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Revised: May 2008
"Space is big/Space is dark/You'll always find/A place to park/Burma Shave". - S. Harris.
While that might have been the truth when Burma Shave was still in business (1925-1963), it's not the case today. The space between the Earth and the Moon is filled with all kinds of trash, ranging from the mundane, such as burnt out rocket casings and broken satellites, to the bizarre, including a spacesuit (fortunately without a wearer)! Although several Space Shuttle missions have demonstrated that satellites can be patched up in orbit or brought back to Earth for more extensive repairs, a broken satellite is normally written off and left to its own devices. Unlike junk on Earth, which gets picked up and hauled to a recycling station or a dump, space debris can circle the Earth for years and years until it slams into something, creating yet more space debris. Space debris can also be caused by experiments with anti-satellite weapons. The space debris plague worsened in 2007 after the Chinese destroyed their own Fengyun-1C, one of their old weather satellites, with a missile, creating a cloud of junk that will spread out beyond the space through which the Fengyun-1C travelled.
Currently, there are several efforts to mitigate the problem:
- Pieces of space debris are tracked by radar, so that spacecraft can be steered around them.
- Spacecraft can be built to survive impacts from space debris. This will also protect them from meteoroid impacts.
- Several of the spacefaring nations have agreed to measures to reduce the number of derelict satellites that could hit working satellites by steering aging satellites into otherwise useless orbits or into paths that will cause them to harmlessly burn up in the atmosphere of the Earth.
This bibliography will cover resources on space debris and the hazards it presents to our continuing use of space. All items are available at the Headquarters Library, except as noted. NASA Headquarters employees and contractors: call
(358-0172) or email Library@hq.nasa.gov for information on borrowing or in-library use of any of these items. Members of the public, contact your Local Library for the availibilty of these items. NASA Headquarters employees can request additional materials or research on this topic. The Library welcomes your comments or suggestions about this webpage.
Unless otherwise noted, the following policies and procedural requirements can be accessed by anyone through the NASA Online Directives Information System:
- NASA Policy Directive 8010.3A: Notification of Intent to Decommission or Terminate Operating Space Systems and Terminate Missions
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- NASA Procedural Requirements 8715.5: Range Safety Program
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- NASA Procedural Requirements 8715.6A: NASA Procedural Requirements for Limiting Orbital Debris
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- NASA Standard 8719.14: Process for Limiting Orbital Debris
- Note: This standard is accessible to both NASA personnel and the general public through the NASA Technical Standards Program Website.
Bedillion, Erik, Gary Blevins, et al. Conceptual Design of an orbital Debris Defense System. NASA-CR-197211. Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, 1 Jan. 1994.
(19950006283: (2005) NTRS)
Campbell, W.S., and D.M. Nerio. SMC Orbital/Sub-Orbital Debris Mitigation User's Handbook, Version 1.0. Aerospace Corporation, El Segundo, CA, 1 July 2002.
(ADA435172: (27 July 2005) DTIC)
Cepollina, Frank J., Richard D. Burns, et al. Method and Associated Apparatus for Capturing, Servicing, and De-orbiting Earth Satellites Using Robotics. NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC, 13 Nov. 2007.
(20080009621: (2008) NTRS)
Christiansen, Eric L. Meteoroid/Debris Shielding. NASA-TP-2003-210788. Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, August 2003.
(20030068423: (2005) NTRS)
Cox, Lee-Volker. Avoiding Collisions in Space: Is It Time for an International Space Integration Center?. U.S. Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Carlisle, PA, 30 March 2007.
(ADA469676: (25 July 2007) DTIC)
Johnson, Nicholas L. "Debris Removal: An Opportunity for Cooperative Research", Space Situational Awareness Conference, London, UK, 25-26 Oct. 2007.
(20070030088: (2007) NTRS)
__________. "The Disposal of Spacecraft and Launch Vehicle Stages in Low Earth Orbit", Proceedings of the Advancement of Space Safety Conference, Chicago, IL, 14-16 May 2007.
(20070021588: (2007) NTRS)
__________. "The New Jettison Policy for the International Space Station", 36th Scientific Assembly of COSPAR, Beijing, China, 16-23 July 2006.
(20060024715: (2006) NTRS)
Johnson, Nicholas L., Eugene Stansbery, et al. "The Characteristics and Consequences of the Break-up of the Fengyun-1C Spacecraft", 58th International Astronautical Congress, Hyderabad, India, 24-28 Sept. 2007.
(20070007324: (2007) NASD)
Krisko, Paula H. "The Predicted Growth of the Low Earth Orbit Space Debris Environment: An Assessment of Future Risk for Spacecraft", Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part G: Journal of Aerospace Engineering, vol. CCXXI, no. 6 (Oct. 2007), p. 975-985.
(20070024897: (2007)NTRS)
Note: This issue of the journal was devoted to the issue of space debris. It is accessible to the general public online.
Leleux, Darrin P., and Jason T. Smith. "Satellite Breakup Risk Mitigation", AIAA AAS Astrodynamics Specialist Conference, Keystone, CO, 21-24 Aug. 2006.
(20060026149: (2006) NTRS)
Liou, J.C., and Nicholas L. Johnson. "A Sensitivity Study on the Effectiveness of Active Debris Removal in LEO", 58th International Astronautical Congress, Hyderabad, India, 24-28 Sept. 2007.
(20070013702: (2007) NTRS)
Loomis, M.P. and J.L. Arnold. "Thermal, Radiation and Impact Protective Shields (TRIPS) for Robotic and Human Space Exploration Missions", 2nd International Planetary Probe Workshop, NASA-CP-2004-213456, Ames research Center, Moffett Field, CA, 23-27 Aug. 2004.
(20070014633: (2007) NASD)
Singh, M. "In-Space Repair and Refurbishment of Thermal Protection System Structures for Reusable Launch Vehicles", 10th International Conference and Exposition of the European Ceramic Society, Berlin, Germany, 17-21 June 2007.
(20070031665: (2007) NTRS)
Taylor, Michael W. Orbital Debris: Technical and Legal Issues and Solutions. Institute of Air and Space Law Faculty of Law, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, 1 Aug. 2006.
(ADA453419: (20 Sept. 2006) DTIC)
The Aerospace Corporation. Center for Orbital and Reentry Debris Studies. 2008 [14 May 2008].
http://www.aero.org/capabilities/cords/index.html
Edwards, David. Space Environments and Effects (SEE) Program. 17 Jan. 2008 [14 May 2008].
http://see.msfc.nasa.gov/
European Space Agency. European Space Operations Center. ESOC: Focal point for ESA space debris activities. 11 April 2008 [14 May 2008].
http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/ESOC/SEMU2CW4QWD_0.html
Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee. 2006. [14 May 2008].
http://www.iadc-online.org/
Note: This site links to several studies on space debris and international compacts to mitigate the problem.
Kinard, William H. Space Environments and Technology Archive System (SETAS). 16 Jan. 2007 [14 May 2008].
http://setas-www.larc.nasa.gov/index.html
Note: This site holds a great deal of information on the wear and tear on different materials and structures in orbit, some of which can be attributed to space debris.
Stansbery, Eugene. NASA Orbital Debris Program Office. 13 Nov. 2007 [14 May 2008].
http://orbitaldebris.jsc.nasa.gov/
Note: This is the main NASA site for studies of space debris.
United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs. Space Debris and Nuclear Power Sources. 21 Jan. 2008 [14 May 2008].
http://www.unoosa.org/oosa/natact/sdnps/index.html
United States Strategic Command. 2006 [15 May 2008].
http://www.stratcom.mil/
Note: This joint forces command is responsible for tracking space debris.
Vorsmann, Peter. Institute of Aerospace Systems. Spaceflight Technology. 23 April 2008 [14 May 2008].
http://www.ilr.ing.tu-bs.de/forschung/raumfahrt/en/index2_html?PreferredLanguage=English
__________. Space Debris. 23 April 2008 [14 May 2008].
http://www.ilr.ing.tu-bs.de/forschung/raumfahrt/spacedebris/index2_html?PreferredLanguage=English
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