Low Earth orbit, home to satellites, probes and the International Space Station, is full of debris. On January 27, a rocket stage and a deactivated satellite nearly collided, illustrating the problem of
space debris. In a series of tweets, the company LeoLabs, which specializes in tracking space debris, has
Explain what happened.
Two Russian space debris, an SL-8 rocket stage and the defunct Cosmos 2361 satellite, approached about six meters from each other, with a margin of error of a few tens of meters. LeoLabs says the near miss happened in what it calls a “bad neighborhood,” an area of low Earth orbit where many derelict space objects float.
The ISS has already avoided space debris
«
We have identified this type of collision, between two abandoned massive objects, as the “worst-case scenario” because it is largely beyond our control and would likely cause a ripple effect of dangerous collisions.
»,
add the company. Such a collision could have created thousands of new fragments. More debris increases the chances of future collisions in orbit.
L’ISS, satellites and other functioning spacecraft have the ability to deviate from the path of dangerous objects. L’ISS performs collision avoidance maneuvers if necessary. In particular, it avoided Russian debris at the end of 2022. But out-of-service debris such as the rocket stage and the satellite cannot move away from each other.
This incident is a stark reminder of the growing congestion in low Earth orbit. LeoLabs calls for efforts to reduce and eliminate debris, including investing in recovery programs.
CNET.com article adapted by CNETFrance
Image : Nasa