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NPR 1A - Cyber Monday: The potential threat of space debris

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A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying Amazon Project Kuiper lifts off to launch the first production satellites from Space Launch Complex 41 in Cape Canaveral, Florida.   Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo/Getty Images  https://the1a.org/segments/cyber-monday-the-potential-threat-of-space-debris/ This is a great listen!  Excerpt from the website: U.S. officials are turning their attention to a pressing problem in space. Not asteroids crashing into earth, but something else:  space debris. Thousands of satellites have been launched into space because our modern life depends on them. There are about  10,000 active satellites in low earth orbit right now.  But as more and more of them go up, space is getting crowded. And where there’s crowds, there’s waste. Millions of pieces of space debris are circling Earth right now. There are big pieces — everything from dead satellites to spent rocket stages. And tiny ones like blots and paint flecks. But they’...
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Japanese company gets close to space debris capture!

 Uh oh! It appears BMSO has some competition. A Japanese company, Astroscale, developed a spacecraft to capture space debris and launched it in February 2024. Last week, they got within 50 feet of a large piece of debris. Article on Ars Technica:  https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/02/astroscale-aced-the-worlds-first-rendezvous-with-a-piece-of-space-junk/ Article on MSN:  https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/japan-s-spacecraft-makes-world-s-first-move-to-chase-dead-rocket-junk-for-cleanup/ar-AA1A8z2A?ocid=winp1taskbar&cvid=9482be91a27d4019ad22989aa1ef73fd&ei=30
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The Kessler Effect a.k.a. Kessler Syndrome

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From the Wikipedia page:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kessler_syndrome  The  Kessler syndrome , also known as the  Kessler effect , [ 1 ] [ 2 ]   collisional cascading , or  ablation cascade , is a scenario proposed by  NASA  scientists  Donald J. Kessler  and Burton G. Cour-Palais in 1978. It describes a situation in which the density of objects in  low Earth orbit  (LEO) becomes so high due to  space pollution  that collisions between these objects cascade, exponentially increasing the amount of space debris over time. [ 3 ]  This proliferation of debris poses significant risks to  satellites , space missions, and the  International Space Station , potentially rendering certain  orbital regions  unusable and threatening the sustainability of space activities for many generations. [ 3 ]  In 2009, Kessler wrote that modeling results indicated the debris environment had already become un...
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Space themed music

 Do you know why there was so much space themed music in the 50s and the 70s? In the 50s it was due to the first human-made satellite in space, Sputnick. It and another satellite ventures inspired many songs. In 1969, the United States put the first human on the moon, and in the years following performed many more missions with humans going to space and landing and operating on the moon. Even though Blue Moon Space Operstions is not doing a human spaceflight project, our project can still inspire. Hopefully in the coming years, more people will be inspired to make more songs about space   I made a playlist on Spotify of space themed songs. You will notice a lot of them are from the 1970s. The BMSO Spotify Channel: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0H1a2F4iSWyUNMA3f4wDy9?si=hqZRLIF4TiKEZAPRO8NkJQ&pi=u-fNx99RMiRKyp
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Big chunk of space junk lands near village in Kenya

 From the article: “ Kenya Space Agency (KSA) officials in Nairobia, Kenya, East Africa, are reporting that on December 30 a large metallic ring roughly 8 feet (2.5 meters) in diameter and weighing some 1,100 pounds (500 kilograms) fell from the sky, reportedly “red-hot” and crashed into Mukuku village, in Makueni county – in the country’s south.” https://www.leonarddavid.com/skyfall-debris-crashes-into-south-african-village-believed-to-be-launch-vehicle-leftover/
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Scientists speak out about space debris

 Article link, Space.com https://www.space.com/space-exploration/satellites/tragedy-of-the-commons-in-space-we-need-to-act-now-to-prevent-an-orbital-debris-crisis-scientists-say
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What is Space Junk?

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 The UK Natural History Museum has a great primer on what is space junk and why it is a problem. https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/what-is-space-junk-and-why-is-it-a-problem.html
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