A NASA and Elon Musk, through SpaceX, a space company owned by the billionaire, signed a contract to avoid collisions in space between the internet satellite network Starlink and NASA spacecraft. With this, both initiatives hope to make missions to space safer. 63364
Space collisions and space junk, exploration enemies 505i49
The focus of this agreement is to prevent collisions in space between ships of the NASA and the large number of satellites in the SpaceX, which are currently orbiting the Earth. According to the of NASA, Steve Jurczyk, communication between private companies and public initiatives in space needs to exist, since with more and more satellites and missions being launched, the danger of launch collisions and conjunctions (dangerous approach between 2 objects in space) due to lack of communication will increasing.
The systems of Starlink have signal receivers GPS that estimate the orbital parameters, and an ion propulsion system, which together constitute a system of automatic maneuvers that will move the satellites as the ships are approaching. With the information shared between the NASA and SpaceX, it is possible that this system can more accurately avoid collisions in space. The agreement makes it clear that, without prior notice from the SpaceX, NASA it must not maneuver its satellites or ships, to avoid a possible collision trying to avoid another one.
The agreement, however, does not address the problem of space junk that can cause many collisions with new satellites or spacecraft. According explained in the Showmetech special on the topic and commented on ShowmeCAST episode 24, space junk is anything that is no longer functional and is stopped in space, such as modules from previous missions, satellites that are no longer active and fragments from the collisions of these objects.
Earth has different orbits and three of them are low earth orbit ( LEO ), the mean Earth orbit (MEO) and the geostationary orbit (GEO). THE LEO , as indicated by the name, is the closest to us and also the one with the most garbage, since it is where the International Space Station is located and it is also where companies like SpaceX e OneWeb are constantly sending out several new satellites. The systems present in Starlink's missions and satellites will also calculate the location of this debris, thus preventing collisions in space with this type of material.
For more information on NASA and SpaceX, keep an eye on showmetech. Take the opportunity to listen to ShowmeCAST 24, which addresses the topic of space debris:
