Spaceflight 🚀#SpaceDebris 🗑️ reentry 🔥 expected between approximately 15:35 CET and 22:25 CET on 📆 8 March https://www.esa.int/Space_Safety/Space_Debris/Reentry_of_International_Space_Station_ISS_batteries_into_Earth_s_atmosphere
#SpaceDebris reentry : The #EU 🇪🇺 #SpaceSurveillance and Tracking confirms that object #ISS DEB (EP BATTERY) decayed within the last estimated re-entry window (2024-03-08 19:13 UTC ±30 minutes) https://www.eusst.eu/newsroom/eu-sst-monitors-reentry-object-issdeb/
"If it is a human-made #SpaceObject which was launched into space 🌌 by another country, which caused damage 💥 on #Earth, that country would be absolutely liable to the homeowner 🏡 for the damage caused." https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/04/trash-from-the-international-space-station-may-have-hit-a-house-in-florida/
A month later, #NASA released a public statement taking responsibility. “The hardware was expected to fully burn up during entry through Earth’s atmosphere” https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-04-16/nasa-says-space-junk-that-crashed-into-florida-home-was-from-iss
#NASA incorrectly believed the batteries would completely burn up. There have been some close calls : a piece of the doomed #SpaceShuttle #Columbia crashing into a Texas dentist's office in 📆 2003, large wreckage from a Chinese 🇨🇳 #LongMarch 5B rocket damaging a village in the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire 🇨🇮, a spate of trunk debris from #SpaceX #CrewDragon missions that have landed in the United States 🇺🇸, Australia 🇦🇺, and elsewhere. https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/06/family-whose-roof-was-damaged-by-space-debris-files-claims-against-nasa/
Ariane 5 upper stages are located mainly in #GTO & just a small delta-v (1,6km/s) is left to reach the #Moon 🌙. Since the debris 🗑️ is picked up in orbit, small propulsion units are sufficient for the remaining transport to the moon. More than 150 tons of #aluminum can be regained ♻️ from #Ariane5 upper stages alone. This saves more than €50 billions 💰 of tax money in transportation costs compared to #SLS or #Ariane6 launchers. https://activities.esa.int/4000132842
A collection of academics from #universities around the world 🌏 propose turning the potential catastrophe into a resource. By 📆 2050, #GatewayEarth – a fully operational #SpaceStation with a facility to recycle ♻️ old #satellites 🛰️ and other junk – could be up and running. https://theconversation.com/space-junk-a-recycling-station-could-be-cleaning-up-in-earth-orbit-by-2050-119787
Objects in #LEO
📆 2013 : 3,890
📆 2023 : 10,225
https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/space-objects-by-orbit
Around 100 nations are involved in varying levels of #space activity. Since the 1950s, almost 20,000 #satellites 🛰️ have been launched into Earth’s orbit. These satellites bring immense benefits to #society, from monitoring ecosystems and supporting global #communications, to facilitating services such as satellite #television and contactless bank card payments. However,...https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/news/a-sustainable-development-goal-for-space
The management of common pool resources depends crucially on the existence and effectiveness of the #rules and institutions to govern their use.
For #space activities, this translates into human activities potentially littering Earth’s orbits beyond sustainable limits, creating #SpaceDebris that could reduce the value of space activities by increasing the risk of damaging collisions 💥 and requiring mitigation actions. https://www.oecd.org/content/dam/oecd/en/publications/reports/2020/04/space-sustainability_a2d8e17f/a339de43-en.pdf
There are no binding #international rules governing the management and prevention of the growth of debris in space 🌌. Space-faring countries have established #guidelines, but they are not sufficient to guarantee a #sustainable space environment. https://www.internationalinsurance.org/insights_cyber_the_space_debris_dilemma
There is a general consensus that more ambitious actions are urgently needed from all space stakeholders to minimise the unintentional release of debris; to avoid the #intentional release of debris; to anticipate and mitigate the impact of debris on human populations, infrastructure, and Earth’s #environment https://esamultimedia.esa.int/docs/spacesafety/Zero_Debris_Technical_Booklet.pdf
#BlueOrigin rocket’s nose cone washed up on the shore of a #Bahamian island. In #Europe, flaming debris from a #SpaceX launch vehicle streaked across the #German sky, and what appears to be a fuel tank may have landed on a company’s property in #Poland.
And that’s just this week. https://edition.cnn.com/2025/02/21/science/blue-origin-spacex-debris-bahamas-europe/index.html
“Eventually someone’s going to get killed 💀 by a piece of #SpaceDebris.There are plenty of cases of people’s property being hit 💥 by space debris”. The threat of getting hit by uncontrolled orbital #reentries has increased 📈 by a factor of four from 2010 to 2023 https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2025/01/30/falling-space-debris-seismometers
Cutting staff from the #SpaceTraffic program, which currently alerts #satellite 🛰️ operators of potential collisions 💥 with debris or other spacecraft, complicates a years-long effort to migrate those alerting ⚠️ duties out of the Pentagon. A #collision notice is an alert that a satellite could collide with another object in space.
"We are not talking a few dozen per year. We are talking tens of thousands" https://www.reuters.com/technology/space/trump-layoffs-hit-key-air-traffic-control-space-unit-2025-03-01
Active #satellites 🛰️ must perform an increasing 📈 number of #collision avoidance manoeuvres to dodge out of the way of other satellites and fragments of #SpaceDebris. Another factor is the high level of solar ☀️ activity which can often cause increased atmospheric drag. If we extrapolate current trends into the future, catastrophic collision 💥 numbers could rise 📈 significantly https://www.esa.int/Space_Safety/Space_Debris/ESA_Space_Environment_Report_2024
#monitoring #automation #KesslerSyndrome #CollisionAvoidance #SpaceWeather #ESA
📆 2019 #ESA is "working to #automate the process of collision avoidance" https://www.cnet.com/science/esa-spacex-starlink-satellite-nearly-collides-with-european-aeolus-satellite
15/01/2025 "Improve #SpaceTraffic surveillance and coordination" still on the #ToDo list https://www.esa.int/Space_Safety/Technological_to-do_list_to_reach_Zero_Debris_created ... "This will ⏳ require compatibility of different #automated systems" https://esamultimedia.esa.int/docs/spacesafety/Zero_Debris_Technical_Booklet.pdf 🥱
Fragmentations without collisions were the main cause of the creation of #SpaceDebris in 2024, according to #ESA. There are around 54,000 objects in Earth orbit with a diameter of more than 10 centimeters and 1.2 million between 1 and 10 centimeters, between 1 millimeter and 1 centimeter around 130 million. https://www.heise.de/en/news/ESA-report-warns-of-space-debris-and-overcrowded-orbit-10348061.html
#ESA & #UNOOSA #SpaceDebris infographics : 26,67 % 📊 #intentional breakup events. Red objects are not yet registered with the #UN, and are expected to rise 📈 https://www.esa.int/Space_Safety/Space_Debris/ESA_UNOOSA_space_debris_infographics_and_podcast
The #Persei E.T. Pack mission will test a kilometre-long aluminium tether, designed to slow and deorbit a #satellite without propellant while maintaining stability and avoiding collision risks https://europeanspaceflight.com/avio-and-isar-aerospace-win-esa-flight-ticket-initiative-launch-contracts
Without these 50 objects, the risk of new debris being created 💥 would be halved. If only the 10 most dangerous objects were removed, it would drop by a third 📉 https://www.heise.de/en/news/Experts-identify-the-50-most-dangerous-pieces-of-space-debris-10728122.html
The most active region on the #Sun ☀️ is currently rotating to face #Earth, leading to forecasts of more significant #SpaceWeather https://www.independent.co.uk/space/nasa-solar-flare-warning-earth-blackout-b2754154.html
#TRACERS’ observations will help scientists better understand how #SpaceWeather events can affect #satellites 🛰️ and #communications 📶 https://www.astronomy.com/space-exploration/tracers-launch-to-study-space-weather
A coronal mass ejection (#CME) that erupted from the sun ☀️ on Saturday slammed into Earth’s magnetic field late last night, triggering a G2 (moderate) #geomagnetic storm. And forecasters expect geomagnetic activity to intensify tonight, with potential G3 (strong) storms and even a slight chance of G4 (#severe) conditions https://earthsky.org/sun/sun-news-activity-solar-flare-cme-aurora-updates
A powerful M5 # solar ☀️ flare erupted at 9:25 UTC this morning. This flare, the strongest of November so far, triggered an R2 (moderate) radio blackout over southern #Africa 🌍. No Earth-directed #CMEs have been confirmed so far https://earthsky.org/sun/sun-news-activity-solar-flare-cme-aurora-updates
An #ESA simulation campaign replicated the effects of a catastrophic #SolarStorm on satellite 🛰️ operations. Should such a storm occur, #satellite drag could increase by 400%, pushing them out of their usual trajectories, causing collision 💥 warnings with #SpaceDebris and other spacecraft. #Radiation ☢️ levels also surged, damaging #electronics and materials. "It's not a question of if this will happen but when" https://www.esa.int/Space_Safety/Space_weather/Flying_through_the_biggest_solar_storm_ever_recorded
Flying through the biggest solar storm ever recorded
No communication or navigation, faulty electronics and collision risk. At ESA’s mission control in Darmstadt, teams faced a scenario unlike any before: a solar storm of extreme magnitude. Fortunately, this nightmare unfolded not in reality, but as part of the simulation campaign for Sentinel-1D, pushing the boundaries of spacecraft operations and space weather preparedness.
Radiation ☢️ -triggered #computer errors could lead to an "uncommanded" change in altitude 🛬 so severe that it might exceed "the aircraft's structural capability" 💥. As #computer chips have become smaller, they have also become more vulnerable to bit flips https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20251201-how-cosmic-rays-grounded-thousands-of-aircraft
Intense #solar ☀️ #radiation may corrupt data critical to the functioning of flight ✈️ controls 🕹️ https://www.airbus.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2025-11-airbus-update-on-a320-family-precautionary-fleet-action
#SpaceWeather effects affect our technological systems. The currents a #geomagnetic storm induces in power lines can destroy transformers. For long-distance power lines aligned parallel to the geoelectric fields, the induced voltage can be thousands of volts. Many of today’s #electrical systems are built around #computer chips that are not robust to high-voltage surges. The hardest-hit regions could be without #power for days or weeks until equipment could be delivered https://spectrum.ieee.org/us-regions-most-vulnerable-solar-storms
Civilian and #military operators alike need spacecraft that can withstand the brutal conditions of #space 🌌. That means resistance to #radiation ☢️, to heat, to #electromagnetic pulses and to targeted disruption. Forms of technology that make #satellites more resilient will also cut costs and improve #civilian services. #Berlin plans to spend 35 billion euros 💰 on military space capabilities between now and 2030. The challenge is speed ⏱️ and #regulation https://spacenews.com/what-germany-got-right-and-wrong-in-its-first-ever-space-strategy/
#Europe 🇪🇺 2025 : mostly statements of intent, words like “plan,” “capacity,” “investment,” and “build”. The growth in public and private funds 💰 was due to the widespread recognition that #space is vital to the modern age. While there was a lot to celebrate in 2025, the work is only just beginning https://payloadspace.com/2025-europe-in-review
