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Orbital disturbances cause signals that can be detected from Earth, a new study has found.
Garbage disposal it’s a growing problem. As of November 2023, the global space network is tracking about 35,610 pieces of space debris larger than 4 inches (10 centimeters), according to the European Space Agency (ESA). These are old satellites, used rocket stages and parts that were created in successive collisions and explosions.
These observations are only the tip of the iceberg, however. About a million particles between 0.4 inches and 4 inches (1 to 10 centimeters) in size are believed to be scattered around. World at high speeds. The average particle size per orbit is less than 0.4 inches, which is 130 million, according to the ESA. These particles are largely invisible to current debris detection methods, such as ground-based radar and visual inspection. But they still have the power to destroy or seriously damage the movement satellite when they hit them.
A new method designed by researchers from the University of Michigan can help solve the problem.
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Using computer simulations, the researchers found that when two objects collide at rotational speed — speeds that can reach 20,000 mph (30,000 kph) — they produce the electric pulse that can be seen through the surface of the earth.
The space is large, so despite the mess up there, things don’t get too crowded. When there is a smashup, the small particles produced are electrically charged. Whenever two of these charged particles come close to each other, a visible spark is produced. Researchers compare this effect to static electricity produced by rubbing certain types of material against each other, such as a balloon in your hair.
Researchers admit that these symptoms are short and weak. However, they think that with some additional work, the method can help to check the invisible, but dangerous, small pieces of space debris that are orbiting around our planet.
“Currently, we detect space debris by looking for light reflectors or radar signals,” said Nilton Renno, a professor of climate, space science and engineering. aerospace at the University of Michigan and the principal investigator behind the new study. in a statement. “The smaller the objects, the harder it is to get sunlight or strong radar signals to detect them from the ground.”
The team’s experimental work suggests that the nature of the signal emitted by charged particles depends on the do what and how fast the accident happens. Receiving weak signals may be obscured by electrical noise caused by detection antennas. Also, signals that are too weak may not be passed Earth’s atmosphere. But researchers think the method could eventually detect debris as small as 0.04 inches (1 mm).
The team plans to run more computer simulations and compare their results with real signals measured by NASA General Accessa global network of antennas that help the US space agency communicate with its space exploration missions.
They hope that the nature of the signs can reveal more about the waste than just their condition. Researchers think they may be able to deduce the shape and position of a part from measurements.
“We want to know if something is hard or soft, because that will affect how it spins and how it’s affected,” Akhavan-Tafti said.
The increase in space debris is a major concern for the space community. The amount of debris in orbit is increasing, but so is the number of operational satellites. The risk of accidents is increasing. Researchers are afraid that even a few extremes of the emergency can lead to an uncontrollable condition called Kessler Syndrome. Predicted at the end of the 1970s by the NASA physicist Donald Kessler, the disease is an unstoppable crisis of collisions in which every new crisis produces parts that threaten other spaceships. The disease is only left when there are no major factors left to destroy.
The research presented at the Second International Orbital Debris Conference in Sugar Land, Texas, on Tuesday (Dec. 5).