Space Junk!
November 27, 2020 10:19 PM Subscribe
Since 1957, nearly 10,000 satellites have been put into earth orbit. The approximatley 2700 of them still functioning have been joined by another 26,000 catalogued pieces of space debris, along with countless pieces too small to track. There is an ever increasing risk of chain reaction collisions, especially with massive fleets of new communications satellites starting to be launched. (New Yorker)
It looks like humanity just dodged a pretty big space-junk bullet.
It looks like humanity just dodged a pretty big space-junk bullet.
here's a radiolab episode on this! "I'm Lt. Col. Mia Walsh and I'm the Commander of the 18th Space Control Squadron." :P
posted by kliuless at 11:33 PM on November 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by kliuless at 11:33 PM on November 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
FWIW, the 80's TV show "Quark" starring Richard Benjamin as the captain of a garbage-ship-in-space did not age well at all.
posted by mikelieman at 3:43 AM on November 28, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by mikelieman at 3:43 AM on November 28, 2020 [2 favorites]
FWIW, the 2000s Manga (and anime) "Planetes" written by Makoto Yukimura about the crew of a garbage-ship-in-space has aged quite well.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 6:17 AM on November 28, 2020 [10 favorites]
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 6:17 AM on November 28, 2020 [10 favorites]
FWIW, the 80's TV show "Quark" starring Richard Benjamin as the captain of a garbage-ship-in-space did not age well at all.
Indeed, so poorly it didn’t even make it to the eighties. Even as a little kid in 1978, I knew its single abbreviated season (eight episodes!) to be mediocre. Between that and the Star Wars Holiday Special, it was not exactly a banner year for TV SF. I’m surprised Starlog had anything to write about in its tv columns save for decade-old Star Trek reruns.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:27 AM on November 28, 2020 [2 favorites]
Indeed, so poorly it didn’t even make it to the eighties. Even as a little kid in 1978, I knew its single abbreviated season (eight episodes!) to be mediocre. Between that and the Star Wars Holiday Special, it was not exactly a banner year for TV SF. I’m surprised Starlog had anything to write about in its tv columns save for decade-old Star Trek reruns.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:27 AM on November 28, 2020 [2 favorites]
If we don't watch out we'll trap ourselves with trash on a planet that we've trashed. Do better, humans.
posted by SaltySalticid at 9:23 AM on November 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by SaltySalticid at 9:23 AM on November 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
Oh and we'll also destroy our ability to do lots of astronomy. But hey that rich fuck sent a car past Mars or something, yay Space X and the despoiling of public goods for private gain!
posted by SaltySalticid at 9:26 AM on November 28, 2020 [8 favorites]
posted by SaltySalticid at 9:26 AM on November 28, 2020 [8 favorites]
Can't we just send up a big katamari or something?
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 9:37 AM on November 28, 2020 [6 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 9:37 AM on November 28, 2020 [6 favorites]
tangentially related: Space Junk Is Forever, featuring madden "lil' peppa" klass on drums (she toured with mike doughty for his 25th anniversary Ruby Vroom shows).
posted by j_curiouser at 9:45 AM on November 28, 2020
posted by j_curiouser at 9:45 AM on November 28, 2020
But hey that rich fuck sent a car past Mars or something, yay Space X and the despoiling of public goods for private gain!
As someone whose job it is to help get even vaguely usable Internet access to some of Canada's most remote residents - who are often poor, indigenous or both - I just want to gently suggest that if you were easily able to read the links and post this reply on the internet, you might be speaking from a position of considerable privilege on this issue.
The car stunt was ridiculous (and is also not really contributing to the problem since it didn't remain in Earth orbit) but low Earth orbit satellites have a huge potential to bring major benefits to people who live outside cities.
posted by jacquilynne at 10:03 AM on November 28, 2020 [15 favorites]
As someone whose job it is to help get even vaguely usable Internet access to some of Canada's most remote residents - who are often poor, indigenous or both - I just want to gently suggest that if you were easily able to read the links and post this reply on the internet, you might be speaking from a position of considerable privilege on this issue.
The car stunt was ridiculous (and is also not really contributing to the problem since it didn't remain in Earth orbit) but low Earth orbit satellites have a huge potential to bring major benefits to people who live outside cities.
posted by jacquilynne at 10:03 AM on November 28, 2020 [15 favorites]
The good news is that these days, no-one gets a launch license unless they have done the work to minimise orbital debris.
Here's New Zealand's Orbital Debris Mitigation Plan Requirements. They're pretty comprehensive.
(Yes, New Zealand, coz we launched more rockets to orbit last year than any other nation except the US.)
posted by happyinmotion at 10:25 AM on November 28, 2020 [7 favorites]
Here's New Zealand's Orbital Debris Mitigation Plan Requirements. They're pretty comprehensive.
(Yes, New Zealand, coz we launched more rockets to orbit last year than any other nation except the US.)
posted by happyinmotion at 10:25 AM on November 28, 2020 [7 favorites]
Andy Griffith was on this situation back in '79 with the short lived series Salvage 1
posted by BishopFistwick at 11:55 AM on November 28, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by BishopFistwick at 11:55 AM on November 28, 2020 [2 favorites]
If we don't watch out we'll trap ourselves with trash on a planet that we've trashed. Do better, humans.
Don't worry. Once we figure out how to actually make metallic hydrogen work, we'll be able to send up armored rockets!
posted by Fukiyama at 12:03 PM on November 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
Don't worry. Once we figure out how to actually make metallic hydrogen work, we'll be able to send up armored rockets!
posted by Fukiyama at 12:03 PM on November 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
An orbital cascade is a major plot point in The Sky Road by Ken MacLeod.
posted by heatherlogan at 1:41 PM on November 28, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by heatherlogan at 1:41 PM on November 28, 2020 [2 favorites]
1. Too much space junk
2. (Something)
3. (Something)
4. Giant explosion
5. Space:1999
posted by wittgenstein at 4:09 PM on November 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
2. (Something)
3. (Something)
4. Giant explosion
5. Space:1999
posted by wittgenstein at 4:09 PM on November 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
low Earth orbit satellites have a huge potential to bring major benefits to people who live outside cities.
And things which cause all sorts of other kinds of problems also bring major benefits, while despoiling the natural environment in an (as-yet) un-fixable way. Like, for instance, fossil fuels.
Just because something fixes Problem A doesn't mean it is ok to cause Problem B. Especially if there are multiple good ways of fixing Problem A that cause fewer problems / problems that are way less bad than Problem B.
Honestly do we have the technology to do rural broadband? Yes (difficult, expensive, etc, but yes, at least to my knowledge). Do we have the technology to deal with space junk of a number that increases by a huge factor what is up there already in a short period of time? No. Do we have the technology to deal with the negative effects on terrestrial astronomy? No.
posted by cats are weird at 6:08 PM on November 28, 2020 [5 favorites]
And things which cause all sorts of other kinds of problems also bring major benefits, while despoiling the natural environment in an (as-yet) un-fixable way. Like, for instance, fossil fuels.
Just because something fixes Problem A doesn't mean it is ok to cause Problem B. Especially if there are multiple good ways of fixing Problem A that cause fewer problems / problems that are way less bad than Problem B.
Honestly do we have the technology to do rural broadband? Yes (difficult, expensive, etc, but yes, at least to my knowledge). Do we have the technology to deal with space junk of a number that increases by a huge factor what is up there already in a short period of time? No. Do we have the technology to deal with the negative effects on terrestrial astronomy? No.
posted by cats are weird at 6:08 PM on November 28, 2020 [5 favorites]
Of course, there are trade-offs, but that post was flippantly dismissive of the potential benefits of LEOs. They are not simply an Elon Musk ego trip and the involvement of Elon Musk's ego doesn't negate the very real difference that they will make for people in rural and remote areas.
posted by jacquilynne at 6:19 PM on November 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by jacquilynne at 6:19 PM on November 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
I'm not dismissive of the benefits of LEO satellite communications, I am dismissive of the megacorps and billionaires who trash our skies to personally profit. I'm all for carefully planned use of satellites but I want it more heavily regulated and used for the public.
And the Elon Musk/Space X satellite plan (which I linked) is absolutely responsible for harming humanity's ability to do astronomy on Earth, which many of us may also be interested in, as well as rural internet access.
posted by SaltySalticid at 5:47 AM on November 29, 2020 [3 favorites]
And the Elon Musk/Space X satellite plan (which I linked) is absolutely responsible for harming humanity's ability to do astronomy on Earth, which many of us may also be interested in, as well as rural internet access.
posted by SaltySalticid at 5:47 AM on November 29, 2020 [3 favorites]
It's interesting that people seem far more interested in the effect on astronomy than it is for a basic service to trial areas. Oh course when you see the coding for stereotypical astronomer be than of a stereotypical rural person, that's not surprising
posted by happyroach at 11:39 AM on November 29, 2020
posted by happyroach at 11:39 AM on November 29, 2020
This is similar to the argument that we shouldn't raise gasoline taxes because it will hurt poor people. Or that we shouldn't raise gas taxes until we can provide free mass transit for everyone.
There are competing interests and difficult questions of which people and how many people are helped and harmed by these decisions, both in the short term and the long term.
posted by JackFlash at 12:09 PM on November 29, 2020
There are competing interests and difficult questions of which people and how many people are helped and harmed by these decisions, both in the short term and the long term.
posted by JackFlash at 12:09 PM on November 29, 2020
FWIW, the 2000s Manga (and anime) "Planetes" written by Makoto Yukimura about the crew of a garbage-ship-in-space has aged quite well.
Uh, except the ending. Which, admittedly, hasn't so much aged as just been terrible the whole the time.
posted by rhamphorhynchus at 9:25 PM on November 30, 2020
Uh, except the ending. Which, admittedly, hasn't so much aged as just been terrible the whole the time.
posted by rhamphorhynchus at 9:25 PM on November 30, 2020
low Earth orbit satellites have a huge potential to bring major benefits to people who live outside cities
All the more reason to do everything possible to prevent low Earth orbit from becoming an unavoidable destruction derby for satellites!
posted by heatherlogan at 6:32 PM on December 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
All the more reason to do everything possible to prevent low Earth orbit from becoming an unavoidable destruction derby for satellites!
posted by heatherlogan at 6:32 PM on December 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
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posted by clew at 10:31 PM on November 27, 2020 [1 favorite]