As the regions of space around Earth become increasingly crowded with new satellites, the most popular orbits of all are becoming hazardous. Beyond a point, the crowding will reach a level at which a collision between two objects would result in a cascade. The initial collision would lead to yet more collisions until Low Earth Orbit is a cloud of hypersonic bullets of shrapnel.



That is the doomsday scenario predicted by NASA scientist Donald Kessler in 1978. But new technologies are being developed that enable companies and agencies to know precisely where their assets are in real time. Not only protecting against collisions, but improving outcomes and enabling new applications for Earth monitoring.  



New Space is here, and a range of technologies is being deployed to improve our lives and the environment back down on Earth.



Guests



Ane Aanesland, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, ThrustMe



Mark Heine, Chief Executive Officer, Fugro



Javier Tegedor, Global Navigation Satellite System Scientist, Fugro



Pieter van Duijn, Chief Technology Officer, Loft Orbital



Tyler Jones, Senior Advisor – National Infrastructure, Norwegian Space Agency



Resources



For more information on the SpaceStar technology mentioned in this episode, click here



To read the European Space Agency’s latest Space Environment Report, click here



Partner



This episode is produced in partnership with Fugro. Fugro is the world’s leading Geo-data specialist, collecting and analysing comprehensive information about the Earth and the structures built upon it. Through integrated data acquisition, analysis and advice, Fugro unlocks insights from Geo-data to help clients design, build and operate their assets in a safe, sustainable and efficient manner.The post #128 Positioning Satellites in New Space first appeared on Engineering Matters.

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