Back when I did my
undangerous predictions for 2013, I predicted this:
10. A major satellite collision in space emphasizes the space debris problem.
That was kind of a throwaway -- I was looking something that might happen to fill out the list of 10.
Well, look what just happened:
Russian satellite hit by debris from Chinese anti-satellite test
"A small Russian spacecraft in orbit appears to have been struck by
Chinese space junk from a 2007 anti-satellite test, likely damaging the
Russian craft, possibly severely, SPACE.com has learned."
...
"CSSI technical program manager T.S. Kelso reported that the collision
involved the Chinese space junk and Russia's small Ball Lens In The
Space (BLITS) retroreflector satellite, a 17-pound (7.5 kilograms). The
Fengyun 1C satellite debris was created during
China's anti-satellite test on Jan. 11, 2007, and has posed a threat to satellites and crewed spacecraft ever since."
Well, that is a fulfilled prediction; faster than I thought this year, and it hit a really small satellite. But that shows the space debris problem is very, very serious.
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