Learn about the dangers of space debris and how it can keep us locked up on Earth

The Russian experiment, in which a missile was tested to destroy satellites, has revived fears that space will turn into a space garbage dump that may impede the exit of space flights from Earth in the near future, and deprive us of all communications network services one day.

Curiosity has always pushed humanity to the extreme. After man discovered continents and countries he did not know, he turned his eyes to the sky and began preparing to explore its secrets. Although in the past fifty years he has managed to get out into outer space, the repetition of these visits has caused serious problems, most notably the "space junk".

To go on a space flight, a person has to use the rockets, most of which are mostly left stuck in Earth orbit after completing their tasks in sending satellites and delivering capsules. Over the past years, orbit around the Earth has become teeming with dangerous space debris that rotates at 60 times the speed of a bullet, exposing visits to extraterrestrials in real danger.

The Russian test, which targeted a Russian satellite with an anti-satellite missile on Monday, left more than 1,500 pieces of traceable orbital debris, and will likely leave hundreds of thousands of smaller pieces of orbital debris, according to a statement by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, which his country condemned. The experience described it as a "dangerous behaviour".

Space debris and its dangers

The problem of human waste is no longer a problem that affects the planet only, but has spread and flew high to the outer space, forming since the 1960s clouds of space waste revolving in the Earth's orbit and the orbits of the planets of the solar system as well. And now the term "space junk" is applied to every space object left by man in space after his space flights or launch of satellites.

Space debris is not limited to the remains of rockets and satellites, but these remnants can be as small as the remains of a crust of spacecraft pigment, pieces of metal, frozen fuel, many screws and nails, even gloves and cameras, and much more.

In recent years, space debris has received wide attention from international space agencies and institutions, because of its danger and enormous destructive capacity that may cause severe damage to the structures of spacecraft and satellites, especially as they are traveling at a tremendous speed of about 8 km/sec (approximately 28800 km/hr). And a body of debris the size of a tennis ball traveling at this speed carries an explosive power equivalent to 25 sticks of dynamite.

NASA estimates that there are approximately 5.5 million kilograms of human waste in Earth's orbit, more than 23,000 of which are larger than 10 centimeters, and another half a million more than one centimeter, and about a million objects larger than one millimeter. And "NASA" announced that it is tracking more than 27 pieces of space junk. Yet many are smaller and untraceable, but large enough to threaten spaceflight and satellite launches.

What is the future of the International Space Station?

During a routine inspection on May 12, the Canadian Space Agency discovered that the robotic arm (Canadarm2) attached to the outer part of the International Space Station was hit by space debris with no real losses in the work of the arm.

And in 2016, European astronaut Timothy Beck shared an image showing damage to the window of the International Space Station (ISS) as a result of the impact of a small piece of space debris, perhaps a paint peel or a small piece of metal just millimeters in size.

Last Monday morning, following the Russian experiment, the seven astronauts aboard the International Space Station, four Americans, one German and two Russians, were forced to resort to their docked ships in preparation for a possible emergency evacuation, due to the thousands of pieces of space debris left by the experiment.

For its part, the US space agency "NASA" issued a statement saying that the International Space Station "passes every 90 minutes through or near a cloud (of debris)".

It is reported that the International Space Station maneuvers at least once a year to avoid collision with pieces of space junk, while astronauts hide in the safe capsule known as "Soyuz", in which astronauts hide when the station passes near the clouds of space junk.

Can space waste be cleaned up?

This issue still bears many question marks, especially with many proposals to combat the space junk dilemma, such as nets, laser cannons, giant foam balls, laces and solar sails, in addition to the robotic arms and claws that are collective, but the methods of employing and applying them are still under discussion.

And earlier, the University of Utah proposed developing a huge magnet to collect space garbage and pull it out of the orbit of the planet, which is subject to scientific discussions that will show whether this will happen or not.

In light of the many suggestions and the aggravation of the space junk problem, the Japanese company “Astroscale” launched last March 22 satellites in an experimental space mission to clean up waste from the orbital field, which it called “End of Life Service” (ELSA-d), from Through the use of a magnetic system it can capture stable and even rolling objects, either for disposal or for maintenance in orbit.

If the proposals are implemented and put into a realistic framework, it is expected that space debris cleaning companies will be among the most profitable companies in the near future.