India has 103 active or defunct spacecraft and 114 objects categorised as ‘space debris’ in orbit and it has embarked on a research to reduce such fragments from outer space. “Presently, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has taken up research activities to study the feasibility and technologies required to undertake active debris removal (ADR),” … Read more
As per NASA, both the orbital debris and spacecraft travel at speeds of about 15,700 mph in low Earth orbit. (Modeling image: IRAS/TU Braunschweig via ESA) Space Junk: If you are at all interested in the activities happening outside the Earth, you would have heard that recently, that a defunct Chinese satellite nearly collided with … Read more
China successfully launched a new satellite on Sunday to test and verify space debris mitigation technologies. It was launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in southwest China’s Sichuan Province. The satellite, named Shijian-21, was launched by a Long March-3B carrier rocket and it entered the planned orbit successfully. The satellite will be mainly used … Read more
Space debris can take out our military capabilities by hitting reconnaissance satellites or communications satellites. (Source: ESA) By Kazuto Suzuki Space debris travels at the speed of 7.9km/s (28,000km/h). If it hits on satellites, even the smallest debris like nuts and bolts can destroy multi-million-dollar machine in the orbit. It would take out our military … Read more