Space Debris Accumulating, Report Says

[leftchick]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060120/ap_on_sc/space_junk

WASHINGTON - More than 9,000 pieces of space debris are orbiting the Earth, a hazard that can only be expected to get worse in the next few years. And currently there's no workable and economic way to clean up the mess.

The pieces of space junk measuring 4 inches or more total some 5,500 tons, according to a report by NASA scientists J.-C. Liou and N. L. Johnson in Friday's issue of the journal Science.

Even if space launches were halted now — which will not happen — the collection of debris would continue growing as items already in orbit collide and break into more pieces, Liou said in a telephone interview.

"On the other hand, we are not claiming the sky is falling," he said, "We just need to understand what the risks are."

The most debris-crowded area is between 550 miles and 625 miles above the Earth, Liou said, meaning the risk is less for manned spaceflight. The International Space Station operates at about 250 miles altitude, and Space Shuttle flights tend to range between 250 miles and 375 miles, he said.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

1. Waste Management will need to put wings on their trucks pretty

soon.... isn't there anything we as a species cannot muck up???

[SledDriver]

2. If some of that debris takes out a satellite or two...

it could start a chain reaction, sending more little pieces of debris out which will take out more satellites. Pretty soon they'll all be reduced to dust in a nice ring around the earth. That's big time bad news, considering how dependent we've become on them...

[Kagemusha]

5. You people aren't reading the article.

The debris is a lot smaller and lighter than a space shuttle or intact orbital satellites. The basic physics of centrifugal force dictate that the debris will orbit the Earth further out than the satellites. Therefore, your dust ring, if it ever occured, would exist WELL BEYOND the orbit of satellites. Just because the stuff's all orbiting does not mean it's orbiting in the same part of space!

So a chain reaction would only be a temporary threat because the smaller fragments would drift out towards a stable orbit FURTHER OUT. Why? Because gravity affects them less than centrifugal force until they're further out. If the moon was lighter than it currently is, it would orbit at a longer distance.

I'm not saying space junk is a good thing, mind you.

[no_hypocrisy]

3. If there were enough space debris, it would be a matter of time before

a piece would collide with the space shuttle, rendering it beyond repair and jeopardizing its ability to return to earth or to allow its crew to perhaps survive.

[Dover]

4. As Above So Below

Sure why not..........a big dumping ground just like our oceans.