SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research’s Post

Long-term sustainability of space. While kinetic anti-satellite weapons (ASATs) deservedly get attention as being detrimental to spaceflight safety and the space environment, there are other events which have had a much more significant impact on the long-term sustainability of space, but rarely get highlighted. Such as.... Lucy: "Joey, did we remember to open that passivation valve on the upper stage?" Joey: "Ummm, Lucy, I thought you did that last week?" Ooops. Kabooey. Big mess. Not good. While the root cause of China's 12 Nov 2022 CZ-6A upper stage fragmentation has not been disclosed, we DO know its long-term impact on the space environment is much more significant than the 15 Nov 2021 Russian direct ascent (DA) ASAT which destroyed COSMOS 1408. Some numbers: China's CZ-6A Upper Stage Fragmentation: - More than 700 of the ~800 #SpaceDebris cataloged from this event remain on orbit. Of these ~700 objects, 383 are predicted to remain on orbit > 50 years*!!! A gift for our grandchildren. Reference the animated Gabbard diagram below. Russian ASAT and COSMOS 1408: - Approx 80 #SpaceDebris remain in orbit today from the Russian ASAT which obliterated the defunct COSMOS 1408 satellite. More than 70 of these objects will decay by 2027 -- leaving a mere dozen or so. Lucy, Joey, please play attention to your checklist. #NormsAndBehaviors #SpaceDebris #SpaceTrafficControl * decay predictions courtesy of the ESA Operations, Engineering & Space Safety DISCOSWeb catalog. ** orbital data sourced from space-track.org and used with permission per ODR 22-143-2C

Paper: The Short-Term Effects of the Cosmos 1408 Fragmentation on Neighboring Inhabited Space Stations and Large Constellations (2023) #SpaceEconomy #NewSpaceEconomy #NewSpace #Space

The European Space Agency's Ambitious Ariel Mission: Studying Exoplanet Atmospheres in Detail 🇪🇺 The Ariel exoplanet mission has officially entered its construction phase! 🚀 This ambitious project, led by the European Space Agency (ESA), aims to study the atmospheres of exoplanets in unprecedented detail. 🔭 Here are some key takeaways about the mission : • 𝗠𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗴𝗼𝗮𝗹𝘀: Ariel will focus on characterizing the atmospheres of a diverse range of exoplanets, including hot Jupiters, super-Earths, and gas giants. 🌎 • 𝗦𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗮𝗳𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻: The spacecraft will be equipped with a powerful telescope and a suite of instruments designed to measure the chemical composition, temperature, and pressure of exoplanet atmospheres. 📡 • 𝗟𝗮𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲: Ariel is scheduled to launch in 2029 and will spend at least four years orbiting the Sun, observing exoplanets across the galaxy. 🌌 This mission has the potential to revolutionize our understanding of exoplanet formation and evolution. 🤯 By studying their atmospheres, we can learn more about the conditions that exist on these distant worlds and whether they might harbor life. 👽 Stay tuned for further updates on the Ariel mission! 🚀 #Ariel #Exoplanet #ESA #SpaceExploration #Science

"The finite and delicate realm of orbital #space , characterized by anthropogenic space object orbits, holds a capacity akin to the lanes of a highway, each lane accommodating a limited number of satellites and space objects. This capacity, known as orbital carrying capacity, defines the sustainable limit of occupancy within orbital space. Consider low Earth orbit (LEO), a bustling region situated between approximately 100 and 1,200 kilometers above Earth's surface. Here, a myriad of satellites, from communication satellites to observation satellites, traverse various orbital highways. However, with the advent of #satellite mega-constellations like SpaceX's Starlink, concerns about congestion and collision risks have surged. The United States tracks upwards of 50,000 anthropogenic space objects (ASOs), of which a bit over 5,000 are working satellites providing humanity with a critical service or capability. Most of these tracked ASOs are uncontrolled, their physical traits are unknown, and their motion is uncertain, making the prediction of collisions between them quite challenging. The risk of collisions is that two objects collide and splinter into many thousands or more, each object becoming a new hazard to something in orbit that we care about protecting but are unable to. The finite nature of LEO becomes starkly evident as we grapple with the challenges of managing orbital congestion while ensuring the sustainability of space activities."

ADITYA L-1 The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched Aditya L-1, its first space-based mission to study the Sun, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota today at 11:50 am. The lift-off took place barely 10 days after ISRO became the first space agency to soft-land a spacecraft near the Moon’s south pole. The solar probe was carried into space by the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) in ‘XL’ configuration. PSLV is one of the most reliable and versatile workhorse rockets of ISRO. Previous missions like Chandrayaan-1 in 2008 and Mangalyaan in 2013 were also launched using PSLV. The rocket is most powerful in the ‘XL’ configuration as it is equipped with six extended strap-on boosters — they are larger than the boosters of other configurations and, therefore, can carry heavier payloads. PSLV-XL can lift 1,750 kg of payloads to the sun-synchronous polar orbit (spacecraft here are synchronised to always be in the same ‘fixed’ position relative to the Sun), and much more — 3,800 kg — to a lower Earth orbit (normally located at an altitude of less than 1,000 km but could be as low as 160 km above the planet). As Aditya L-1 weighs 1,472 kg, it was launched aboard PSLV. Notably, Chandrayaan-3 took off aboard LVM3, the most powerful rocket of ISRO, because it was more than two times heavier than the solar probe. According to ISRO, the Sun “emits radiation/light in nearly all wavelengths along with various energetic particles and magnetic fields. The atmosphere of the Earth as well as its magnetic field acts as a protective shield and blocks a number of harmful wavelength radiations including particles and fields.” This means studying the Sun from Earth can’t provide a complete picture and it becomes crucial to observations from outside the planet’s atmosphere. #snsinstitutions #snsdesignthinkers #designthinking

I've been following the development of what's now the "Super Heavy" and "Starship" for years, along with other new entrants to the field. The Super Heavy / Starship combo is, in my view, more than just a low cost way to launch a lot of weight to orbit. In addition to cost, I see payload bay size and orbital refueling as new capabilities. First, payload bay size: it's ~8 m in diameter, for 8 m in height, then begins to decrease toward the top of the fairing, at 17.2 m length. A Falcon 9 is up to 5.2 m, an Arianne 6 will be < 5.4 m, a New Glenn will be ~7, a Vulcan is 5.4, a Delta IV heavy was 5, a PSLV ix 3.2. With that large a space, I can't help think how much simpler a new JWST-style telescope could be, and how many less single points of failure it could have. Or alternatively, how much larger it could be. The cost of constellation launches could be greatly reduced. Second, orbital refueling. I was super impressed, back in 2006, when New Horizons launched. It left the Earth with a very high velocity of ~36000 mph (57,900 kph). That was sort of uncommon! Now imagine you get your very heavy mass up to orbit, still attached to a Starship, then you refuel Starship with other starships, and then you have more delta V to play with. Times to distant bodies could go down significanly, and you could carry fuel to slow down at your destination, if desired. https://lnkd.in/gnzzYRAi