Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Debris Cloud From Chinese ASAT A Menace To Space Lanes
The debris cloud from the recent Chinese anti-satellite (ASAT) missile test has circled the globe, forming what experts declare to be a menace to any craft or satellite in low earth orbit.
(Chinese ASAT debris cloud circles the Earth)
The Chinese ASAT, a ballistic missile tipped with a destructive device, was launched on January 11th, 2007. It destroyed an old weather satellite - the Fengyun-1C spacecraft. As of today, the US military Space Surveillance Network has cataloged or is tracking more than 900 bits of debris from the explosion that are at least ten centimeters in diameter.
However, the total number of objects from this single incident reaches into the tens of thousands. NASA estimates that the number of debris fragments larger than one centimeter exceeds 35,000.
"Any of these debris has the potential for seriously disrupting or terminating the mission of operational spacecraft in low Earth orbit. This satellite breakup represents the most prolific and serious fragmentation in the course of 50 years of space operations,” said NASA’s Nicholas Johnson, Chief Scientist for Orbital Debris at the space agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.
(Space.com: Chinese ASAT Test)
The cloud extends from less than 125 miles to more than 2,292 miles; this range encompasses all of low Earth orbit. Chief Scientist Johnson states that "“This satellite breakup represents the most prolific and serious fragmentation in the course of 50 years of space operations."
According experts quoted in the New York Times today, the Chinese ASAT test brought closer the danger of chain reaction, or cascade, of collision events in which fragments collide with each other, creating even more objects. This would precipitate what has been called the Kessler Syndrome, after Donald J. Kessler, a former head of the orbital debris program at NASA, in which launches from Earth would become impossibly dangerous owing to the risk of collision.
Mr. Kessler frankly calls the syndrome an exaggeration. But there is no doubt that, with a single test, the Chinese government has made near space a more dangerous place for everyone.
Science fiction authors have long been concerned about debris in space. Arthur C. Clarke even proposed a solution: Operation Cleanup.
For two hundred years, satellites of all shapes and sizes, from loose nuts and bolts to entire space villages, had been accumulating in Earth orbit... Three-quarters of this material was abandoned junk, much of it long forgotten. Now it had to be located, and somehow disposed of.Fortunately, the old orbital forts were superbly equipped for this task.
(Read more about Operation Cleanup)
Until orbital forts become available, you might want to read up on these practical solutions to the problem of space debris:
-
- Terminator Tether - EDT Solution To Space Debris Update
- NanoTerminator Prevents Annoying Space Debris Build-Up
Update 09-Feb-2007 I've located the quote from the Jacobi story; read more about space-lanes from the October, 1938 issue of Thrilling Wonder Stories. (End update.)
Update 01-Sep-2026 Read more about expanding clouds of trash in the space lanes - see space rubbish from Deadly Litter by James White, published by Science Fiction Adventures in 1960:
(From 'Deadly Litter' by James White)The individual particles of the material spread, having been given motions tangental to the arc of the steward’s swing. Within seconds the material was spread out over fifty yards, in a matter of hours it might occupy several cubic miles of space, and years later it was still spreading.
End update.
Read more at Space.com: Chinese ASAT Test and Space Junk (NYTimes).
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 2/6/2007)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 2 )
Related News Stories - (" Space Tech ")
SETI Suggests Prospecting The Solar System Without Landing
'From a distance it could resolve the cosmic rays reflected from various substances.' - Philip Nowlan w/D. Calkins, 1929.
Cislunar Space And The Space Lanes of Golden Age Science Fiction
'He had travelled the space-lanes of the solar system for the greater part of his life...' - Edmond Hamilton, 1928.
NASA Moonbase Update
'The dinner was excellent. It was completely vegetarian — grown in specially prepared gardens in this Moon base...' - Jim Vanny, 1931.
The Solar Oberth Slingshot
'And if it doesn’t work,' inquired Lazarus, 'what does that make us? Sunspots?' - Robert Heinlein, 1941.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Prairie Madness - And Space Sickness
'Space-sickness is one of the most unpleasant sensations that a human being can experience. Not all are subject to it...'
Can Stratospheric Aerosol Injection Control The Weather?
'...I saw a nice black heavy-looking cloud sailing by just now, and I can get the electrical machine out in five minutes to draw it down.'
SETI Suggests Prospecting The Solar System Without Landing
'From a distance it could resolve the cosmic rays reflected from various substances.'
Wolfram Alpha Mathematica Predicted by Science Fiction in 1948!
'The answer to the dumb student's prayer.'
Cislunar Space And The Space Lanes of Golden Age Science Fiction
'He had travelled the space-lanes of the solar system for the greater part of his life...'
NASA Moonbase Update
'The dinner was excellent. It was completely vegetarian — grown in specially prepared gardens in this Moon base...'
Neuralink Will Allow Humans To Communicate With ... Animals?
'Telepaths had their sensitiveness enlarged to an immense range by the pin-sets, which were telepathic amplifiers adapted to the mammal mind.'
Special Lights For Driverless Cars!
'That light is actually the Anamorphic Equalizer...'
'Old People Began to Cross The Continent In Their Own Cars'
'It was a relief to enter one of the comfortable autos, whisper a direction down the tube, and just know that you would be taken to your destination in the quickest, safest, and cheapest manner.'
Harrison Bergeron, Illustrated And Practiced
'But he didn't get very far with it before another noise in his ear radio scattered his thoughts. George winced...'
Starfall Manufacturing Drugs In Space
'The vast spinning sphere of Factory in the Sky loomed above and ahead of us, gleaming white against the unfathomable jet depths of surrounding space.'
The Solar Oberth Slingshot
'And if it doesn’t work,' inquired Lazarus, 'what does that make us? Sunspots?'
'Maybe The Woman Of Your Life Is Still Under Production'
'The Dillard people had performed a miracle and put all the works in a girl-modeled case.'
'If Anyone Is Watching Earth...'
'Our study of your race has convinced us that you are not fitted to leave your planet in the present state of your civilization.'
Epirus High-Power Microwave Defeats Drones
'...the spreading beam of the deranging ray struck them, and Then one toppled and fell. Then another.'
Cloud Of Space Rubbish From China's Long March Rocket
'Within seconds the material was spread out over fifty yards, in a matter of hours it might occupy several cubic miles of space...'
