The importance of nonfragmentation sources of debris to the environment

Details The importance of nonfragmentation sources of debris to the environment The importance of nonfragmentation sources of debris to the environment

Jan 1999

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1999adspr..23..149k&link_type=abstract

Advances in Space Research, Volume 23, Issue 1, p. 149-159.

Computer Science

Scientific paper

Historically, satellite fragmentation has been assumed to be the major source of small orbital debris, based on U.S. Space Command observations. Although it was always known that only a few tens of kilograms of small debris could produce a significant debris hazard, there was no hard evidence that any space operations were releasing even these small quantities. Recent observations of small debris have led to the discovery of numerous nonfragmentation sources; in some cases, these sources have produced a hazard that exceeds the hazard from satellite breakups. In the centimeter-size range, these findings include aluminum oxide slag from solid rocket motors, sodium potassium droplets from coolant systems, and copper needles from U.S. experiments. Smaller debris include paint flecks from spacecraft surfaces and aluminum oxide dust from solid rocket motors. Since the number of known debris sources seems to be proportional to the amount of effort expended looking for new sources and since observation programs to measure the small debris environment have just begun, many more sources are likely to be identified. These nonfragmentation sources could increase the need for mitigation efforts and complicate cost/benefit analyses of current efforts.

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