Outer space danger threatens 2010 World Cup
Jun
Photo credit: ESA/Science Photo Library
There are fears that a danger from outer space may disrupt one of the world’s biggest televised events, the 2010 soccer World Cup.
The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) is concerned at the growing accumulation of space junk orbiting around the earth and its effect on our ‘lifestyle’. The UNOOSA, located in Vienna, was set up by the UN to promote international cooperation for the peaceful use of outer space. We are not making this up – they really do exist!
A report into space junk was urged after separate events raised alarm bells that the ‘orbiting rubbish dump’ was reaching tipping point. In 2007, China destroyed a satellite while doing missile testing, resulting in 150,000 pieces of debris and in 2009 a disused Russian satellite collided with an Iridium satellite, which left around 1,500 pieces orbiting the earth. Added to this are a growing number of nuts, bolts, gloves and other debris left over from space missions.
Just harmless space junk?
Fortunately you don’t need to worry about space junk falling out of orbit and landing on you as our protective atmosphere incinerates most objects if they fall to the earth.
However, there is a very real danger that space junk could get at us in a way we might not have expected.
With a growing cloud of rubbish orbiting the earth, some at speeds of up to 4.8 miles a second (18,000 mph), there is the increasing likelihood that there will be more collisions in space, threatening the $250 billion dollar space industry. The earth’s orbit, which has been described as highly congested and contested, is home to several vital services we depend on including GPS navigation and television network satellites.
It is this last point that appears to have the UNOOSA particularly worried, perhaps imagining violent riots if English football fans are denied television coverage of the soccer World Cup, particularly if a crucial satellite is destroyed in the dying minutes of an England vs. Brazil final.
In a release to the press, Mazlan Othman, director of UNOOSA, said: “We should have all the instruments to make sure that lifestyles are not disrupted because of misconduct in space when people switch the television to watch the World Cup next month in Johannesburg.”
So what are they doing to protect our lifestyle and make sure we can all watch the World Cup without worrying that space junk could rear its ugly head and ruin the party?
Time for a cleanup?
Last year, the UNOOSA issued a Space Debris Mitigation guideline, which urged the removal of spacecraft and launch vehicles from the earth’s orbit at the end of their missions. The guidelines were supported in spirit by most of the member nations including India, the U.S. and Italy.
The real test will be to see whether they follow through on their good intentions. Obviously any sort of cleanup would involve significant costs (perhaps someone can invent a massive celestial vacuum cleaner?) and that often leaves all parties quibbling over who’s going to pay. Compare it to the end of an acrimonious dinner party with everyone arguing over the bill and you get the idea.
Fortunately this is an issue that we can expect to be resolved simply because we can’t afford for it to be ignored. Not only are we wholly dependent on GPS navigation for everything from airline travel to fleet management, but law and order depends on TV networks being able to broadcast the World Cup without any threat of disruption from outer space! By the way, if you’re a big world cup fan, visit the Google blog to find out interesting ways you can celebrate the beautiful game!
