Space junk article
ROB MATSON (ROBERT.D.MATSON@cpmx.saic.com)
17 Apr 1997 12:10:06 -0800
The following Reuters article came out today:
Insurers fear space junk
Italian insurer Generali warns of debris at
Venice space insurance conference
April 17, 1997: 11:02 a.m. ET
VENICE, Italy (Reuter) -- Hundreds of tons of
orbiting 'space junk' are threatening the safety of
spacecraft and creating a real financial risk for
insurers on Earth, a space insurance conference
heard on Thursday.
Italian insurer Generali says more than two million
kilograms of debris has accumulated within 2,000
Km of the Earth's surface since the Soviet Union
launched the first 'Sputnik' probe in the late 1950s.
Around 9,500 objects are large enough to be
tracked and avoided on space missions, while other
fragments are small enough for shields to offer
protection. But the high risk comes from thousands
of objects too small to track but too large to protect
against.
"There are mounting fears about space debris,
both in terms of its number and its volume," said
Generali deputy general manager Benito Pagnanelli
as he drove the message home to a space insurance
conference in Venice on Thursday.
"NASA is particularly concerned about the
consequences on space shuttles, which have
sustained damage from contact with debris," he said.
Delegates heard how in the last 16 months, 13
windows of space shuttles have been damaged. They
were also told that in July last year a Cerise satellite
was struck by part of a motor the size of a suitcase
from an Ariane rocket.
Pagnanelli further warned insurers of the dangers
of third party liabilities stemming from space junk
re-entering the atmosphere and crashing to Earth in
populated areas.
"The conventional wisdom was that these things
are supposed to burn-up on re-entry, but more than
10,000 objects have re-entered the atmosphere in
the last decade," the conference was told.
The change is in part due to technical advances.
Tougher components are increasingly able to survive
impact with the atmosphere.
Last year a 225kg part from a Delta rocket
crashed in Georgetown, Texas, only 45 meters from
a house.
Space debris stems from fragments breaking off
during propulsion, released deliberately as part of the
mission, or the discarded upper stages of rockets.
Clean-up of space is too costly and dangerous,
delegates heard, but stricter rules or economic
incentives could be used to alleviate the situation.
Pagnanelli also highlighted predictions from
scientists about high intensity meteor storms expected
in 1998 and 1999.
"Insurers must evaluate the possible impact on
their industry, in case the majority of satellites orbiting
the world are affected and the space debris problem
is made worse," he said.