The UK Space Agency asked us to help them understand an incredibly interesting area: what do civil (i.e. – non-military) users need in the way of information about objects in space?
More and more people are interested in this! Firstly, there are increasing numbers of companies capable of launching and operating satellites: the UK has several great firms working in this area, all of whom need to know if something is about to crash into their incredibly expensive kit. But there are also insurers who are being asked to insure these satellites. And there are academics who can use the information for studies.
Space pollution image credit: NASA Orbital Debris Program Office, photo gallery, Public Domain
But what are all these objects in space?
Well - I’m afraid this is a slightly sorry tale.
Although there are a fair few meteorites and other natural objects, the problem is almost entirely human-made. As well as 70 years of simply discarding used rocket bodies, there are hundreds of thousands of small pieces of debris, all whizzing around at 11 km per second. In some instances these can be traced to specific incidents: in 2007 China carried out an anti-satellite missile test which alone created up to 150,000 particles. In 2009, two Russian satellites collided and created another 2,000 pieces of debris.
The website Stuff in space gives an excellent picture of the scale of the problem and the different orbits which it affects.
So space is pretty big and we are not yet at the stage where it is unusable, but space is getting more congested – particularly at orbits close to the earth where most satellites are.
What are the benefits of all this debris in space?
There are no known benefits to debris in space. Insuring against crashes and avoiding crashes are pure costs. Keeping your satellite clear of random pieces of junk is difficult, expensive, and it takes up valuable time and energy. If the skies were clear, you could spend all that time and money on doing something more productive.
Unfortunately then, the pollution which we humans have brought to space, particularly close to the earth, has created a serious problem for ourselves. There are solutions in train here, but they are slow, not everyone agrees with them, and certainly no-one massively wants to pay for them. Why should one business clear up after another? Let alone after a state actor?
Our satellites will therefore be avoiding junk for some years to come.
How did we go about discovering the needs of users?
Although the top line was pretty clear – as someone interested in a satellite, I need it not to crash into anything, so that I haven’t wasted several years of my life – the detail was much harder to get to. What information do operators need to stop this crash happening, and when do they need it by? What information do insurers need to price risk fairly?
The PSC applied agile techniques to try and solve this extra-terrestrial problem.