Earth’s Kessler syndrome worry might be avoided thanks to satellite junk eating spaceship
Earth could avoid the worrying doom of the so-called Kessler syndrome thanks to a brand new junk eating spacecraft.
Currently, the apocalyptic Kessler syndrome is something closer to reality than not, according to experts in the field who have been monitoring or working in the space industry for decades.
If it comes true, life on Earth would change forever as a result of huge changes to our ability to use space to humanity's advantage.
And with more and more satellites smashing in to hundreds of pieces before being left to orbit around the Earth, worry is high in the scientific community.
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But the Kessler syndrome could be avoided if new technology comes to light and can be used for the benefit of humankind.
Created by scientists at NASA back in the 1970s, Donald Kessler and Burton Cour-Palais created the concept of the Kessler syndrome. It it comes true, it predicts that humanity will encounter grave danger if it keeps up with how much it is sending in to space.
The area around the planet is getting more and more crowded. And as that happens, the chances of objects - such as satellites or leftover junk - massively increases.
It is a topic explored in the 2008 film Gravity, which shows a horror show domino effect where objects collide, gather speed, and keep on colliding.
Currently, more than 10,000 satellites are circling the Earth at all times. On top of this, there is more than 100 trillion pieces of old satellite going around the planet alongside the 10,000 satellites used for the likes of making phone calls or accessing the internet.
Kessler said that once the amount of debris in a particular orbit reaches something called 'critical mass', collisions begin even if no more objects are launched into the orbit.
In 2021, Rolf Densing, director of operations at the European Space Agency, said: “We are living in a time the mega constellations are being built up, and the population of objects in orbit around us is growing by the thousands per year. So by now, we have about 1,000 starlink satellites in orbit. By the end of the decade, we will be talking about tens of thousands of satellites that are in the orbit around us.”
If satellites collide, go offline, and we can't replace them due to the overcrowded space around the planet, we're doomed. Internet and Wi-Fi will fail, phones will go down, and GPS and television could be over. Planes would not be flown due to their reliance on GPS while industry would grind to a halt for the very same reason.
But all hope is not lost thanks to British tech startup Magdrive. The company is behind a brand new propulsion system which, the team hopes will turns aluminium or copper into plasma to create thrust.
The team believe it could be used to essentially eat the junk around the planet, using the waste parts to fuel a new spacecraft with the propulsion system on board.
Speaking to The Telegraph, Mark Stokes, chief executive of Magdrive, said: “There were no dinosaurs in space, so there is no chemical fuel, which means everyone has to bring their own propellant from Earth.
“It’s like building a new train every time you leave the station.
"So if you want to start building huge structures in space, or habitats for human beings, you need to find something different than existing propulsion. So we took a whole new approach."
It is reported that the new technology works by feeding small pieces of metal into a plasma injector. Here, the material is ionised using energy stored on board from the spacecraft's solar panels, before being turned in to dense plasma, which is a form of gas then used to fuel the ship.
Mr Stokes added: “Being able to alter the amount of power we put into the metal means we can tune it completely on the fly, and anyone can use a single propulsion system to do all these manoeuvres in space.
“We can use any solid metal. The initial thing is having to process the space metal, and commercial companies are looking at how exactly they do that, and we are talking to them early so we can get it in the form we want.”
On the Magdrive website, it reads that the company's approach 'not only aims to clear up space but also represents a significant step forward in sustainable space exploration'.
It adds: "It’s an exciting time for the industry and we’re proud to be at the forefront of solutions that help make space cleaner and more accessible."
The technology could eventually be used across numerous new spacecraft to help extend their lifespan by up to three times their current length, which is between five and 15 years depending on the build.
Topics: World News, Technology, Space, Science, Environment
Tom Earnshaw