Old satellites and space debris.

Old satellites, left overs from launches and other space debris can cause problems for new launches, space stations and active satellites.

One solution to decrease space debris is to extend the life of satellites.

One of those satellites is the Intelsat 10-02.
The ageing platform, Intelsat 10-02, which relays TV channels and other telecoms services, is getting very low on fuel after 17 years in orbit.
But that's no longer a problem because the satellite that docked with IS-10-02 on Monday has plenty of propellant. This satellite, the mission extension vehicle (MEV), has attached itself to the Intelsat, and will perform all the manoeuvres to extend the usage of IS-10-02 for around 5 years.

Commercial satellites dock high above Earth

One satellite grabs hold of another, older spacecraft to give it a new lease of life.

www.bbc.com

Here we can find a detailed description of the Mission Extension Vehicle and other life extension services. They also explain what they are doing and about their future plans.

Sandhi Yudha said:

Old satellites, left overs from launches and other space debris can cause problems for new launches, space stations and active satellites.

One solution to decrease space debris is to extend the life of satellites.

One of those satellites is the Intelsat 10-02.
The ageing platform, Intelsat 10-02, which relays TV channels and other telecoms services, is getting very low on fuel after 17 years in orbit.
But that's no longer a problem because the satellite that docked with IS-10-02 on Monday has plenty of propellant. This satellite, the mission extension vehicle (MEV), has attached itself to the Intelsat, and will perform all the manoeuvres to extend the usage of IS-10-02 for around 5 years.

Commercial satellites dock high above Earth

One satellite grabs hold of another, older spacecraft to give it a new lease of life.

www.bbc.com

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Actually, space debris became an important issue in the modern world of space exploration area. The big number of space junk can damage expensive spacecrafts The growing number of space items can lead to the state where he object density is so high that one collision is enough to generate a cascade effect, leading to further collisions.

bearnard19 said:

Actually, space debris became an important issue in the modern world of space exploration area. The big number of space junk can damage expensive spacecrafts The growing number of space items can lead to the state where he object density is so high that one collision is enough to generate a cascade effect, leading to further collisions.

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You mean the Kessler Effect? This is why it is now a requirement that any satellite that is ending its lifespan needs to be either deorbited or in reverse, boosted into a 'graveyard orbit'. It's not really a new problem, it's old and laws have been made to handle it. You can look up 'graveyard orbits'.

0bserver said:

You mean the Kessler Effect? This is why it is now a requirement that any satellite that is ending its lifespan needs to be either deorbited or in reverse, boosted into a 'graveyard orbit'. It's not really a new problem, it's old and laws have been made to handle it. You can look up 'graveyard orbits'.

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You can also provide a link to graveyard orbits to help people out. It's a common courtesy.

0bserver said:

You mean the Kessler Effect? This is why it is now a requirement that any satellite that is ending its lifespan needs to be either deorbited or in reverse, boosted into a 'graveyard orbit'. It's not really a new problem, it's old and laws have been made to handle it. You can look up 'graveyard orbits'.

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Yeah, you are right. The growing number of space items can lead to what is known as the ‘Kessler syndrome’, which represents a state where the object density is so high that one collision is enough to generate a cascade effect, leading to further collisions. Some space junk can burn down in the atmosphere but unfortunately it`s just a small percentage of those space junk we are having in the Earth`s orbit

Actually, there is a way out. I found an article on the website of
UK space news about the mission which is aimed at cleaning the orbit from space debris. The Clearspace-1 satellite, or ‘The Claw’, represents the first step towards a clean space environment by being the first space debris removal dedicated mission. The launch is about to happen in 2025

bearnard19 said:

Yeah, you are right. The growing number of space items can lead to what is known as the ‘Kessler syndrome’, which represents a state where the object density is so high that one collision is enough to generate a cascade effect, leading to further collisions. Some space junk can burn down in the atmosphere but unfortunately it`s just a small percentage of those space junk we are having in the Earth`s orbit

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That might be a misleading statement that we are 'leaving junk in Earth's orbit' if most of it is in a graveyard orbit where it does not affect the near Earth space. You need to exclude the deliberately planned parked items to get a real picture of the unintended junk left in LEO.

0bserver said:

That might be a misleading statement that we are 'leaving junk in Earth's orbit' if most of it is in a graveyard orbit where it does not affect the near Earth space. You need to exclude the deliberately planned parked items to get a real picture of the unintended junk left in LEO.

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Space junk don`t affect Earth at all.( that point I have already mentioned ) Space agences all around the world are worried about that issue as I`ve mentioned these space junk can damage expancive rockets and space crafts and as a resuld whole missions can be under threat

As commercial space companies are now responsible for most of the new space junk, perhaps it is time for a launch surcharge AND annual tracking fee to pay for the expense of tracking all the “stuff” based on the amount of orbital assets they have.

John Fedup said:

As commercial space companies are now responsible for most of the new space junk, perhaps it is time for a launch surcharge AND annual tracking fee to pay for the expense of tracking all the “stuff” based on the amount of orbital assets they have.

As Space Junk Multiplies, Pentagon Is Stuck Tracking It for Civilians

Private industry is launching at a pace with which the military’s space-surveillance system can’t keep up. Now lawmakers say the Commerce Department’s fix is running late.

www.defenseone.com

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Good idea, but who has to pay and who get the money?
Maybe the US government can ask the surchase and fee from NASA, Space X and other companies who launch from American soil, but i don't expect ESA, Roskosmos and other foreign agencies are willing to pay to the US, because they (can) have their own tracking system.

I think this will need new international agreements/ treaties to handle it properly.

Best case scenario, an international agreement figuring out who pays what to who. Given the current geopolitical state, the US can and maybe will, offer tracking only to paying friends, others can pound salt or provide there own tracking.

I believe there are 12 countries that are currently active in space and IIRC of those 12 only 2, the US and NZ have active commercial programmes with private companies undertaking their own launches.

Before the private sector becomes fully involved in space launches I think that it is necessary for an international organisation under UN auspices be formed to sort out the space domain and space junk issue, much like the international air traffic system and UNCLOS. That way everyone knows what the rules are and what is expected.

A recent inspection of the International Space Station's Canadarm2 has revealed that it was hit by orbital debris. See the hole that was created and a time-lapse of the robotic arm in action.

The U.S. AFRL (Air Force Research Laboratory), created the DSX-program to research the Van Allen radiation belts and their effect on spacecraft components.

After launch in July 2019 the longer pair of the 80-meter antenna booms (about 262 feet) was successfully deployed, which makes the DSX the largest unmanned structure ever in space. The long antenna allows DSX to transmit the VLF radio waves that will be used in experiments to collect data about the Val Allen radiation belt.

The DSX spacecraft has a total mass of 600 kg, its dimensions are stowed 3.6 m x 2 m x 1.1 m and 81 m x 17 m x 8 m in completely deployed condition.

Last month, nearly two years after it launched and a year after its mission was expected to end, AFRL decommissioned the satellite. AFRL completed end-of-life processes for DSX on 31 May 2021. The lab did not give details on what happens to the shut-down satellite.

Russia has reportedly carried out an antisatellite weapon test leaving thousands of extra pieces of debris in LEO Russian Anti-Satellite Test Produces Dangerous Debris Cloud In Orbit (Updated) (thedrive.com) If true, it is very irresponsible.

cdxbow said:

Russia has reportedly carried out an antisatellite weapon test leaving thousands of extra pieces of debris in LEO Russian Anti-Satellite Test Produces Dangerous Debris Cloud In Orbit (Updated) (thedrive.com) If true, it is very irresponsible.

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Yes and it has caused problems for the ISS. So not good planning by the Russians.

|"SpaceX launched its first interplanetary mission nearly seven years ago. After the Falcon 9 rocket's second stage completed a long burn to reach a transfer orbit, NOAA's Deep Space Climate Observatory began its journey to a Sun-Earth LaGrange point more than 1 million km from the Earth.

By that point, the Falcon 9 rocket's second stage was high enough that it did not have enough fuel to return to Earth's atmosphere. It also lacked the energy to escape the gravity of the Earth-Moon system, so it has been following a somewhat chaotic orbit since February 2015."|

Now, according to sky observers in this Arse Technica report, the spent second stage's orbit is on course to intersect with the Moon. The prediction is that an impact could come around 4 March this year. And this impact will give interesting opportunities for scientists.

A now inactive Russian satellite, the Resurs P1, broke up in orbit recently, putting astronauts aboard the ISS at risk. Russia's 2021 ASAT test that destroyed the derelict Cosmos 1408 satellite, just like the Chinese ASAT test which demolished the Fengyun 1C satellite, was unwise because it created more debris congregating among hundreds of derelict Soviet/Russian satellites launched in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. I went on the Celestrak website and noticed that of the 1,806 pieces of Cosmos 1408 debris catalogued by the US Space Command, only 44 remain in orbit.

Also, Astroscale wants to use a robotic arm of the ISS to capture space debris in 2026. Russia should launch its own space trawler aboard an Angara rocket in order to deorbit derelict Soviet/Russian satellites launched in the 1970s and 1980s to avoid creating risks for Russian cosmonauts aboard the ISS.