space debris

NASA and SpaceX misjudged the risks from reentering space junk

dragon, NASA, Science, Space, space debris, spacex / Blake Jones / June 29, 2024

Enlarge / A European ATV cargo freighter reenters the atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean in 2013.

Since the beginning of the year, landowners have discovered several pieces of space junk traced to missions supporting the International Space Station. On all of these occasions, engineers expected none of the disposable hardware would survive the scorching heat of reentry and make it to Earth’s surface.

These incidents highlight an urgency for more research into what happens when a spacecraft makes an uncontrolled reentry into the atmosphere, according to engineers from the Aerospace Corporation, a federally funded research center based in El Segundo, California. More stuff is getting launched into space than ever before, and the trend will continue as companies deploy more satellite constellations and field heavier rockets.

“The biggest immediate need now is just to do some more work to really understand this whole process and to be in a position to be ready to accommodate new materials, new operational approaches as they happen more quickly,” said Marlon Sorge, executive director of Aerospace’s Center for Orbital and Reentry Debris Studies. “Clearly, that’s the direction that spaceflight is going.”

Ideally, a satellite or rocket body at the end of its life could be guided to a controlled reentry into the atmosphere over a remote part of the ocean. But this is often cost-prohibitive because it would require carrying extra fuel for the de-orbit maneuvers, and in many cases, a spacecraft doesn’t have any rocket thrusters at all.

In March, a fragment from a battery pack jettisoned from the space station punched a hole in the roof of a Florida home, a rare instance of terrestrial property damage attributed to a piece of space junk. In May, a 90-pound chunk of a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft that departed the International Space Station fell on the property of a “glamping” resort in North Carolina. At the same time, a homeowner in a nearby town found a smaller piece of material that also appeared to be from the same Dragon mission.

These events followed the discovery in April of another nearly 90-pound piece of debris from a Dragon capsule on a farm in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. NASA and SpaceX later determined the debris fell from orbit in February, and earlier this month, SpaceX employees came to the farm to retrieve the wreckage, according to CBC.

Pieces of a Dragon spacecraft also fell over Colorado last year, and a farmer in Australia found debris from a Dragon capsule on his land in 2022.

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Family whose roof was damaged by space debris files claims against NASA

Science, Space, space debris, space law / Ari B / June 21, 2024

The piece of debris that fell through Alejandro Otero's roof (right) came from a support bracket jettisoned from the International Space Station. — The piece of debris that fell through Alejandro Otero’s roof (right) came from a support bracket jettisoned from the International Space Station.

The owner of a home in southwestern Florida has formally submitted a claim to NASA for damages caused by a chunk of space debris that fell through his roof in March.

The legal case is unprecedented—no one has evidently made such a claim against NASA before. How the space agency responds will set a precedent, and that may be important in a world where there is ever more activity in orbit, with space debris and vehicles increasingly making uncontrolled reentries through Earth’s atmosphere.

Alejandro Otero, owner of the Naples, Florida, home struck by the debris, was not home when part of a battery pack from the International Space Station crashed through his home on March 8. His son Daniel, 19, was home but escaped injury. NASA has confirmed the 1.6-pound object, made of the metal alloy Inconel, was part of a battery pack jettisoned from the space station in 2021.

An attorney for the Otero family, Mica Nguyen Worthy, told Ars that she has asked NASA for “in excess of $80,000” for non-insured property damage loss, business interruption damages, emotional and mental anguish damages, and the costs for assistance from third parties.

“We intentionally kept it very reasonable because we did not want it to appear to NASA that my clients are seeking a windfall,” Worthy said.

The family has not filed a lawsuit against NASA, at least not yet. Worthy said she has been having productive conversations with NASA legal representatives. She said the Otero family wants to be made whole for their losses, but also to establish a precedent for future victims. “This is truly the first legal claim that is being submitted for recovery for damages related to space debris,” Worthy said. “How NASA responds will, in my view, be foundational for how future claims are handled. This is really changing the legal landscape.”

Who, exactly, is liable for space debris?

If space debris from another country—say, a Chinese or Russian rocket upper stage—were to strike a family in the United States, the victims would be entitled to compensation under the Space Liability Convention agreed to by space powers half a century ago. Under this treaty, a launching state is “absolutely” liable to pay compensation for damage caused by its space objects on the surface of the Earth or to aircraft, and liable for damage due to its faults in space. In an international situation, NASA or some other US government agency would negotiate on the victim’s behalf for compensation.

However, in this case the debris came from the International Space Station: an old battery pack that NASA was responsible for. NASA completed a multi-year upgrade of the space station’s power system in 2020 by installing a final set of new lithium-ion batteries to replace aging nickel-hydrogen batteries that were reaching end-of-life. During a spacewalk, this battery pack was mounted on a cargo pallet launched by Japan.

Officials originally planned to place pallets of the old batteries inside a series of Japanese supply freighters for controlled, destructive reentries over the ocean. But due to a series of delays, the final cargo pallet of old batteries missed its ride back to Earth, so NASA jettisoned the batteries to make an unguided reentry. NASA incorrectly believed the batteries would completely burn up during the return through the atmosphere.

This cylindrical object, a few inches in size, fell through the roof of Alejandro Otero's home in Florida in March. — Enlarge / This cylindrical object, a few inches in size, fell through the roof of Alejandro Otero’s home in Florida in March.

Because this case falls outside the Space Liability Convention, there is no mechanism for a US citizen to seek claims from the US government for damage from space debris. So the Otero family is making a first-ever claim under the Federal Torts Claim Act for falling space debris. This torts act allows someone to sue the US government if there has been negligence. In this case, the negligence could be that NASA miscalculated about the survival of enough debris to damage property on Earth.

NASA provided a form to the Otero family to submit a claim, which Worthy said they did at the end of May. NASA now has six months to review the claim. The space agency has several options. Legally, it could recompense the Otero family up to $25,000 for each of its claims based on the Federal Torts Claim Act (see legal code). If the agency seeks to pay full restitution, it would require approval from the US attorney general. Finally, NASA could refuse the claims or make an unacceptable settlement offer—in which case the Otero family could file a federal lawsuit in Florida.

Ars has sought comment from NASA about the claims made and will update this story when we receive one.

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Trash from the International Space Station may have hit a house in Florida

Florida, international space station, NASA, Science, Space, space debris, space junk / Blake Jones / April 1, 2024

This cylindrical object, a few inches in size, fell through the roof of Alejandro Otero's home in Florida last month. — Enlarge / This cylindrical object, a few inches in size, fell through the roof of Alejandro Otero’s home in Florida last month.

A few weeks ago, something from the heavens came crashing through the roof of Alejandro Otero’s home, and NASA is on the case.

In all likelihood, this nearly two-pound object came from the International Space Station. Otero said it tore through the roof and both floors of his two-story house in Naples, Florida.

Otero wasn’t home at the time, but his son was there. A Nest home security camera captured the sound of the crash at 2: 34 pm local time (19: 34 UTC) on March 8. That’s an important piece of information because it is a close match for the time—2: 29 pm EST (19: 29 UTC)—that US Space Command recorded the reentry of a piece of space debris from the space station. At that time, the object was on a path over the Gulf of Mexico, heading toward southwest Florida.

This space junk consisted of depleted batteries from the ISS, attached to a cargo pallet that was originally supposed to come back to Earth in a controlled manner. But a series of delays meant this cargo pallet missed its ride back to Earth, so NASA jettisoned the batteries from the space station in 2021 to head for an unguided reentry.

Otero’s likely encounter with space debris was first reported by WINK News, the CBS affiliate for southwest Florida. Since then, NASA has recovered the debris from the homeowner, according to Josh Finch, an agency spokesperson.

Engineers at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center will analyze the object “as soon as possible to determine its origin,” Finch told Ars. “More information will be available once the analysis is complete.”

Ars reported on this reentry when it happened on March 8, noting that most of the material from the batteries and the cargo carrier would have likely burned up as they plunged through the atmosphere. Temperatures would have reached several thousand degrees, vaporizing most of the material before it could reach the ground.

The entire pallet, including the nine disused batteries from the space station’s power system, had a mass of more than 2.6 metric tons (5,800 pounds), according to NASA. Size-wise, it was about twice as tall as a standard kitchen refrigerator. It’s important to note that objects of this mass, or larger, regularly fall to Earth on guided trajectories, but they’re usually failed satellites or spent rocket stages left in orbit after completing their missions.

In a post on X, Otero said he is waiting for communication from “the responsible agencies” to resolve the cost of damages to his home.

Hello. Looks like one of those pieces missed Ft Myers and landed in my house in Naples.

Tore through the roof and went thru 2 floors. Almost his my son.

Can you please assist with getting NASA to connect with me? I’ve left messages and emails without a response. pic.twitter.com/Yi29f3EwyV

— Alejandro Otero (@Alejandro0tero) March 15, 2024

If the object is owned by NASA, Otero or his insurance company could make a claim against the federal government under the Federal Tort Claims Act, according to Michelle Hanlon, executive director of the Center for Air and Space Law at the University of Mississippi.

“It gets more interesting if this material is discovered to be not originally from the United States,” she told Ars. “If it is a human-made space object which was launched into space by another country, which caused damage on Earth, that country would be absolutely liable to the homeowner for the damage caused.”

This could be an issue in this case. The batteries were owned by NASA, but they were attached to a pallet structure launched by Japan’s space agency.

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A hunk of junk from the International Space Station hurtles back to Earth

human spaceflight, international space station, Science, Space, space debris / Ari B / March 9, 2024

In March 2021, the International Space Station's robotic arm released a cargo pallet with nine expended batteries. — Enlarge / In March 2021, the International Space Station’s robotic arm released a cargo pallet with nine expended batteries.

NASA

A bundle of depleted batteries from the International Space Station careened around Earth for almost three years before falling out of orbit and plunging back into the atmosphere Friday. Most of the trash likely burned up during reentry, but it’s possible some fragments may have reached Earth’s surface intact.

Larger pieces of space junk regularly fall to Earth on unguided trajectories, but they’re usually derelict satellites or spent rocket stages. This involved a pallet of batteries from the space station with a mass of more than 2.6 metric tons (5,800 pounds). NASA intentionally sent the space junk on a path toward an unguided reentry.

Naturally self-cleaning

Sandra Jones, a NASA spokesperson, said the agency “conducted a thorough debris analysis assessment on the pallet and has determined it will harmlessly reenter the Earth’s atmosphere.” This was, by far, the most massive object ever tossed overboard from the International Space Station.

The batteries reentered the atmosphere at 2: 29 pm EST (1929 UTC), according to US Space Command. At that time, the pallet would have been flying between Mexico and Cuba. “We do not expect any portion to have survived reentry,” Jones told Ars.

The European Space Agency (ESA) also monitored the trajectory of the battery pallet. In a statement this week, the ESA said the risk of a person being hit by a piece of the pallet was “very low” but said “some parts may reach the ground.” Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist who closely tracks spaceflight activity, estimated about 500 kilograms (1,100 pounds) of debris would hit the Earth’s surface.

“The general rule of thumb is that 20 to 40 percent of the mass of a large object will reach the ground, though it depends on the design of the object,” the Aerospace Corporation says.

A dead ESA satellite reentered the atmosphere in a similar uncontrolled manner February 21. At 2.3 metric tons, this satellite was similar in mass to the discarded battery pallet. ESA, which has positioned itself as a global leader in space sustainability, set up a website that provided daily tracking updates on the satellite’s deteriorating orbit.

Enlarge / This map shows the track of the unguided cargo pallet around the Earth over the course of six hours Friday. It reentered the atmosphere near Cuba on southwest-to-northeast heading.

As NASA and ESA officials have said, the risk of injury or death from a spacecraft reentry is quite low. Falling space debris has never killed anyone. According to ESA, the risk of a person getting hit by a piece of space junk is about 65,000 times lower than the risk of being struck by lightning.

This circumstance is unique in the type and origin of the space debris, which is why NASA purposely cast it away on an uncontrolled trajectory back to Earth.

The space station’s robotic arm released the battery cargo pallet on March 11, 2021. Since then, the batteries have been adrift in orbit, circling the planet about every 90 minutes. Over a span of months and years, low-Earth orbit is self-cleaning thanks to the influence of aerodynamic drag. The resistance of rarefied air molecules in low-Earth orbit gradually slowed the pallet’s velocity until, finally, gravity pulled it back into the atmosphere Friday.

The cargo pallet, which launched inside a Japanese HTV cargo ship in 2020, carried six new lithium-ion batteries to the International Space Station. The station’s two-armed Dextre robot, assisted by astronauts on spacewalks, swapped out aging nickel-hydrogen batteries for the upgraded units. Nine of the old batteries were installed on the HTV cargo pallet before its release from the station’s robotic arm.

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Before snagging a chunk of space junk, Astroscale must first catch up to one

Astroscale, Commercial space, electron, Japan, new zealand, rocket lab, Science, Space, space debris / Mike M. / February 21, 2024

This artist's illustration released by Astroscale shows the ADRAS-J spacecraft (left) approaching the defunct upper stage from a Japanese H-IIA rocket. — Enlarge / This artist’s illustration released by Astroscale shows the ADRAS-J spacecraft (left) approaching the defunct upper stage from a Japanese H-IIA rocket.

Astroscale, a well-capitalized Japanese startup, is preparing a small satellite to do something that has never been done in space.

This new spacecraft, delivered into orbit Sunday by Rocket Lab, will approach a defunct upper stage from a Japanese H-IIA rocket that has been circling Earth for more than 15 years. Over the next few months, the satellite will try to move within arm’s reach of the rocket, taking pictures and performing complicated maneuvers to move around the bus-size H-IIA upper stage as it moves around the planet at nearly 5 miles per second (7.6 km/s).

These maneuvers are complex, but they’re nothing new for spacecraft visiting the International Space Station. Military satellites from the United States, Russia, and China also have capabilities for rendezvous and proximity operations (RPO), but as far as we know, these spacecraft have only maneuvered in ultra-close range around so-called “cooperative” objects designed to receive them.

The difference here is the H-IIA rocket is uncontrolled, likely spinning and in a slow tumble, and was never designed to accommodate any visitors. Japan left it in orbit in January 2009 following the launch of a climate monitoring satellite and didn’t look back.

That was the case, at least, until a few years ago, when the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) partnered with Astroscale in a public-private partnership to demonstrate capabilities the private sector could use to eventually remove large pieces of space debris littering low-Earth orbit. The same robotic technologies could also apply to satellite servicing or refueling missions.

“We are putting this debris removal by robotic technology as one of our main technology development areas because safely approaching an object, and also observing the object and capturing the object, is basically a common technology for any on-orbit servicing,” said Eddie Kato, president and managing director of Astroscale Japan.

In hot pursuit

This mission is called ADRAS-J, short for Active Debris Removal by Astroscale-Japan. “This mission entails the first ever approach of actual space debris and will be a monumental step toward a more sustainable future in space,” Mike Lindsay, Astroscale’s chief technology officer, posted on X.

The ADRAS-J spacecraft, built in-house at Astroscale’s Tokyo headquarters, is about the size of a kitchen oven and weighs roughly 330 pounds (150 kilograms) fully fueled. The satellite launched from New Zealand at 9: 52 am EST (1452 UTC) Sunday aboard an Electron rocket provided by Rocket Lab. About an hour after liftoff, ADRAS-J deployed from the Electron’s kick stage into an on-target polar orbit reaching an altitude of 370 miles (600 kilometers) at its highest point.

The liftoff from Rocket Lab’s spaceport in New Zealand was timed to allow ADRAS-J to launch into the same orbital plane as its objective—the H-IIA upper stage. Astroscale reported the spacecraft was healthy after Sunday’s launch. In a pre-launch interview, Kato said ADRAS-J will begin its pursuit of the spent H-IIA rocket in a couple of weeks, once ground teams complete initial checkouts of the spacecraft.

ADRAS-J will fire thrusters to match orbits with the H-IIA rocket, and as soon as next month, it could be flying within about 300 feet (100 meters) of the abandoned upper stage. Astroscale engineers will initially rely on ground-based tracking data to pinpoint the H-IIA’s location in space. Once in closer range, ADRAS-J will use visible and infrared cameras, along with laser ranging sensors, to transition to relative navigation mode. These sensors will measure the distance, closing rate, and orientation of the upper stage.

Astroscale officials view the switch from relying on ground tracking data to onboard relative navigation sensors as a crucial moment for the ADRAS-J mission. ADRAS-J will circle the rocket to assess its spin rate, spin axis, and the condition of its structure. This is the crux of the challenge for ADRAS-J because the rocket is unpowered and therefore unable to hold position. The upper stage also lacks laser reflectors and targets that would aid an approaching spacecraft.

This will mark the conclusion of the JAXA-supported portion of the ADRAS-J mission. If everything is working as planned, the spacecraft could move closer to the rocket to further validate Astroscale’s sensor suite and automated navigation and guidance algorithms. This will allow the company’s engineers to gather data for a proposed follow-on mission to actually go up and grab onto the same H-IIA upper stage and remove it from orbit.

“We are targeting to go closer, maybe 1 to 2 meters away from the object. Why? Because the next mission will be to really capture the H-IIA launch vehicle,” Kato told Ars last week. “In order to safely approach to a range where a robotic arm is able to be extended, it’s probably like 1.5 to 2 meters away from the object. We want to demonstrate up to that point through this ADRAS-J mission. Then on the next mission, called ADRAS-J2, we are actually equipping the robotic arm and capturing the H-IIA launch vehicle.”

Before snagging a chunk of space junk, Astroscale must first catch up to one Read More »