RMIT expert available for comment on implications of today’s possible space collision

RMIT expert available for comment on implications of today’s possible space collision

An expert from RMIT University is available to talk to media about today’s possible space collision between an old Russian satellite and a spent Chinese rocket body.

Dr Brett Carter  (0410 418 109 or brett.carter@rmit.edu.au)

Topics: Space junk, space debris, satellite collision, space situational awareness, Earth orbit sustainability.


“At 00:56:42 UTC on 16 October (11:56am today Melbourne time), two large pieces of space debris are expected to come very close to colliding with each other travelling at a relative speed of almost 15 km/s.

“One object is an old defunct Russian satellite and the other is a spent Chinese rocket body.

“Previous collisions have resulted in thousands of new debris objects, which can take many years to be naturally “cleaned” out of orbit by atmospheric drag, creating a big problem for operational satellites.

“While a miss is highly preferred, how close these objects get won’t ever be known with complete certainty.

“In any case, this close-call is yet another example of why the long-term sustainability of earth orbit is an ongoing problem that must be tackled.”

Dr Brett Carter is a Space Scientist at RMIT University, with expertise is space physics, space situational awareness and satellite tracking, space weather and satellite positioning. He is currently working on developing new space weather prediction products with the Bureau of Meteorology’s Space Weather Services. He is also the Principle Investigator on RMIT’s Robotic Optical Observatory ROO) project, which is used to track satellites and space debris orbiting Earth for research purposes. Dr Carter also contributes to The Conversation on topics relevant to space.

***

For media enquiries, please contact RMIT Communications: 0439 704 077 or news@rmit.edu.au

 

17 October 2020

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17 October 2020

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