What are the various problems caused by the excessive number of artificial satellites?
Since the launch of the world's first artificial satellite,
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The launch of Sputnik 1 started the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union, and after that, artificial satellites were launched at a pace of 10 to 60 aircraft a year until the 2010s. However, in recent years, the pace of artificial satellite launches has increased rapidly, with more than 1,300 artificial satellites being launched in 2020 and more than 1,400 in 2021. Supriya Chakrabarti, who is a physics professor at the University of Massachusetts is, the 2021 September 7500 aircraft more artificial satellites is, a high degree of from the Earth's surface are present in the following low Earth orbit 2000km (LEO) wrote I am .
Many of the private companies to run the system by coordinating also of satellite thousands to tens of thousands mega constellation by, because you are trying to and monitoring of the provision of Internet services and climate change, the number of satellites that are present in LEO Is expected to continue to increase exponentially. Aaron Boley, an astronomer at the University of British Columbia, noted that satellite programs planned by private companies such as SpaceX and Amazon are planning to launch a total of 100,000 satellites.
In addition, Rwanda, which has achieved rapid economic development in recent years, developed the first artificial satellite 'RWASAT-1' with the full support of the University of Tokyo, and succeeded in launching it in September 2019. Furthermore, in October 2021, a plan for a mega constellation including a total of 320,000 artificial satellites called 'Cinnamon' was announced , and countries that have not advanced to space development so far also embarked on the launch of artificial satellites. It is said that it is.
However, it has been pointed out that the launch of new artificial satellites one after another not only has merits, but also causes various problems such as the following.
◆ Congestion in outer space and space debris
As more and more artificial satellites are launched in the coming decades, it is expected that collision accidents between artificial satellites will increase and space debris (space debris) that spills into outer space will also increase. At the time of writing the article, there are at least 128 million space debris in LEO, of which 34,000 are large debris over 10 cm. 'Safely operating many satellites will be a major challenge,' Boley said. 'In the event of an accident that causes large space debris in a particular orbit, it can affect a wide range of orbits. '.
Also, space debris is not only caused by collisions, but can also be caused by the natural decomposition of parts of artificial satellites that have deteriorated due to exposure to intense UV light, Boley points out. Space debris can damage not only other satellites, but also spacecraft on which humans are aboard. In May 2021, damage was found on the robot arm of the International Space Station (ISS) due to a space debris collision.
If the number of artificial satellites increases too much and the density of space debris exceeds the critical value, there is a danger that the space debris generated by the collision will cause the next collision in a chain reaction, resulting in a self-propagating ' Kessler syndrome'. Has also been pointed out. In this case, outer space will be blocked by space debris, which may hinder humankind's advance into space. Boley states that aggressive space debris removal in outer space may be necessary, but how to remove space debris remains an issue for the future.
◆ Environmental damage
The space industry is a field that emits huge amounts of carbon, and according to The Guardian, a major British newspaper, an average rocket launch emits 220 to 330 tons of carbon into the Earth's atmosphere. Given that the average long-range airliner emits a few tonnes of carbon per passenger, it may seem like nothing more than you might think, but as the demand for satellites increases, rockets Carbon emissions associated with the launch will also increase.
In addition to carbon emissions associated with rocket launches, there are concerns about the environmental impact of satellites re-entering the Earth. The re-entry of artificial satellites may release elements such as aluminum and substances such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) that destroy the ozone layer. In addition, most of the wreckage of artificial satellites will fall into the sea, so most of the garbage will not be collected and will sink into the sea.
◆ Light pollution
It has been pointed out that as the number of artificial satellites orbiting increases, the appearance of the night sky will change. In a paper published by Boley et al. On the preprint server arXiv in September 2021, it is stated that 8% of the light in the night sky may come from artificial satellites in the future. This is a problem that can also affect astronomical research, and the global scientific journal Science reports that 'there may no longer be a place on Earth to meet the standards for observatory construction.'
It turns out that the 'light pollution' produced by artificial satellites is affecting astronomical observations all over the earth --GIGAZINE
Even if too many artificial satellites cause various problems, the services provided by artificial satellites are already indispensable to people's lives, and measures such as uniformly prohibiting the launch of artificial satellites are not realistic. is not. 'We are deeply connected to satellites, which play an important role in supply chains, financial transactions, weather monitoring, climate science, global communications, search and rescue operations,' Boley said. I am.
So Boley argued that people had to find the right balance between the pros and cons of satellites, 'I don't think a complete stoppage of satellite launches will work. But it is wise to slow things down and delay the placement of 100,000 satellites until better international rules are created. '
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