September 20, 2018

Russia has introduced a national standard for mitigation of littering the outer space. The Russian authorities approved the national standard to fight littering of outer space. According to Rosstandard web site, this document has been developed by the “Roskosmos’” leading scientific Institute “Central Scientific-Research Institute of Machinery (CSRIM).”

This new GOST is now replacing a similar document from 2008. It has been prepared by taking into account the provisions of international normative documentation that “reflect best world practice on mitigation of littering the outer space,” guideline principles of the UNO Committee on Space and Interagency Coordination Committee on Outer Space Garbage. The requirements of the new standard apply to all space equipment to be created and modernized.

Orbit garbage

In 2016, the CSRIM scientists concluded that if this issue is not addressed, then in 100-200 years, development of space activities may stop – the entire near earth orbit would be fully spread of equipment debris.

It was in February 2009, when two items of space equipment collision occurred – the Soviet military satellite “Kosmos-2251” and Iridium 33 American telecommunications satellite. The both go destructed into almost two thousand pieces. More than once, the resultant garbage presented threat t the International Space Station. According to the Russian Outer Space Control System, there are about 13 000 objects flying in the near earth orbit: at lower near earth orbit – seven thousand objects at over 20 centimeters in size and six thousand objects sized at 20-40 centimeters. In their turn, NASA reported about 19 000 artificial objects in the space.

Jonathan McDowell, a well-known astronomer announced that there are currently approximately two thousand tons of active satellites and seven thousand “outer space garbage” in the orbit of the Earth, while most of this belongs to the USA.

In spring and summer 2018, the Space Council of RAS held two meetings on this issue. At these meetings, the experts announced development of a new laser equipment, which destroys the garbage along the flying path of the International Space Station. In addition, the Russian scholars from the SRI of Nuclear Physics of MSU developed a new ultraviolet radar equipment for detection of space garbage from the ISS board.

https://ria.ru/science/20180920/1528959316.html