[FPSPACE] Fw: [lunar-update] Deadly Debris

LARRY KLAES ljk4 at msn.com
Wed Nov 11 18:52:52 EST 2009


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-----Original Message-----
From: Larry Kellogg <larry.kellogg at gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 11 Nov 2009 23:39:57 
To: <lunar-update at news.altair.com>
Subject: [lunar-update] Deadly Debris

Deadly Debris
 
 Back in February 2009, I posted to the Moon, Mars, and Beyond blog some 
 items dealing with space debris. 
 http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/2009/02/up-up-and-away-ping-ping-thunk-thud-and.html <http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/2009/02/up-up-and-away-ping-ping-thunk-thud-and.html> 
 
 Chad sent me a link to Mike Combs short story, "Deadly Debris" which it 
 looks like DARPA should now read. A very riviting story. 
 http://writings.mike-combs.com/deaddebr.htm <http://writings.mike-combs.com/deaddebr.htm> 
 
 In September DARPA released a Request for Information (RFI) regarding 
 orbital debris removal capabilities.  Tiny URL for 
 http://tinyurl.com/yl6j33v <http://tinyurl.com/yl6j33v> 
 
 Launchspace http://www.launchspace.com/editorials.html <http://www.launchspace.com/editorials.html>  had an editorial 
 September 28, 2009 entitled Space Debris Gets Some Respect, which mentions 
 it.
 ----------------------
 For the last few decades the international space community has freely used 
 near-Earth space for many important applications without regard for the 
 impact of artificial satellites on the space environment. Although 
 space-faring nations have spewed trash from 200 km to beyond 36,000 km, the 
 space below about 1,600 km has been severely abused. Recent events have 
 finally persuaded the U.S. Government to start thinking about cleaning up 
 this environmental "super fund site." No, it is not the Environmental 
 Protection Agency (EPA) that has been given the task of figuring out how to 
 remove space debris. It is the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency 
 (DARPA), a part of the Department of Defense (DOD).
 
 On September 17th, DARPA released a Request for Information (RFI) regarding 
 orbital debris removal capabilities. This request is addressed to all 
 potential domestic and foreign sources and it asks for innovative solutions 
 that might lead to the eventual removal of orbital debris.
 snip
 ----------------------
 
 If folks would like to participate in on-line discussions of topics like 
 Deadly Debris in space, Google has a way to do this with Google Wave.
 
 It is by invitation only for now and MemphisDJ sent me an invitation so I 
 have been reading up on Google Wave, watching videos, and looking at some 
 conversations.
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Wave <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Wave> 
 http://wave.google.com/help/wave/about.html <http://wave.google.com/help/wave/about.html> 
 
 I thought I would post this to a New Wave and if you have a Google Wave 
 account you can let me know what you think.
 Title is: Deadly Debris
 https://wave.google.com/wave/#restored:wave:Deadly&#43;Debris <https://wave.google.com/wave/#restored:wave:Deadly&#43;Debris> 
 
 Thanks for looking up with me.
 
 Larry Kellogg
 
 Web Site: http://lkellogg.vttoth.com/LarryRussellKellogg/ <http://lkellogg.vttoth.com/LarryRussellKellogg/> 
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 http://www.googlewaveinvite.com/ <http://www.googlewaveinvite.com/> 
 https://services.google.com/fb/forms/wavesignup/ <https://services.google.com/fb/forms/wavesignup/> 
 http://www.googlewaveinvite.com/category/google-wave-news/ <http://www.googlewaveinvite.com/category/google-wave-news/> 
 ==============================================================
 http://writings.mike-combs.com/deaddebr.htm <http://writings.mike-combs.com/deaddebr.htm> 
 Deadly Debris
 By Mike Combs
 mikecombs at aol.com
 Copyright © 1995
 
 In a low Earth orbit, a glove slowly tumbled in the brilliant sunshine. The 
 glove's career as a tiny artificial satellite of the Earth began on the day 
 an astronaut of the early American space program had neglected to keep up 
 with it. While the spacewalker was distracted with other matters, the glove 
 had decided to venture out of the space capsule. By the time he took note of 
 this, it had drifted beyond his reach.
 
 The orbiting item of apparel had even deserved mention in books and magazine 
 articles as an example of the kind of objects Space Command could track with 
 its space-scanning radars. The glove dutifully returned every radar signal 
 bounced up to it. As it rounded the blue-and-white globe below, it was privy 
 to the kind of view which had never failed to deeply move the humans who had 
 made it. The glove alternately warmed in the unimpeded rays of the sun and 
 chilled in the shadow of the Earth as it progressed through innumerable 
 ninety-minute days.
 
 On this day, however, its circular journeys were coming to an end. The 
 glove's path was intersecting with that of a defunct Russian weather 
 satellite. It hit the bulky space platform almost dead-on with a velocity 
 which would have made a rifle bullet seem a dawdler. The metal and plastic 
 structure erupted with myriad pieces of debris. Mere minutes later, that 
 swarm of fragments began slamming into the abandoned lower stage of a rocket 
 launched over a decade ago. The giant cylinder pitched about crazily before 
 being riddled and then disintegrated by the densest part of the swarm. It 
 added its particles to the rapidly-moving cloud of space junk, and now the 
 swarm was more dangerous still. Satellites, both functional and long 
 disused, fell to the rapid attack and in turn became part of the Kamikaze 
 assault themselves. Like a splitting nucleus which split other nuclei which 
 split still more in an out-of-control nuclear chain reaction, the belt of 
 speeding debris grew and spread along its orbit, devastating everything in 
 its path.
 * * *
 snip
 ==============================================================
 https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&amp;mode=form&amp;id=a55fd6e5721284ee7df2068d2b300b5f&amp;tab=core&amp;_cview=0 <https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&amp;mode=form&amp;id=a55fd6e5721284ee7df2068d2b300b5f&amp;tab=core&amp;_cview=0> 
 Tiny URL for above http://tinyurl.com/yl6j33v <http://tinyurl.com/yl6j33v> 
 
 Solicitation Number:
 DARPA-SN-09-68
 Notice Type:
 Special Notice
 Synopsis:
 Added: Sep 17, 2009 4:58 pm
 DARPA Orbital Debris Removal (ODR)
 
 Request for Information
 for
 Tactical Technology Office (TTO)
 Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
 
 DESCRIPTION
 
 This is a Request for Information (RFI) by the Defense Advanced Research 
 Projects Agency (DARPA) Tactical Technology Office (TTO) regarding 
 implementation of an orbital debris removal capability. The Government does 
 not intend to award a contract on the basis of this RFI or to otherwise pay 
 for the information solicited. The Government may consider issuing a formal 
 solicitation at a later date.
 
 Information is sought from all potential sources, domestic and foreign, on 
 innovative technological solutions that will enable the Government to 
 provide orbital debris removal capabilities and to identify interest and 
 qualification for participation in any future program.
 
 snip
 ==============================================================
 http://orbitaldebris.jsc.nasa.gov/newsletter/pdfs/ODQNv13i1.pdf <http://orbitaldebris.jsc.nasa.gov/newsletter/pdfs/ODQNv13i1.pdf> 
 Orbital Debris Quarterly News
 Volume 13, Issue 1
 January 2009
 
 New Debris Seen from Decommissioned
 Satellite with Nuclear Power Source
 
 snip
 ==============================================================
 
 WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK
 
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