Tug of War on 'Space Debris' Continues ! After being blamed for increasing space Debris via anti-satellite( ASAT) test , Russia Shows Concern for the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket fragments !

Tug of War and Debate on 'Space Debris' Continues !

Today, Russia Showed concern on the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket fragment out of the USA's DART mission -  where a spacecraft will crash into an object called 'Dimorphos' to see how much its speed and path can be altered !

About DART Mission - Expectedly , NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Dart will smash into the "moonlet" Dimorphos at a speed of around 15,000mph (6.6 km/s). This should change the speed of the object by a fraction of a millimetre per second - in turn altering its orbit around Didymos.

It's a very small shift, but it could be just enough to knock an object off a collision course with Earth. Yesterday, 24th November 21 ,  SpaceX's Falcon 9 carried the DART spacecraft , which started a nearly one-year journey to crash into this asteroid as a part of the test !

Russia was Blamed Equally Earlier !

Russia was in the receiving end for increasing space Debris while conducting an anti-satellite( ASAT) test, by destroying one of its own satellites in orbit on 15th November, but Today Russia Shows Concern for the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket fragment rapprochement with the International Space Station (ISS) on November 24.

Ten days before , the US State Department condemned the ASAT test by Russia, with Price calling it “dangerous, reckless, and irresponsible” in today’s press briefing. The Department of Defense also showed some concerns, according to John Kirby, the Pentagon’s press secretary. In a separate press conference this afternoon, Kirby noted that Russia did not warn the US that it was about to do the test.

Already done by many countries including USA (2008) , China (2007) and India (2019) , ASAT tests are often done to achieve geo-political goals, that showcase a country’s strength of taking out functional satellites, at will . But debris generating out of them are a concern for the space industry !

The Debris create giant fields of satellite fragments. Sometimes, these fields of debris can span many miles, jumping into higher and lower altitudes. These debris pieces often vary wildly in size, and they can sustain in orbit for years, posing a threat to other space activities.

Objects in low Earth orbit are moving at roughly 17,500 miles per hour, so if a fragment of space debris collides with another fast-moving satellite, it can cause significant damage or even create more fragments that then threaten other satellites.

Regarding Russia's anti satellite test , Private space tracking company LeoLabs confirmed on Twitter that it had observed multiple objects that are now in the location of an old Russian satellite called Kosmos 1408, which has now been confirmed to be the target of the ASAT test.

The Tug of War Timeline :

► 15th November 21 :

Russia destroyed one of its own satellites with a ground-based missile, while conducting an anti-satellite( ASAT) test.

► USA Criticizes :

US State Department said , the Russian test has created thousands of pieces of debris that have spread out into Earth orbit.

The US has identified more than 1,500 trackable pieces of debris from the event, and many thousands of smaller ones that cannot be traced.

► 24th November 21 :

NASA Dart Mission !  Falcon 9 carried the DART spacecraft - a spacecraft will crash into an object called 'Dimorphos' to see how much its speed and path can be altered !

► Russia Shows Concern :

Russia says, 'Roskosmos' continues to monitor the situation with the rapprochement of a Falcon 9 rocket fragment with the International Space Station on November 25.

The ISS is operating as usual. As of November 24, the fragment does not pose a threat to the ISS; an evasion maneuver is not required.