A new radar system will track 250,000 tiny pieces of space junk. It may help prevent snowballing collisions that could cut off our access to orbit.

Oct 16, 2019, 02:09 IST

LeoLabs is based in San Francisco, though its new device is in New Zealand. It will make data about an estimated 250,000 bits of tiny space junk available to private companies for the first time.

Over 100 million of bits of junk surround Earth, from abandoned satellites, spacecraft that broke apart, and other space missions.

Each piece of space debris, no matter how small, travels at speeds high enough to inflict catastrophic damage to vital equipment. A single hit could be deadly to astronauts on a spacecraft.

If the problem gets extreme, a disastrous chain of collisions could spiral out of control. This possibility is known as a Kessler event.

Ceperley said the risk of a Kessler event is very low, but "each time there's a big collision, it's a big change in the LEO [low-Earth orbit] environment."

NASA can equip spacecraft with debris shields, but those can only withstand impacts from objects smaller than 1 centimeter (half an inch).

NASA works with the Department of Defense to track some dangerous space junk, mapping objects' orbits so that satellites can maneuver around them. But any debris smaller than 10 centimeters has so far proved too tiny to track.

NASA works with the Department of Defense to track some dangerous space junk, mapping objects' orbits so that satellites can maneuver around them. But any debris smaller than 10 centimeters has so far proved too tiny to track.

In the last few years, an explosion of private satellite operators and rocket companies like SpaceX has created new demand for data on orbital debris. LeoLabs provides that information using a worldwide network of debris-tracking radar systems.

In the last few years, an explosion of private satellite operators and rocket companies like SpaceX has created new demand for data on orbital debris. LeoLabs provides that information using a worldwide network of debris-tracking radar systems.

The newest addition to that network, the Kiwi Space Radar in New Zealand, tracks objects smaller than 10 centimeters.

"Radars send out pulses of radio waves up into the sky and then listen for echoes that come back down off the satellite and space debris," Ceperley said. "It's sort of like bats and echolocation. They use little chirps of sound. Instead, we use chirps of radar waves."

"Radars send out pulses of radio waves up into the sky and then listen for echoes that come back down off the satellite and space debris," Ceperley said. "It's sort of like bats and echolocation. They use little chirps of sound. Instead, we use chirps of radar waves."

A novel design makes the system sensitive to small objects: Long rows of a few hundred identical transmitters and receivers send precisely timed signals, working together to track an object's movement above Earth.

A novel design makes the system sensitive to small objects: Long rows of a few hundred identical transmitters and receivers send precisely timed signals, working together to track an object's movement above Earth.

Eventually, the company hopes to put an array near the equator and two others closer to each of Earth's poles.

Eventually, Ceperley hopes that his company's data can help future "tow-truck satellites" that could be launched to clean up space debris.

Using LeoLabs' data, private debris-removal companies could calculate a particular satellite's risk level of a catastrophic collision, Ceperley said.

"A lot of the risk comes from this small debris, all this stuff that's never been tracked before. Nobody's got a good solution to clean that up," Ceperley said.

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A new radar system will track 250,000 tiny pieces of space junk. It may help prevent snowballing collisions that could cut off our access to orbit.

LeoLabs is based in San Francisco, though its new device is in New Zealand. It will make data about an estimated 250,000 bits of tiny space junk available to private companies for the first time.

Over 100 million of bits of junk surround Earth, from abandoned satellites, spacecraft that broke apart, and other space missions.

Each piece of space debris, no matter how small, travels at speeds high enough to inflict catastrophic damage to vital equipment. A single hit could be deadly to astronauts on a spacecraft.

If the problem gets extreme, a disastrous chain of collisions could spiral out of control. This possibility is known as a Kessler event.

Ceperley said the risk of a Kessler event is very low, but "each time there's a big collision, it's a big change in the LEO [low-Earth orbit] environment."

NASA can equip spacecraft with debris shields, but those can only withstand impacts from objects smaller than 1 centimeter (half an inch).

NASA works with the Department of Defense to track some dangerous space junk, mapping objects' orbits so that satellites can maneuver around them. But any debris smaller than 10 centimeters has so far proved too tiny to track.

In the last few years, an explosion of private satellite operators and rocket companies like SpaceX has created new demand for data on orbital debris. LeoLabs provides that information using a worldwide network of debris-tracking radar systems.

The newest addition to that network, the Kiwi Space Radar in New Zealand, tracks objects smaller than 10 centimeters.

"Radars send out pulses of radio waves up into the sky and then listen for echoes that come back down off the satellite and space debris," Ceperley said. "It's sort of like bats and echolocation. They use little chirps of sound. Instead, we use chirps of radar waves."

A novel design makes the system sensitive to small objects: Long rows of a few hundred identical transmitters and receivers send precisely timed signals, working together to track an object's movement above Earth.

Eventually, the company hopes to put an array near the equator and two others closer to each of Earth's poles.

Eventually, Ceperley hopes that his company's data can help future "tow-truck satellites" that could be launched to clean up space debris.

Using LeoLabs' data, private debris-removal companies could calculate a particular satellite's risk level of a catastrophic collision, Ceperley said.

"A lot of the risk comes from this small debris, all this stuff that's never been tracked before. Nobody's got a good solution to clean that up," Ceperley said.