October 24, 2014

Image Caption: Artist's concept of the Suomi NPP satellite in space. Credit: NASA/Goddard Scientific Visualization Studio/Ryan Zuber

Brett Smith for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online

As seen in the Academy Award-winning film Gravity, debris in orbit around Earth is a serious hazard for astronauts and spacecraft operating high above our planet.

On September 28, NASA determined that its Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) satellite, which it operates in conjunction with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), needed a course adjustment to avoid colliding with a large bit of space junk, according to a recent statement from the agency.

[ Watch the Video: Debris In Motion Space Junk Orbital Debris ]

The piece of space junk determined to be between 4 inches and 3.3 feet in size was moving at nearly 17,000 mph, closing in head on and had the potential to miss the Suomi NPP satellite by only about around 300 feet if evasive maneuvers were not taken. With that knowledge, officials decided to reposition the orbit of the satellite.

Because Suomi NPP moves at a similar speed as the debris object, if there had been an impact, it would have occurred at a combined speed of nearly 35,000 mph, said Harry Solomon, Mission Manager for Suomi NPP at NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center. This would have been catastrophic not only to the satellite, but would result in thousands of pieces of new debris.

NASA officials noted that the move emphasizes just how much space debris is flying over our heads at any one time. According to the space agency, there are over 20,000 items being monitored by the Department of Defense for satellite operations around the world. Only around 1,000 of those 20,000 items are working spacecraft. The remainder of the monitored space debris ranges in size from the dimensions of a softball to enormous rocket bodies all orbiting out of control at speeds averaging over 22,000 mph.

Nicholas Johnson, a retired NASA debris expert from the Johnson Space Center in Houston, noted that that objects currently not being tracked are the ones that are the most dangerous.

See the original post:

NASA Satellite Evades Space Junk