2023-10-07 22:10:00
The European Space Agency (ESA) announced funding for a new mission concept involving a “swarm” of satellites to deal with the growing threat of space debris. The statement comes as the US government this week imposed its first fine on a company for leaving space junk in orbit around the Earth.
The problem of space debris
THE space debris represent a huge problem for global communications systems and space exploration efforts.
More than 50,000 pieces of orbital debris are actively tracked by the Space Surveillance Network, while more than 170 million smaller pieces, which cannot be tracked, also pose catastrophic collision risks.
Although tiny, these pieces of space debris, often resulting from the collision of disabled rockets, can have as much energy as grenades and bullets and can tear spacecraft apart, causing significant damage.
The ROARS project
The project led byUniversity of Warwicktitled “Revealing the Orbital and Atmospheric Responses to Solar activity» (ROARS), aims to solve this problem with a “swarm” of satellites. The concept of using a “swarm” of satellites consists of distributing scientific instruments over several small interconnected spacecraft, thus offering observation capabilities much greater than those of a conventional large satellite.
The project brought together a consortium of 26 institutions from nine countries, with a core team led by the universities of Warwick, Birmingham, Northumbria, Bath, UCL, Stuttgart, Imperial and Calgary, as well as industry partners such as OpenCosmos, the Space Research Institute in Austria and the Southwest Research Institute in the United States.
Any of these objects can damage an operational satellite. For example, a collision with a 10 cm object would result in catastrophic fragmentation of a typical satellite, a 1 cm object would most likely disable a spacecraft and penetrate the shields of the International Space Station, and a 1 mm object would might destroy subsystems. Scientists generally agree that, for typical satellites, a collision with an energy-to-mass ratio greater than 40 J/g would be catastrophic. Credit: ESA
Innovative technologies
The swarm’s multiple satellites are equipped with a host of new technologies, including cutting-edge atmospheric and magnetic sensors, latest generation satellite navigation systems (including GPS), and inter-satellite laser communications.
Another key element of the mission is ground observation by radar, laser and optics, particularly from theSuperWASP observatory of the’University of Warwick in La Palma, Canary Islands.
Synthetic
The ESA-funded ROARS project aims to tackle the growing problem of space debris using a swarm of innovative satellites. This mission concept brings together an international consortium and integrates cutting-edge technologies to monitor and prevent collisions between satellites and debris.
For a better understanding
1. What is the ROARS project?
The ROARS project is an initiative funded by the European Space Agency (ESA) that aims to solve the problem of space debris using a swarm of interconnected satellites.
2. What are the dangers of space debris?
Space debris poses a major risk to global communications systems and space exploration efforts. They can cause catastrophic collisions with satellites and spacecraft, causing significant damage and endangering the lives of astronauts.
The concept of a satellite swarm consists of distributing scientific instruments over several small interconnected spacecraft, thus offering observation capabilities much greater than those of a conventional large satellite.
4. Who are the ROARS project partners?
The ROARS project brings together a consortium of 26 institutions from nine countries, with a core team led by the universities of Warwick, Birmingham, Northumbria, Bath, UCL, Stuttgart, Imperial and Calgary, as well as industry partners such as OpenCosmos, the Space Research Institute in Austria and the Southwest Research Institute in the United States.
5. What technologies are used in the ROARS project?
The swarm’s satellites are equipped with many innovative technologies, including cutting-edge atmospheric and magnetic sensors, the latest generation of satellite navigation systems (including GPS), and inter-satellite laser communications.
Main illustration caption: The concept of the ROARS (Revealing Orbital and Atmospheric Responses to Solar activity) mission involves eight satellites distributed in low Earth orbit and carrying a complete suite of scientific instruments designed to measure atmospheric variability, the drivers of this variability and effects on satellite orbits (Credit OpenCosmos/University of Warwick). Credit OpenCosmos/University of Warwick
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