Re:The US military launched 500M needles into space (2019)
by mlyle on Thursday June 02, 2022 @12:01AM
(#31591183)
Satellites die from collisions today.
> You could do this hundreds of thousands of times in LEO and thousands in MEO and still barely change a single satellite’s collision odds.
I have to think that multiplying the number of debris objects by 300,000 for a few months *, and preferentially targeting that debris at a specific satellite would change its odds a bit. So, you're way off in hyperbole-land at this point.
Of course, it all depends on what we mean by "targeting". Still, one launch gets you approximately 3x the total amount of debris in orbit, and the opportunity to choose how it's distributed.
* Objects with a mass/surface area ratio of ~15 kg/m^2 decay in about a year in LEO, depending upon space weather and other factors. The tungsten balls have a ratio of 32 kg/m^2, so can be expected to last a fair bit longer.
> You could do this hundreds of thousands of times in LEO and thousands in MEO and still barely change a single satellite’s collision odds.
I have to think that multiplying the number of debris objects by 300,000 for a few months *, and preferentially targeting that debris at a specific satellite would change its odds a bit. So, you're way off in hyperbole-land at this point.
Of course, it all depends on what we mean by "targeting". Still, one launch gets you approximately 3x the total amount of debris in orbit, and the opportunity to choose how it's distributed.
* Objects with a mass/surface area ratio of ~15 kg/m^2 decay in about a year in LEO, depending upon space weather and other factors. The tungsten balls have a ratio of 32 kg/m^2, so can be expected to last a fair bit longer.