![]() ![]() While this works well for certain specific orbits at a relatively high altitude, it is impractical and hazardous to start moving the vast majority of satellites around between orbital planes. Some satellites can be moved into a graveyard orbit at the end of their operational life. Other international guidelines regarding debris mitigation and long-term sustainability of space activities set out voluntary standards intended to limit the probability of collisions in space, and minimize the breakup of satellites either during or after their missions. Of course, this legal framework applies only after the damage occurs. However, it is likely to come into play in the future in a more crowded space environment, and with more uncontrolled reentries. The treaty has only been invoked once before ( for the Cosmos 954 incident) and therefore may not be regarded as a powerful disincentive. In the case of the Long March 5B, this would impose potential liability on China. The 1972 Liability Convention, a UN treaty, imposes liability on “launching states” for damage caused by their space objects, which includes an absolute liability regime when they crash to Earth as debris. International law sets out a compensation regime that would apply in many circumstances of damage on Earth, as well as when satellites collide in space. As we send more objects into space, the chances of a calamitous crash-landing will only increase. In 2007, pieces of debris from a Russian satellite narrowly missed a Chilean passenger plane flying between Santiago and Auckland. It was just a quirk of fate that Cosmos 954 did not land on Toronto or Quebec City, where the radioactive fallout would have necessitated a large-scale evacuation. But for anyone falling foul of the extremely long odds, the consequences would be truly disastrous. Of course, more than 70% of Earth is covered by oceans, and only a minuscule fraction of the remaining 30% is covered by your house. Since the late 1970s, pieces of space debris have fallen to Earth regularly and are viewed with increasing concern. Canada billed the Soviet Union more than C$6 million, having spent millions more, but was ultimately paid only C$3 million. The clean-up operation took months but located only a portion of the debris. With the Cold War at its height, the sensitivity of the nuclear technology on board Cosmos 954 led to an unfortunate delay in locating and cleaning up the wreckage, because of the distrust between the Soviet Union and the Canadian/US recovery effort.Ĭhanging altitude of the Long March 5B rocket now in uncontrolled descent back to Earth. Just one year before SkyLab’s demise, a Soviet remote sensing (spy) satellite, Cosmos 954, plummeted into a barren region of Canada’s Northwest Territories, spreading radioactive debris over several hundred square kilometers. Esperance shire council flippantly issued NASA with a fine for littering, and a US radio station later raised enough money to pay the debt.Īlthough there have been no recorded deaths or serious injuries from people being hit by space debris, that’s no reason to think it’s not dangerous. Litter from spaceĪustralia already holds the record in the category of “who can be hit by the biggest piece of space junk.” In 1979, the 77-tonne US space station SkyLab disintegrated over Western Australia, peppering the area around the southern coastal town of Esperance with fragments.Īt the time, the event was met with excitement and a sense of lightheartedness, and many pieces were collected by space enthusiasts. We cannot say with certainty what fate awaits this latest piece of space junk. The incident comes roughly a year after another similar Chinese rocket fell to Earth, landing in the Atlantic Ocean but not before it reportedly left a trail of debris in the African nation of Cote D’Ivoire.Īt the time, experts noted this was one of the largest pieces of human-made debris ever to fall to Earth. ![]() The debris is part of the Long March 5B rocket that recently successfully launched China’s first module for its proposed space station. ![]()
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