Space, ESA, NASA

Space, ESA, NASA

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  • Robert Kluge
    Robert Kluge    Premium Member   Group moderator
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    Gruppen-Newsletter: DEBIE-2
    Hallo colleagues,

    well, ESA has now a system, which finds out, which and how many space debris threaten the ISS (see below), but the most essential question is, how to do something against it.

    ESA and the whole scientist around, are quite good in analyzing data, making models and simulations. Until nothing happens, nothing will happen. If one day ISS will be hit by a space debris and the whole crew has to leave the station, then we will get something to do.

    I'm allready be in contact with ESA, to ask them, if we can work together on this matter.

    Have fun, reading there sucess:


    Speeding along in orbit at more than seven kilometres per second, the International Space Station has its surfaces carefully shielded against potentially catastrophic collisions with micrometeoroids or man-made debris. Except that is for a trio of unprotected panels until recently attached to external payload platform of ESA’s Columbus module, specifically intended to sustain impacts from tiny specks of space dust.

    Each pointing in a different direction – forward in the direction of orbit, upwards and sideways out to space - the three 10 by 10 cm aluminium foil panels formed the sensor units of an instrument called the DEBris In-orbit Evaluator-2 (DEBIE-2), returning telemetry on impact events to a separate data processing unit.

    These units were sited on the European Technology Exposure Facility (EuTEF) which was mounted on the Columbus exterior until returned to Earth on the Space Shuttle this week. Columbus is an ideal position for impact monitoring since the module forms part of the leading edge of the International Space Station (ISS).

    There are around 13 000 catalogued pieces of orbital debris larger than 10 cm across. These are big enough to be tracked by terrestrial radar so the ISS, the Shuttle and other satellites can manoeuvre out of their path. In addition there are many millions more items too small to be monitored from the ground. Traditionally most of what is known about these orbital populations has come from simply examining space hardware returned to Earth and counting the number and size of impact craters they have sustained while in orbit.

    European Technology Exposure Facility (EuTEF)
    However the DEBIE system actively measures impact energies and velocities as strikes occur. Possessing only a limited detection area – three times 100 cm2 – the instrument is designed around impacts from particles around a micrometre (a thousandth of a millimetre) in size, the type of debris about which least is known.

    The first ever standardised impact detector, DEBIE was based on an initial concept by a UK company and then developed under ESA contract by companies in Finland.

    DEBIE-1 operated in a 600 km orbit on board ESA’s Proba technology demonstrator satellite for a total of five years from its launch in 2001. DEBIE-2, was launched aboard the same Shuttle that delivered Columbus to the ISS in February 2008, then installed during a subsequent spacewalk.

    Best regards
    R.Kluge

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    • 15 Sep 2009, 12:57 pm