Space debris is a persistent problem in low Earth Orbit. This year alone the International Space Station has had to move three times to avoid accidents with the debris flying around the planet at speeds of 18,000 mph.
It’s a big problem that NASA Administration Jim Bridenstine tweeted about back in September, “In the last two weeks, there have been 3 major concerns. Debris is getting worse! ”
Currently, in the Earth’s low orbit, there are millions of pieces of debris that could cause serious trouble with any of them. Even though most of the materials are small they can still do a lot of damage. Because of the speed at which they travel, even paint can pierce a hole in a satellite or in unarmed trades. Enough to cause millions of dollars damage or even loss of life. To make matters worse, every bump creating more debris gives a preventative effect.
Space debris is an ongoing problem that is not getting better.
Kander10 Designs
What is being done?
Currently, most of the debris is monitored by the U.S. Department of Defense. That is the only reason the International Space Station knew it was in danger. In addition, President Trump issued a new National Space Policy in December. This basically means that the U.S. will continue to share information and continue to use high-level rates to contain new debris.
Astroscale, a Japanese company, has captured some debris capturing technology and plans to launch it next March. At that time they will present a presentation to show the world how effectively technology has tackled the problem.
The ESA is creating a plan to recover a 247-pound piece of debris from orbit. Vespa is a payload adapter that has been in orbit since 2013. They have partnered with a Swiss company called ClearSpace USA to build the standard spacecraft.
Unfortunately, that is what is being done right now to solve the problem. It is safe to say that the situation is going to get much worse before it gets better.