Dec 1 1997
From The Space Library
The U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) released a report on the threat of space debris to the planned International Space Station (ISS). According to the report, Space Surveillance: DOD and NASA Need Consolidated Requirements and a Coordinated Plan, NASA's surveillance capabilities, relying on the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) network of radar and optical sensors for information about possible collisions, had not provided enough information to prevent collisions in space. GAO surmised that DOD had focused most of its attention on military objects, missing many of the smaller pieces of debris that could have caused significant damage to NASA's Shuttles or the ISS. GAO recommended that NASA, DOD, and the CIA collaborate to upgrade the space surveillance system. According to estimates, more than 110,000 pieces of debris, most measuring about 0.5 inches (1.3 centimeters) in diameter, were floating in space. With a closing velocity of 35,000 miles (56,000 kilometers) per hour, even such a small object would do significant damage to the ISS, when the station was in a prograde orbit. GAO's report noted that the fully completed ISS would be 10 times larger than any Shuttle flying in space, and that it would be in orbit for at least 10 years, increasing the chance of a collision occurring. Although they acknowledged the possibility of a collision, NASA scientists argued that the odds favored the ISS's avoiding such an occurrence. As NASA's expert, Chief Scientist for Orbital Debris, Nicholas L. Johnson, explained, "The odds are certainly in your favor that nothing will happen at all in those 10 years [of planned space station operation].
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