Cyrus Nichols 1

April 28, 2020

Sample of Work

109190053

The Ever Growing Problem of Space Debris

With a continuously growing system

of satellites around Earth, a problem is

arising that will affect future space travel

and implementation of new systems. This

problem is the overflow of space debris,

caused by all the satellites and launch

systems brough into orbit throughout the

years. The issue isn’t just the over

congestion of items, making it difficult

for us to get anything past this layered

wall, but also the danger of being hit by even the smallest piece. These objects are constantly

free falling in Earth’s orbit, meaning they are traveling at such high velocities that if one were to

hit a satellite or a man boarded ship, a hole would instantly be pierced through and could

jeopardize the mission or even lives.

To me as an individual, this obstacle that is continuously growing thicker and more dense

is only going to make my goals much more difficult to achieve in the long run. Being an
 2

Aerospace Engineering major, my desires are to aid humanity in our exploration of the universe,

discovering what lies beyond, and most importantly, push our evolution to the next level.

However, the dangers that space debris inflicts around our orbit creates walls that will continue

to challenge this goal of mine, and it is ever important to formulate a solution that will combat

this blockade.

When a satellite finally dies or is destroyed by colliding with another satellite or space

debris, there isn’t much that can be done about it currently. It really just sits there in its own

orbital position, until moved along by another outside force. The growing amount of space debris

reaches up to an estimated

500,000 individual pieces

littered around our orbit. For

the future, many industries

are beginning to plan for

ways to tackle this dangerous

issue as the longer the wait,

the more of a threat and

challenge it becomes.

More space based systems are being launched into orbit than ever before. As ​nature.com

reports in their article of ​The quest to conquer Earth’s space junk problem​, they tell how, “In

2017, commercial companies, military and civil departments and amateurs lofted more than 400
 3

satellites into orbit, over 4 times the yearly average for 2000-2010”. This is doing nothing but

making the dangers and challenges even worse than they already are. It would be a good idea for

companies, departments, and the military to focus more on what ways we could begin to

effectively retrieve or send off the mass amount of space junk choking our planet. Whether it be

sending out collectors that would thrust them back into or out of orbit, or maybe even annihilate

them entirely, it needs to be done. Additionally, these groups should also bring more focus to

longevity and durability. If these satellites and other space systems were able to survive through

harsher conditions and for a much greater amount of time, then at least the accelerated growth of

this issue could begin to slow and give us time to catch up on other solutions. Many industries

strive to already implement this, but my argument is that it is not enough. They tend to take into

account longevity on the basis of financial satisfaction, but should turn more of their focus onto

the impact it would have on the nature of our immensely dense shield of debris.

If this issue continues to be disregarded in many unknowing private companies' plans,

then I fear for the safety of ever sending a human life out through this minefield of junk and

broken things. What would be even better, is to formulate a plan that would automatically send

space systems that are out of date, back onto the grounds of Earth, to be salvaged and

repurposed. This way, the number of objects in the sky stays low, and the use of materials

additionally wouldn’t be as much of a difficulty as they already are. I wish to one day, be able to

create something so amazing, that it could transport someone off this dying rock, but that they

also won’t be threatened with projectiles of our forgotten technology on their way out.
 4

Works Cited

(71), svemirac, et al. “Space Debris - What Is It? Problems and Solutions.” ​Steemit​,

steemit.com/steemstem/@svemirac/space-debris-how-it-s-made-problems-and-solutions.

Garcia, Mark. “Space Debris and Human Spacecraft.” ​NASA​, NASA, 14 Apr. 2015,

www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/news/orbital_debris.html​.

Witze, Alexandra. “The Quest to Conquer Earth's Space Junk Problem.” ​Nature News​,

Nature Publishing Group, 5 Sept. 2018, ​www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-06170-1​.