Where is all this Space junk from?

[Peace of Mind]

Hi all...

I was just wondering if all of this trash came from us...

http://www.earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=40173


If so...Why are we destroying our planet/home like this? If there are aliens flying by our planet… what do you think they will think of us? What thoughts do you think cross their minds once they see what we allow to happen to our beautiful home?


Honestly, I hardly get upset at anything…but this just makes me feel so shame of our species. Someone just told me that I was making a big deal of it and that it isn’t that serious. Also, the article claims the situation is not dire.... I beg to differ

Not only am I upset at how sloppy and disrespectful we are towards Earth… I’m even more curious now to know just what in the world are we really doing up there. I mean, do you see the size of this mess? From all the documented space trips I know of...there's no way we could have made all of this. unless there were many many secret missions or something exploded around our orbit. What ever the case may be... this looks like something irresponsible beings would do...

Peace

[Koyaanisqatsi]

its not all trash…..satellites and other objects, weapons, telescopes etc.

we gotta have our cell phones right haha

[Maia Gabrial]

How can it be "WE" doing all that? I know I didn't put the space junk out there because I don't have that kind of money to blow. The blame should go to all those corporations, govts and militaries....THEY'RE the ones who are disrespectful to Earth.
Still, I thank you Peace of Mind. It makes us aware of what's happening all around us....

[shadowstalker]

its not all trash…..satellites and other objects, weapons, telescopes etc.

we gotta have our cell phones right haha

IMHO if it does not truly benefit human kind it is still junk.

[Bryn ap Gwilym]

How can it be "WE" doing all that? I know I didn't put the space junk out there because I don't have that kind of money to blow. The blame should go to all those corporations, govts and militaries....THEY'RE the ones who are disrespectful to Earth.
Still, I thank you Peace of Mind. It makes us aware of what's happening all around us....

But it is our junk & we are to blame.
Mobile phones, sat navs, tv's, weather surveillance are just a few things that folk take for granted.

[nearing]

From the OP article:


Orbital debris, or “space junk,” is any man-made object in orbit around the Earth that no longer serves a useful purpose.

So the pic is of Space Junk or Garbage. The OP's point stands.

[nomadguy]

http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?29804-Astrospies

[Shamz]

Hope this helps little bit

http://www.space.com/12819-space-junk-cleanup-giant-net-tether.html

[TigaHawk]

Wonder if this is another movie/show that becomes real in the future (if we make it that far)

DakRYsUIiIE

[MorningSong]

Heads up, folks! Space junk on it's way down!


7-ton NASA Satellite Set to Fall

By Alan Boyle

NASA says a defunct seven-ton satellite is due to re-enter the atmosphere — with the potential to rain debris onto Earth.

The Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite, or UARS, is expected to come down in late September or early October, the space agency said today in an advisory. "Although the spececraft will break into pieces during re-entry, not all of it will burn up in the atmosphere," NASA said.

The agency said it's too early to say exactly when UARS will make its final plunge, or exactly where any debris will come down. Russian news reports suggested that Moscow was "in the zone of risk," but that projection was based merely on the inclination of UARS' orbit.

"The orbital track and re-entry location are going to be more refined as the days pass," NASA spokeswoman Beth Dickey told me today.

UARS was deployed from the shuttle Discovery in 1991 to study Earth's atmosphere and its interactions with the sun. The $750 million mission measured the concentrations and distribution of gases important to ozone depletion, climate change and other atmospheric phenomena. NASA says readings from UARS provided conclusive evidence that chlorine in the atmosphere, originating from human-produced chlorofluorocarbons, is at the root of the polar ozone hole.

The satellite was decommissioned in 2005. "They had put it in a disposal orbit at that point, and that disposal orbit reduced its orbital lifetime by about 20 years," Dickey said. The satellte was initially projected to come down in the 2009-2010 time frame.

NASA says it plans to post updates about UARS' status weekly until four days before the anticipated re-entry, and then daily until about 24 hours before re-entry. Further updates would come at 12 hours, four hours and two hours before re-entry. The Joint Space Operations Center of the U.S. Strategic Command at California's Vandenberg Air Force Base is monitoring UARS' status around the clock, NASA said.

The satellite's current orbit is 155 by 174 miles (250 by 280 kilometers), with an inclination of 57 degrees. That means the satellite could come down anywhere between 57 degrees north latitude and 57 degrees south. NASA estimated that the debris footprint would stretch about 500 miles

"If there is somehting you think may be a piece of UARS, do not touch it," NASA said. "Contact a local law-enforcement official for assistance."

UARS' status will be the subject of a NASA teleconference on Friday.

http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/09/07/7651951-7-ton-nasa-satellite-set-to-fall

[MorningSong]

UPDATE RE: Space Junk On it's Way!


Nasa satellite UARS nearing Earth 'could land anywhere'
16 September 2011 Last updated at 15:52 GMT

A five tonne, 20-year-old satellite has fallen out of orbit and is expected to crash somewhere on Earth on or around 24 September, according to Nasa.

Nasa says the risk to life from the UARS - Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite - is just 1 in 3,200.

Hurtling at 5m (8km) per second, it could land anywhere between 57 degrees north and 57 degrees south of the equator - most of the populated world.

However, most of the satellite will break or burn up before reaching Earth.

Scientists have identified 26 separate pieces that could survive the fall through the earth's atmosphere, and debris could rain across an area 400-500km (250-310 miles) wide.

Nasa said scientists would only be able to make more accurate predictions about where the satellite might land two hours before it enters the Earth's atmosphere.
Re-entry

The 1 in 3,200 risk to public safety is higher than the 1 in 10,000 limit that Nasa aims for.

However, Nasa told reporters that nobody had ever been hurt by objects re-entering from space.

Members of the public are not allowed to keep pieces of the satellite that may fall to Earth, or sell them on eBay, as they remain the property of the US government.

The UARS was launched in 1991 by the Discovery space shuttle, and was decommissioned in 2005.

The latest satellite re-entry is much smaller than Skylab, a satellite that re-entered the earth's atmosphere in 1979.

It was some 15 times heavier than the UARS, and when it crashed in Western Australia the US government was fined a $400 clean-up fee by the Australian government.

Sputnik 2 crashed on Earth in 1958, travelling from over New York to the Amazon in 10 minutes. It was viewed by many people and left a trail of brightly coloured sparks behind it.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-14952001