Innovations Archives - Space Waste Solutions

NASA’s planet- junk hunting Spacecraft

March 19, 2018

NASA’s Kepler spacecraft has been in orbit of the Earth for nine years. In that time, it’s well exceeded its original 3.5-year mission and has pinpointed over 4,500 exoplanets and candidates. It’s a little bit heartbreaking (though not unexpected), then, that NASA revealed that the spacecraft is on its last legs. Kepler will run out of fuel in the next few months and will soon be dead in space.

Kepler was originally designed to launch with a partially filled fuel tank, which would allow it to operate for a maximum of six years. However, when engineers weighed it before sending it into space, they found that it was actually below the weight threshold. They then proceeded to fully fill Kepler’s fuel tank, which is what has allowed the spacecraft to operate for so long.

Because Kepler is in an orbit around the Sun (which was necessary for its planet hunting), it can’t be refueled. While the craft is equipped with solar panels, those only power the electronics on Kepler. Its thrusters, which help it maintain the proper orientation, allow it to maneuver and orient its transmitters to submit data to Earth, are fuel-powered. Once fuel on the spacecraft runs out, NASA will shut down communications, and Kepler will be just another piece of space junk.

Don’t despair, though. Kepler’s successor, TESS (the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) is scheduled to launch on April 16th. It will continue its predecessor’s work, searching for exoplanets to add to our database.

The Aerospace Corp & Orbital Space Debris

September 25, 2017

El Segundo’s Aerospace Corp., increasingly becoming a leader in reducing orbiting space junk, led a Capitol Hill briefing on the subject this week. (Credit: Aerospace Corp.)

When blackened tanks from a Hawthorne-made SpaceX Falcon 9 second-stage rocket accidentally rained down onto an Indonesian island last year, the nation got a palpable encounter with a problem known as “space junk.”

Luckily, the rocket-propellant tanks that survived the white-hot burn of the Earth’s outer atmosphere didn’t hit any people or animals, even though one landed on a farm.

But the incident highlighted an increasingly worrying issue in the aerospace community: There is no global agreement to prevent and clean up debris left behind in orbit.

The Aerospace Corp., a nonprofit research-and-development firm in El Segundo, urged White House officials to seek an international data-sharing agreement to monitor orbiting human trash, during a Thursday Capitol Hill briefing the firm led on the matter in Washington, D.C.

“As Congress grapples with a thorny issue like this, having access to unbiased objective research is going to be important,” said Jamie Morin, executive director of Aerospace Corp.’s Center for Space Policy and Strategy.

“There’s a major transition going on in the space economy. We have a whole host of new players coming in — new countries, new companies, and completely new business models, some of which are going to dramatically increase the number of objects in orbit.”

SOURCE: http://www.dailybreeze.com/business/20170922/how-el-segundos-aerospace-corp-is-working-to-prevent-space-junk-collisions

Space Debris

April 15, 2014

Since the birth of the space race in 1955 humanity has literally launched thousands of objects into orbit around the earth, all have limited lifespans. Everything from satellites used for communications, mapping, weather forecasting, and global positioning (GPS) tracking on earth to the booster rockets used to launch spacecraft from the hold of earth’s gravity. The amount of debris orbiting the Earth from both government and commercial sources is startling. The US Space Surveillance Network reported in 2012 that there could be as many as 750,000 orbiting objects larger than 0.4 inches (1 cm). With these objects traveling at orbital speeds of approximately 15,200 mph, it is easy to understand the catastrophic results that could occur from these objects impacting satellites or spacecraft.

An Expanding Problem

According to a 2011 report from the National Research Council, “Derelict satellites, equipment and other debris orbiting Earth (aka space junk) have been accumulating for many decades and could damage or even possibly destroy satellites and human spacecraft if they collide.” Left unchecked, this problem will exponentially grow as space debris collides with functioning satellites and only add to the challenge. While some space trash falls out of orbit and incinerates during re-entry into the earth’s atmosphere, there have been many examples in recent years of these objects making impact with the ground or falling into the world’s oceans. Compounding this problem is the fact that many of these objects contain toxic or hazardous materials. Waiting and hoping is simply not a sustainable way forward to deal with the growing problem of space waste.

Now Is The Time To Respond

As development in commercial spaceflight and exploration shifts to the private sector, now is the time to focus on mitigating this expanding problem and to develop strategies that will support future opportunities. A perfect starting point for seeking solutions to space waste issues is the earth-bound waste management and recycling industry. Looking to industry leaders and pioneers from this arena can greatly shorten the space waste management learning curve. It also allows opportunities for creative applications of industry standards to the unique challenges operating in space will present. Building on the wealth of knowledge and years of experience found within the existing waste management and recycling industry is a smart and timely move.

This is an exciting time of innovation and creative approaches that will lay the foundation for future growth.

(Photo Credit: NASA via Flickr)

Space Tourism – A Waste Problem Waiting to Happen

April 15, 2014

Imagine waking up on vacation in zero gravity. You float over to the window and look out on your view of the Earth just as the Sun peeks over the horizon. It’s almost impossible to pull yourself away from the breathtaking view but the knock on your door must be answered. Room service has arrived with your breakfast and it’s time to make the most of your vacation in this orbiting space hotel. With the advances made in recent years by commercial spaceflight companies, this future may be closer to reality than you think.

Emergence of Commercial Spaceflight

Virgin Galactic, the American-based and British-owned commercial spaceflight company, in partnership with other privately funded companies have made major advances towards commercial space exploration in recent years…and they are not the only ones. Many private sector ventures have sprung up in the shadow of the US government funded manned space shuttle program. These companies are spearheading the future of space travel and galactic exploration but there are some basic necessities that must not be overlooked.

Applying Lessons Learned on Earth

While many of the needs of a hotel orbiting in space are undoubtedly going to be different than a hotel on Earth, one thing must be planned for no matter the location–waste management. Every inhabited building, hotel, home, space station, etc must properly plan for the sanitary handling and disposal waste. Types of waste to consider might be both human and material in nature. Taking our imagined space hotel as an example, there would be the expected human and food waste but what about when the time comes to remodel? What is the plan for disposing of the old lighting, furniture, building materials, etc? Are they simply ejected into orbit to join the over 23,000 existing pieces of space junk already cluttering the heavens? Can the waste be incinerated or recycled on location? Is it collected and transported back to Earth for proper disposal?

No matter the answers, now is the time to ask the questions. Developing space waste solutions for the emerging space tourism industry will make your Earth orbiting hotel stay much more enjoyable in the future.

(Photo Credit: NASA)