We Can’t Sweep the Debris Under the Rug

Be honest, we have all been there. Your in-laws or parents are coming over for dinner in just a few hours and you have to get your dwelling that looks like ground zero for a nuclear bomb test in tip-top shape so that you do not have to face an intervention after dinner. After summoning every ounce of energy and willpower you have, you start cleaning and organizing. Not long after getting started, the gravity of the task ahead of you starts to sink in but you notice something. There is this nice rug in the middle of your living room that no one can see under. I wonder how bad it would be if I just swept some stuff under there for right now instead of breaking out the vacuum? There is also this closet in the hallway and in each room. Surely no one will open those so it should be fine to just throw some stuff in there for right now, right? I will come back to it later and fix it. I am sure of it!

Next thing you know, a year passes and your closets are completely unusable and you are terrified to even open them for fear of ruining your entire day. Don’t even mention the rug! You are horrified to pick that thing up for fear of getting a glimpse of the monster that is likely living under it! This can be a deadly, yet all too familiar, cycle that many of us can find ourselves in with various things in our lives. Normally, this is not a fatal flaw or error and does not spell disaster but the same thing cannot be said when dealing with matter as large as Earth’s orbital space.

This is why the topic of today’s newsletter is about the state of Earth’s orbit and how critical it is that we do not fall into the trap of thinking we can sweep the #spacedebris under the rug and it will simply go away. Another common analogy for this type of situation is the saying that bandaids cannot fix bullet wounds, but I cannot say I have as much experience with that scenario as I do the former. There is a wonderful poem written by S. Thuy Nguyen-Onstott and posted on NASA.gov that goes like this:

"The Universe is infinite

But space has its limits

Rockets a launching

Sat’lites are orbiting

Explosions in Space

Oh what a waste

Fragments go flying

And we go crying “Space junk we’ve got” Man-made or not

Then comes Kessler Who knows the better

When things collide

Their debris do multiply

Thanks to partnering

And NASA’s gathering

We look for ways

To manage the spray"

So, before we dive into exactly what is in orbit around Earth and what is being done about it, I want to start by shining a light on the fact that we have made enormous steps recently in solving this problem by acknowledging that it exists and that we cannot ignore it. Debris has been a large topic of conversation recently and a vast majority of individuals across the space industry agree that we need to do something about it. That alone is a massive step in the right direction and something worth acknowledging!

Now, on to the details of what is above our heads. This conversation is focused specifically on LEO, or Low-Earth Orbit, as this is where millions of pieces of debris are located and orbited earth at any given second. What is saddening about this and a clear indicator that fixes this is our responsibility, is that the vast majority of the “space junk” that is in orbit is caused by humans and are pieces of things that we created. It did not get there by coincidence and did not end up there due to something in the universe outside of our control and it will not be fixed without us taking control of the problem. Per NASA, debris in space can move at speeds up to 18,000 miles per hour. The ESA puts the total amount of debris in LEO at roughly 32,560 as of August of this year.?

Now I will clarify that these are large numbers, but this does not mean we are too far gone and that nothing can orbit the Earth without being destroyed by debris. Orbital space is immense and there are thousands of active satellites that are in orbit at this exact moment being used by people like yourself, but this does not mean it is not an enormous problem that needs out attention. It is critical that we do not let it get to the point where nothing can function in LEO without being decimated by debris traveling 6-7 times faster than a bullet. This is was leads me into the next piece of this problem that I want to discuss, the Kessler Syndrome.

This is the name given for the collision of two objects in space that generate large amounts of debris that then collide with other things creating more debris, also known as collisional cascading. I am only going to give a high-level overview of this for those that are not familiar, but please read this article by NASA and other great resources out there if you want to know more details about exactly how this works. Essentially, this explains a snowball affect that happens when collisions occur in orbit. When two objects collide, they do not just hit each other and move on, leaving only the original two objects. Instead, they create thousands of tiny pieces of debris as a result of the collision that can shoot off in different directions and cause future collisions. This can create a disastrous chain reaction that can quickly make LEO unusable due to the exponential amount of debris that is present.

There are various perspectives and thoughts on where we are at relative to this point-of-no-return where debris is being created exponentially and LEO becomes unusable. Some think that we are already reaching that point at certain orbital altitudes where it is most congested, while others think we are rapidly advancing towards that point but not quite there yet. Regardless of where you fall, whether we are there or heading there are both major problems that need to be addressed. This is why we cannot sweep debris under the rug or just assume it will go away eventually. Debris does not go away but, instead, creates more debris that grows up and creates more debris. It is not enough that we simply stop adding to the problem. We must fix the damage we have already done and work to prevent collisional cascading.

This brings us to the final section and the silver lining to all this doom and gloom. There are amazing people and companies out there right now that are actively working to fix our space junk problem and I want to shine a light on exactly who they are and what they are doing. The first company that I want to highlight is a Japanese startup called Astroscale . They are working to solve the problem of orbital debris via offerings such as End of Life (EOL) and Active Debris Removal (ADR) services. They are targeting to being Phase 1 of their project in March of 20223. Another company, known as ClearSpace , is working with the ESA on removal of rocket bodies from orbit and is another pioneer in the debris removal space. These are only a couple of the companies that are hard at work on this and it would take this entire article to go over them all, but it is important to know that there are groups out there working to solve this issue and it is imperative that we support them and highlight their value.

These companies, and the dozens of others, showcase how this is a problem that humanity can, and should, solve. For us to have a bright and sustainable future in space, it is critical that we work to solve this problem today and not wait until LEO is unusable to finally want to work towards a solution. Anyone that works in the product development or software development space knows all too well how much more costly an issue can be the later in the life cycle it is addressed. It may seem like a monumental problem to solve, but it will only get more difficult and more costly with time. As we discussed earlier, debris only creates more debris so the longer we wait the more debris that will be in orbit in need of removal. Lastly, you might be wondering, what can I do? I don’t own or work for any of these debris removal companies. That is okay if you do not and I assure you that you can still have an impact on solving this problem! Just by speaking out, showing your support for the companies working on this, and bringing the problem of orbital debris to the forefront of conversations you take us another step closer to solving it. No country, whether it is the US, UK, or Japan, can solve this alone.?

It is only as a united human race that we can tackle a problem as daunting and massive as orbital debris and succeed.

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Got your own thoughts on the orbital debris problem or ways you think we could solve it? Let me know in the comments!

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