Ecuador's first satellite has crashed into space junk from a Soviet rocket launch in 1985 - Polidicks

[img]http://imgkk.com/i/x0jg.jpg[/img] [url]http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-22635671[/url] [quote]The Ecuadorean space agency (EXA) is trying to pick up signals from its satellite after it crashed in space into debris from an old rocket. The nano-satellite, called Pegasus, was launched from the Jiuquan spaceport in China less than a month ago. It is Ecuador's first and only satellite in orbit. Experts said Pegasus had collided with debris from a Soviet rocket but was still in orbit. It is not yet clear if it has been damaged.[/quote]

This means war. [editline]23rd May 2013[/editline] Launch the pre-emptive space junk

this is why we need to clean up our messes before we ruin ourselves by having a junkyard in orbit.

How were they able to specifically determine it's Russian junk but not to avoid it?

This is why we need to clear out all the space junk in space. We already have surpassed the critical amount at which spacejunk will exponentially increase if nothing is done.

Nano...1.2 Kg... It's a cubesat! [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CubeSat[/url]

It takes some serious luck to have a "nano-satelite" crash into space junk in the vast void that is the earth's orbit.

[QUOTE=Rockeiro123;40753758]It takes some serious luck to have a "nano-satelite" crash into space junk in the vast void that is the earth's orbit.[/QUOTE] When thousands upon thousands of things travel around that void at super high speeds constantly something's bound to hit something eventually.

[QUOTE=Angus725;40753755]Nano...1.2 Kg... It's a cubesat! [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CubeSat[/url][/QUOTE] Oh, these don't have propulsion of their own, do they?

[QUOTE=Rockeiro123;40753758]It takes some serious luck to have a "nano-satelite" crash into space junk in the vast void that is the earth's orbit.[/QUOTE] I'd say we're lucky it doesn't happen more often [img]http://imgkk.com/i/hh_f.png[/img]

Let's hope it doesn't take a disaster and lost lives to initiate action for clearing up the space junk. The ISS was non-critically hit just a week or so ago, let's clean it up before something worse happens

[QUOTE=smurfy;40753791]I'd say we're lucky it doesn't happen more often [img]http://imgkk.com/i/hh_f.png[/img][/QUOTE] You get a bit of a false sense considering the actual size of those satellites relative to Earth in that picture. Each dot there is the size of Mallorca. :v: But it's still true what you say, taking into consideration most of those orbit Earth 10-20 times every day.

That nano satellite is unimaginably small compared to earth, its amazing it hit anything up there

[QUOTE=millan;40753750]How were they able to specifically determine it's Russian junk but not to avoid it?[/QUOTE] Because satellites don't have rocket boosters, then kind of stay in orbit that's the point.

[QUOTE=saming;40754023]Because satellites don't have rocket boosters, then kind of stay in orbit that's the point.[/QUOTE] Uh, most expensive satellites have thrusters. This was something similar to a cubesat or something else like that.

Yeah, We can't just clean up all the space-junk. There is so much shit up there, it would cost a fuck-load of money to launch ships up, grab some junk then head down. I think it was Columbia that got hit by a speck of paint and it fucked up the window?

People need to put deoribitng boosters on their sattelites. They dont have much mass. Most use reaction control systems for changing attitude, couldn't this be used for deorbiting as well?

And how are we supposed to take care of all that space junk? Super-powerful magnets strapped to collector satellites? Because I think that most space agencies would like to recover and recycle said satellites, instead of burning them in orbit.

[QUOTE=Fatfatfatty;40754251]People need to put deoribitng boosters on their sattelites. They dont have much mass. Most use reaction control systems for changing attitude, couldn't this be used for deorbiting as well?[/QUOTE] Changing altitude is unsubstantial compared to de-orbiting.

[QUOTE=Fatfatfatty;40754251]People need to put deoribitng boosters on their sattelites. They dont have much mass. Most use reaction control systems for changing attitude, couldn't this be used for deorbiting as well?[/QUOTE] I'm pretty sure RCS can and has been used for deorbit burns, but it's probably easier(and safer) to raise the satellite into [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graveyard_orbit"]graveyard orbit[/URL]. edit: [quote=Wikipedia]De-orbiting a geostationary satellite requires a delta-v of about 1,500 m/s, while re-orbiting it to a graveyard orbit only requires about 11 m/s.[/quote]

How would you even clean up space junk anyway? It's moving around so fast, it'd be like standing under a streetlight at night trying to catch all the little bugs by hand.

[QUOTE=Mr. Someguy;40755482]How would you even clean up space junk anyway? It's moving around so fast, it'd be like standing under a streetlight at night trying to catch all the little bugs by hand.[/QUOTE] With a butterfly net with a very long handle.

[t]http://blogs.voanews.com/science-world/files/2012/03/GEO1280.jpg[/t] [t]http://blogs.voanews.com/science-world/files/2012/03/sts7crack.jpg[/t] A single fleck of paint did this. Imagine a car accident, maybe 50 mp/h, Pretty bad, right? Now imagine 4 miles per[B] SECOND.[/B] Paint could do this much damage.

What makes this story particularly endearing is that not only was it Ecuador's first satellite, it was also a tiny one; it's as if a child had just put up a drawing on the refrigerator only to have 'mother' Russia clumsily tear it down. I hope this set back doesn't discourage them from continuing their space program.

[QUOTE=DrDevil;40753753]This is why we need to clear out all the space junk in space. We already have surpassed the critical amount at which spacejunk will exponentially increase if nothing is done.[/QUOTE] Time to make space debris collecting a real thing. [IMG]http://i.imgur.com/fJbIzXm.jpg[/IMG]

What's the syndrome or whatever called, where 1 thing breaks in space and creates more things. Then those things smash into each other and create more things and it just multiplies? It's something I remember Scott Manley talking about

[QUOTE=The DooD;40756189]What's the syndrome or whatever called, where 1 thing breaks in space and creates more things. Then those things smash into each other and create more things and it just multiplies? It's something I remember Scott Manley talking about[/QUOTE] Kessler syndrome

[QUOTE=DrDevil;40753753]This is why we need to clear out all the space junk in space.[/QUOTE] as opposed to the space junk not in space?

[QUOTE=Blockhead;40754189]Yeah, We can't just clean up all the space-junk. There is so much shit up there, it would cost a fuck-load of money to launch ships up, grab some junk then head down. I think it was Columbia that got hit by a speck of paint and it fucked up the window?[/QUOTE] I actually saw this one documentary based on Space Junk, and it's actually really interesting the ways they've thought of (cheap also) to get rid of space junk. Giant fish nets, giant garbage truck-like things roaming around picking up space junk, and a way of de-orbiting satellites really cheap without using fuel, REALLY cool stuff, so yeah, it's possible to clean up a huge chunk of space debris. The only worry are the really small pieces quarter of the size of a golf ball traveling 1000 MPH [editline]23rd May 2013[/editline] [QUOTE=Mr. Someguy;40755482]How would you even clean up space junk anyway? It's moving around so fast, it'd be like standing under a streetlight at night trying to catch all the little bugs by hand.[/QUOTE] A really, [B]really[/B] big fish net. I'm serious.

[QUOTE=The DooD;40756189]What's the syndrome or whatever called, where 1 thing breaks in space and creates more things. Then those things smash into each other and create more things and it just multiplies? It's something I remember Scott Manley talking about[/QUOTE] Beware the hazards of [h2]KESSLER SYNDROOOOOOME[/h2] [b]*dundundunnnn*[/b] Seriously though, Kessler Syndrome is bad news. It has the ability to actively deny us the ability to go into space, which would effectively fuck us over as a species.