space debris – Michmutters
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Australia

SpaceX to ‘check out’ outback space junk site, saying fall to Earth ‘within expectations’

A SpaceX representative says a team will travel to Australia after the recent discovery of a large piece of space junk on an outback property, saying the incident is “within the expected analyzed space of what can happen.”

Fragments of the SpaceX Dragon capsule were found in the NSW Snowy Mountains, after locals heard a loud bang on July 9, believed to be caused by the spacecraft re-entering Earth’s atmosphere.

Addressing reporters during a live streamed media conference from NASA’s Johnson Space Center on August 4, senior director of the SpaceX Human Spaceflight Program Benjamin Reed acknowledged the incident.

“We did get reports of debris of the Dragon trunk that had landed in the outback of Australia,” he said.

“We actually have a team that’s going to check that out.”

Mr Reed told the conference SpaceX had been working with the Federal Aviation Administration and the Australian Space Agency as part of this process, saying the incident fell within expectations.

“The important news is of course there was no injury or damage,” he said.

“Also importantly is this was all within the expected analyzed space of what can happen.”

a dog looks at a piece of space junk
This piece of space junk is estimated to be about three meters long.(ABC South East NSW: Adriane Reardon)

Companies require permission from the US government prior to launching space craft, which includes filling out an orbital debris report.

Mr Reed alluded to that as part of his response.

“You have an expected path of where things may come down and this particular debris was within that analyzed space,” he said.

“It’s part of the process we do with NASA, with FAA, internally and we use models that are all jointly approved to predict and plan for these things.”

Mr Reed’s comments to the August 4 conference appear to be the only public comments that have been made by SpaceX about the incident so far. The ABC has contacted SpaceX.

so arrogant

The discovery of SpaceX debris has triggered both intrigue and concern from space experts about whether space activity needs to be better managed.

Space Law Lecturer at UNSW Canberra Duncan Blake says the explanation from Mr Reed about the incident was too vague.

“I’m not satisfied with that response,” he said.

“I think it’s a bit dismissive and I think that SpaceX ought to be doing more than simply saying that it was within their analysis.”

a man smiles at the camera sitting in a lab
Duncan Blake is a space law lecturer at UNSW Canberra.(Supplied: Duncan Blake/UNSW Canberra)

Mr Blake believes the comments imply that SpaceX was aware before hand of the possibility of space debris would land in somewhere like Australia, and decided the risk was acceptable.

He says the company needs to be more open and communicative with Australia if that’s the case.

“I wonder whether they coordinated with Australia when they made that risk assessment,” he said.

“If they didn’t, then that seems somewhat arrogant to make a decision that affects Australia without consulting Australians.”

Coverage cost

Confirmation that SpaceX will eventually visit Australia has been welcomed, with an expectation the pieces will have to be repatriated back to the US.

“They need to come to Australia,” Mr Blake said.

“The space object belongs to SpaceX and they may want the space debris returned to them.”

“If there are any costs involved in doing that, in cleaning up, then they’re obliged to cover those costs.”

a man stands in a paddock holding space junk
Jock Wallace found this piece of space junk on his sheep farm.(ABC South East NSW: Adriane Reardon)

As part of the media conference, SpaceX’s Mr Reed noted that there was always room for improvement.

“We look very closely at the data, we learn everything that we can,” he said.

“We always look for the ways we can improve things but again, this was within analyzed space, within expectation.”

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Categories
Australia

Researchers turn to wind tunnels to predict where space junk will land

The sky-watching world was thrown into a spin this week with multiple reports of space debris falling onto Australian farms.

Experts say as more satellites go up, it is only logical more will come down.

Mark Rigby, a former curator of the Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium, agrees.

“The number of operational satellites has almost doubled in the last 18 months. That’s phenomenal,” he said.

But if you’re planning a “space debris” hunt, do not get your hopes up.

“Fortunately, most of our earth is covered in ocean. So, most space junk actually comes down harmlessly, and a lot of space junk vaporises before it even reaches the surface of our planet,” Mr Rigby said.

But sometimes it lands in a cow paddock.

James Stirton discovered wreckage from a rocket on his family property in south-west Queensland, near Quilpie in 2008.

A large ball of space junk on display in a glass container
Mr Stirton’s space junk is now on display at the Cosmos Center in Charleville.(Supplied: Cosmos Center)

At the time, he and his wife Sue took calls from all over the world and hosted visits from researchers keen to inspect the round fuel cell that landed near his cattle in the scrub.

“They checked it over for radiation, and wanted to take it away, and I said, ‘No, it’ll stay here’,” he explained.

The space wreckage, officially named 2006-047-C, lived in a farm shed until the couple retired.

It is now on permanent display at Charleville’s Cosmos Centre.

Ever the pragmatic farmer, Mr Stirton said his discovery did not lead to any further space-craft exploration on his property.

“It was during the drought years, so we had plenty of other things to do,” he said.

“And I figured it’d only happen once in my lifetime, so no, I never thought I’d find any more space junk.”

But he did.

“A few years later we found another one,” he said.

“Actually, I don’t think we’ve ever told anyone about that second find,” Ms Stirton laughed.

Serious area of ​​study

A specialist project at the University of Southern Queensland was launched earlier this year focusing on space junk.

“We’re starting to see more and more of this stuff happening,” Fabian Zander, senior research fellow at the University of Southern Queensland, said.

A man stands next to a large machine with a round door
Fabian Zander is using wind tunnels to study the “separation of objects in hypersonic flow”.(Supplied: University of Southern Queensland)

“I’d like to hope that there’s not too many more [incidents] like the SpaceX one… but we need a better understanding of the demise and the dispersion of things that re-enter the atmosphere.”

He said while most controlled re-entries aim for the “space graveyard” in the South Pacific, some non-functional satellites could come down anywhere.

“Even the impact of the sun shining onto the object can change the force and the trajectory of it,” he explained.

“The Earth’s atmosphere expands and retracts slightly depending on the weather.

“When something’s orbiting the upper reaches of the atmosphere the effect is marginally different depending on the particular atmospheric conditions, and that can’t be predicted with any certainty at this stage.”

But he said there was no need to worry about getting hit by “zombie” satellites when you stepped outside.

“There’s only ever been one person that’s been hit by space junk,” he said.

“A lady named Lottie Williams in the USA got hit by a piece on her shoulder, and it didn’t hurt her at all.”

a man stands in front of a rocket
Mark Rigby says the chance of finding space debris is “pretty small.”(Supplied: Mark Rigby)

Space junk hunting we will go?

Mr Rigby said the recent findings might inspire people to go hunting for debris, but the chances of finding something were “pretty small”.

“Even if you use satellite imagery to find those Skylab pieces that came down in 1979, that are no doubt still out there, you’re trying to find things that might be a meter across — or even smaller — in a vast country.

people gather in a paddock with space junk, sheep dogs and a ute
Farmers Mick Miners and Jock Wallace, along with ANU astrophysicist Brad Tucker, visit a site in NSW where two pieces of space junk were found.(ABC South East NSW: Adriane Reardon)

“So, I’d say good luck to you.”

I have also cautioned on the possible hazards.

“There may be space junk that’s come down that still has some toxic material. With these things, it’s quite often best to contact authorities if you found something you think is space junk.

“Get it checked out first before you go handling it.”

And if you find something, don’t get too attached to it.

“It still belongs to the originating country,” Mr Rigby said.

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