You might not see it when you look at the night sky, but there’s a lot of junk around the world right now. Pieces of decomposed satellites, discarded rocket launchers, and other man-made debris circle our planet like a giant bubble of trash. Tracking the positions of these objects is necessary for the safety of working satellites, such as crew missions and even the dangers they pose to the International Space Station.
As MIT Technology Review reports, a new technology for tracking this pound offers the ability to find spaceships in broad daylight, instead of within small time windows as was previously the case.
Sending lasers into space is one way scientists can detect space debris. When the laser hits an object, it jumps back, and scientists can detect that response and keep records of the clutter when they find it. Unfortunately, this technique does not offer much in the way of accuracy, and it is difficult to determine the location of objects based on the laser response alone.
To improve the effectiveness of the laser method, scientists are looking into the air with lenses designed to detect the reflections of sunlight from objects. However, this can only be done during morning as dusk, because full daylight hides the imaging tools and prevents easy detection and tracking.
In a new paper published in Nature Communications, researchers explain how they devised a new method of tracking spacecraft in broad daylight. They built a special imaging system with filters that allow them to see stars in the blue sky. That in itself is an achievement, but what this also allows is the comparison of space-pun reflexes with the background stars, because the waste is significantly brighter in the sky.
“Space debris objects are visualized against the backdrop of blue air and corrected in real-time benefits,” say researchers of their new system. “The results are a starting point for all space waste laser stations to drastically increase their output in the very near future. A network of a few stations worldwide will be able to significantly improve the predictions of orbits as needed for missions for removal, coherence warnings, avoidance of maneuvers or determination of attitude. ”
Tracking space debris is becoming more and more important as we continue to explore our solar system with probes and even manned missions. Navigating through all the junk we’ve already thrown into space will always be challenging, but systems like these can make things a little easier.
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