From: Terry W. Colvin (fortean1@mindspring.com)
Date: Fri Mar 07 2003 - 19:32:18 MST
Space Debris
1. Space Debris
http://esip.gmu.edu/~rgomez/spring02/lectures/part2lecture1/space_debris/sld001.htm
2. Space Junk: The Stuff Left Behind
http://www.space.com/spacewatch/space_junk.html
3. Nature's Tiniest Space Junk [RealPlayer]
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2001/ast21feb_1.htm
4. Simulation of Orbital Debris Shielding Performance at High Impact
Velocities
http://www.tacc.utexas.edu/research/users/fahrenthold/
5. Hypervelocity Impact Test Facility: Orbital Debris and Micrometeoroids
http://www.wstf.nasa.gov/Hazard/Hyper/debris.htm
6. Pelted by Paint, Downed by Debris
http://www.thebulletin.org/issues/2002/so02/so02primack.html
7. Protecting the Space Station from Meteoroids and Orbital Debris
http://www.nap.edu/books/0309056306/html/index.html
8. Center for Orbital and Reentry Debris Studies
< http://www.aero.org/cords/ >
This Topic in Depth begins with a Web site maintained by Dr. Richard B.
Gomez of George Mason University called Space Debris (1). The site is
offered as a slide presentation, which explains what space debris is, where
it comes from, if it's dangerous, what is known about it, and what can be
done about it. The very interesting site is perfect for non-experts because
of its simple descriptions and abundance of graphics. The second site from
Space.com is an article written by Robert Roy Britt entitled Space Junk: The
Stuff Left Behind (2). Visitors can read about the number of objects being
tracked (at the time the article was written), what the total weight of
these objects is, view a table of the number of various pieces of space junk
by country, and even find out it if there is a risk of getting hit in the
head by these objects. The next site, Nature's Tiniest Space Junk (3), is
offered by NASA's news portal Science@NASA Web site. The page describes how
scientists are monitoring tiny dust sized meteoroids that are constantly
flying around our planet that have the potential to be quite dangerous. For
those really interested, the site lets people listen to audio files of the
meteor radar in action. The fourth site on space junk, maintained by the
Texas Advanced Computing Center, is a Simulation of Orbital Debris Shielding
Performance at High Impact Velocities (4). The page highlights the work of
Dr. Eric Fahrenthold, who is simulating orbital debris shielding performance
at high impact velocities. A basic description of the work is offered along
with the simulation itself, which shows a piece of space debris striking a
surface. Next, from NASA's Hazards Assessment Web site, comes the
Hypervelocity Impact Test Facility: Orbital Debris and Micrometeoroids (5)
page. Readers can find out more on the problem of space junk, why NASA feels
its so important to study simulating particle impacts on spacecraft, the
lightweight shields that are in place on the International Space Station,
and more. The sixth site is an article that appeared in the Bulletin of the
Atomic Scientists by Joel Primack called Pelted by Paint, Downed by Debris
(6). Although there's not a large amount of content on the site, it does
give some interesting information on a different aspect of the subject. The
author describes how any missile defense program could be detrimentally
affected by space debris and suggests the need for space agencies to take
active steps to prevent its buildup. The National Academies Press offers the
next site, which is actually an online book on Protecting the Space Station
from Meteoroids and Orbital Debris (7). Contents include risk management
strategies for the space station, debris modeling, shielding the station,
collision warning and avoidance, and more. The last site is from the
Aerospace Corporation and its Center for Orbital and Reentry Debris Studies
(8). Visitors will find an introduction to the Center, the basics of space
debris, what happens during satellite reentry, re-entry data and
predictions, additional links, and more. [JAB]
>From The NSDL Scout Report for the Physical Sciences, Copyright Internet
Scout Project 1994-2002. http://scout.wisc.edu/
-- Terry W. Colvin, Sierra Vista, Arizona (USA) < fortean1@mindspring.com > Alternate: < fortean1@msn.com > Home Page: < http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Stargate/8958/index.html > Sites: * Fortean Times * Mystic's Haven * TLCB * U.S. Message Text Formatting (USMTF) Program ------------ Member: Thailand-Laos-Cambodia Brotherhood (TLCB) Mailing List TLCB Web Site: < http://www.tlc-brotherhood.org >[Vietnam veterans, Allies, CIA/NSA, and "steenkeen" contractors are welcome.]
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