small pieces impact with high energy.

01-19-2007, 09:42 AM	#4
UserRemoved1 Permanently Disconnected iTrader: (-9) Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 12,647	THIS has some VERY serious implications... China anti-satellite test sparks space junk outcry Jan 19 6:16 AM US/Eastern China's test of an anti-satellite weapon has sparked concerns that the trial had caused dangerous debris to scatter into orbit, potentially threatening commercial and military satellites of other nations. The website space.com, quoting sources that it did not identify, said the January 1 strike against the old Chinese weather satellite had caused it to smash up into "hundreds of pieces, fluttering through low Earth orbit." "The mess of space junk does put other satellites, including the International Space Station, at some risk," space.com's Leonard David said, adding though that the chances of a strike were "very small." The main repercussion of the Chinese test has been fears of an arms race in space -- but debris is another big source of concern. The space age reaches 50 years on October 4 this year -- the anniversary of the launch of the Soviet satellite Sputnik -- and there are hundreds of thousands of pieces whirling in orbit, the result mainly of exploded rocket stages and broken-up satellites. David Wright, co-director of the Global Security Programme at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), a US private advocacy group, said the satellite that was destroyed had a mass of 750 kilogrammes (1,650 pounds) and was orbiting at an altitude of 850 kilometers (520 miles). Many commercial, military and navigational satellites orbit in the region of 900 kilometers (560 miles), he said. The maximum altitude of the International Space Station is around 450 kilometers (280 miles). "The collision would be expected to completely fragment the satellite into millions of pieces of debris -- nearly 800 debris fragments of size 10 centimeters (four inches) or larger, nearly 40,000 debris fragments with size between one and 10 centimeters (half to four inches) and some two million fragments of size one millimeter (0.04 inch) or larger," said Wright. "At the very high speeds these debris particles would have, particles as small as one millimeter (0.04 inch) can be very destructive." Most satellites do not carry sufficient shielding for even tiny particles like this, and in any case shielding is ineffective against any debris larger than about one centimetre (half an inch) in size," said Wright in a statement. The orbital region "is very heavily used by satellites for both civil and military uses, which are threatened by the added debris," he warned Among those who voiced fears was Australia, which said on Friday that, in addition to worries about the militarisation of space, "we're concerned about the impact that debris from destroyed satellites could have on other satellites, which are very expensive pieces of equipment." The danger from debris comes from the enormous speeds at which they travel, which means even very small pieces impact with high energy.