The FCC Finally Starts Taking Space Junk Seriously:
[...] A new proposal by the agency [FCC] would implement a five year limit for letting your dead satellite stick around in space:
Currently, a legally non-binding NASA advisory recommends that satellite operators either remove their satellites from orbit immediately post-mission, or leave them in an orbit that will slowly decay and have the satellite entering Earth's atmosphere sometime in a 25 year period.
But leaving this number of defunct satellites in orbit to fall apart over decades is no longer practical given how crowded space is getting [...]:
Defunct satellites, discarded rocket cores, and other debris now fill the space environment creating challenges for future missions. Moreover, there are more than 4,800 satellites currently operating in orbit as of the end of last year, and the vast majority of those are commercial satellites operating at altitudes below 2,000 km—the upper limit for LEO. Many of these were launched in the past two years alone, and projections for future growth suggest that there are many more to come.
Enter the new five year rule, which provides a two-year grandfather period to allow satellite operators to adjust. Satellites that are currently stumbling drunkenly around orbit with no purpose are exempt from the new rule.
Related Stories
Space companies want to remove their junk from orbit - but that's easier said than done:
Every once in a while, a piece of space junk hurtles through the atmosphere and crashes into Earth. Just last month, a 23-ton chunk of space debris fell – safely, thankfully – into the south-central Pacific Ocean. The debris came from the October 31 launch of China's Long March 5B rocket, which has been notorious for its uncontrolled returns to Earth.
[...] "Even though all of outer space might be infinite, where we put satellites are very specific regions," astrodynamicist Moriba Jah tells ZDNET. "They're becoming more congested."
Jah is the chief scientist for Privateer, a recently launched company backed by Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. Privateer's mission is to bring more visibility to our space superhighways, where satellites zoom past one another at 17,000 miles per hour. The company wants to bring that visibility with proprietary knowledge graph technology, which allows it to create visualizations of all the satellites and debris in space. With its data engine, Privateer has created Wayfinder, an open-access tool that lets others in the space economy create the visualizations they need to occupy low-Earth orbit safely.
[...] By letting space get crowded with junk, Jah says, we risk losing the ability to use space for humanity's benefit.
Previously:
- The FCC Finally Starts Taking Space Junk Seriously
- Space Junk Found on Sheep Farm
- Wild Solar Weather is Causing Satellites to Plummet From Orbit. It's Only Going to Get Worse.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 29 2022, @01:32PM (2 children)
Make it illegal to stumbling drunkenly around orbit. SHOOT THEM OUT OF THE SKY. Some collateral damage is acceptable. Begin.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 29 2022, @01:34PM (1 child)
Don't drink and post.
STUMBLE drunkenly around orbit. I have no excuse here except to say that I would like the ability to edit posts that have yet to be moderated. Moderate posts can survive as they are. Thank you all for lishteninginging.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Friday September 30 2022, @02:03AM
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 29 2022, @02:00PM (1 child)
People are always dumping on old winos . . .
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 29 2022, @02:15PM
You must live in San Fransicso [vice.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 29 2022, @04:41PM (1 child)
who died and made them Space Boss ?
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Thursday September 29 2022, @05:18PM
Certainly not Ajit Pai, though I'm sure there were some wishful thoughts by some. Worry not, the new space boss is the head of the Space Force.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"