View Single Post
  #5  
Old September 27th 08, 05:22 PM posted to sci.space.policy
Monte Davis[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 35
Default How Safe is Space? New Study Spotlights Anti-Satellite and Space Debris Risks.

Claude Hopper wrote:

There are many rock bullets flying around out there...


Those entering the atmosphere make only one pass. Those in the Leonid,
Taurid etc. "streams" that don't enter the atmosphere typically make
only one pass per year.

With a little thought, you can probably figure out why man-made
orbital debris that spends months to centuries orbiting the earth
every 85-300 minutes, nearly all of it (surprise!) at distances and
inclinations quite like those of satellites and spacecraft, poses
risks that are greater by many orders of magnitude...

And why measures to prevent creation of new man-made debris are a lot
more practical than vacuum-cleaning the solar system....

And therefore, why responding to "man-made debris is dangerous" with
"yebbut there's natural debris too" might sound a little beside the
point.