Week24-25: The Literature Research
2020-5-8 / Sunny
Brief: Design an experience that reveals and explores the everyday impact of space satellites
Partner: Alex & Abigail & Evelyn
Through looking up relevant knowledge of satellites, I have developed a strong interest in two aspects of satellites:
1. Use satellites as weaponized equipment;
2. Space junk generated by satellites
satellites as weaponized equipment
Space is part of our daily life here on Earth,” he said. “It can be used for peaceful purposes. But it can also be used aggressively. Satellites can be jammed, hacked or weaponised. Anti-satellite weapons could cripple communications and other services our societies rely on, such as air travel, weather forecasts or banking.
Therefore, in the military aspect, the core of the competition in
space is how to guarantee the security of satellites. To prevent critical
civilian and military communications and navigation systems
(such as GPS) from being destroyed by competitors in future conflicts.
reference
https://media.defense.gov/2019/Jan/16/2002080386/-1/-1/1/190115-F-NV711-0002.PDF
Space junk
Space junk is a useless man-made object orbiting the Earth; Space junk can be as small as pieces of satellite, paint, and dust, or as large as the debris of an entire spacecraft.
Space Problem
what’s the weather like in Earth’s upper atmosphere today? Most of us only care about how the weather feels on the Earth’s surface, but understanding “space weather” is becoming increasingly important. That’s because small changes in space weather can buffet satellites around, increasing the chances of a satellite pile-up.
Currently there are nearly 5,000 satellites revolving around our planet, of which some 2,000 are operational and the remainder are space debris. With orbits between 100 and 1,000km above sea level, the upper atmosphere is now a crowded place. Both the weather down below and changes in the sun’s output influence the upper atmosphere, changing the density of the air. As satellites move through “thicker” and “thinner” air, the change in drag forces alters their orbital track, potentially putting them on a collision path.
The solution
Even if all space launches were halted tomorrow, projections show that the overall orbital debris population will continue to grow, as collisions between items generate fresh debris in a cascade effect,” says Luisa Innocenti, heading ESA’s Clean Space initiative. “We need to develop technologies to avoid creating new debris and removing the debris already up there.
NASA and ESA studies show that the only way to stabilise the orbital environment is to actively remove large debris items.
ClearSpace-1
ClearSpace-1 will be the first space mission to remove an item of debris from orbit, planned for launch in 2025. The mission is being procured as a service contract with a startup-led commercial consortium, to help establish a new market for in-orbit servicing, as well as debris removal.
The ClearSpace-1 ‘chaser’ will be launched into a lower 500-km orbit for commissioning and critical tests before being raised to the target orbit for rendezvous and capture using a quartet of robotic arms under ESA supervision. The combined chaser plus Vespa will then be deorbited to burn up in the atmosphere.
reference
https://eos.org/editor-highlights/space-traffic-management-better-space-weather-forecasts-needed
https://eos.org/research-spotlights/atmospheric-drag-alters-satellite-orbits
https://www.esa.int/Safety_Security/Clean_Space/ESA_commissions_world_s_first_space_debris_removal
Through discussions with the panel members, we have always found the topic of space junk very interesting. Finally, we chose this theme as the direction of the project to continue to improve.
Image showing man-made objects larger than 10 centimeters in Earth orbit as of July 2009. The number of such objects continues to grow, creating a challenge of how to coordinate operation of active satellites to avoid collisions. Research into thermospheric modelling, as advocated by Berger et al. [2020] will enable better assessment of satellite collision risks, and facilitate better planning of satellite maneuvers to avoid collisions. Credit: NASA
