Space. I’m not talking about the amount of space you have in your dorm room. I’m talking about outside of our atmosphere, where planets orbit the sun and many things are left to be discovered. Venturing to space is a great deal and it takes incredible equipment to get us there. However what happens to the satellites, non functional space crafts, and other gadgets that are no longer being used?They are left to orbit the earth and are known as “Space Debris”.

If you have seen the movie “Gravity” then you have seen what space debris can do.It can collide into other shuttles and satellites and destroy parts or the entire thing. The debris is a threat to the International Space Station and other functioning space shuttles. Lets not forget that debris is also a major threat to the humans working in the ISS and the other space shuttles.

According to NASA, there are more than 500,000 pieces of debris orbiting the earth. NASA tracks all of these pieces so that they can keep track of their whereabouts and make sure they are not headed towards an active/inhibited piece of equipment. NASA also works with the United States Department of Defense, and both work to keep track of all the debris, some as close as 1 yard in the geosynchronous orbit (the orbit in which the debris is in sync with the earth’s time, 24 hours).

NASA has elaborate guidelines and rules as too when evasive maneuvers should be put in place and whether or not a piece of debris is a threat to our equipment and astronauts. Depending on much time mission control has to avoid a collision; sometimes they will actually be able to move the ISS slightly so it is out of the way of the debris. However, when mission control is notified of a piece of debris with less time, they can either close hatches between the modules, or have the people aboard the ISS get into what is called the Soyuz spacecraft, or as NASA calls it, the life boat. In the event of a collision, the crew would be able to leave the spacecraft in the Soyuz.

These “space debris avoidance maneuvers” are in place to make sure that no damage is done and to keep the people in the ISS and space crafts safe. I however, wonder if there is a way to “clean up” the debris in some way. So instead of avoiding it we are taking it out of space, and possibly reusing some of the parts. Instead of just letting it float up in space useless and harmful, we can recycle them. This would then solve the collision problem and keep space excursions safer.

I think that if we could find a way to reduce the amount of space debris and clear space of all the clutter, than that would be a much better solution instead of just avoiding the debris. We are in a technology based world that will be sending many more objects and people into space, the more debris, the harder it will be to avoid it and maneuver giant equipment around. I understand that this is what has to be done now to ensure the safety of the astronauts and space crafts, but I do not think that they are doing it in the best way possible.

Resources:

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/news/orbital_debris.html#.VCh4YitdVuA