36 ms·
Where only a percentage of objects can change their path if needed. If a collision does happen 2 objects become 20,000 objects in an instance.
by swarnie 3y ago
Where only a percentage of objects can change their path if needed.
If a collision does happen 2 objects become 20,000 objects in an instance.
- bryanlarsen 3y agoIf a 300kg satellite at a 300 mile orbit becomes 20,000 pieces, those are pretty darn small pieces. Objects in space regularly get hit by <1cm micro-meteoroids. They may become disabled but they don't shatter. And by being so small their mass/area ratio becomes really small and they deorbit within 90 minutes from that altitude.
- ceejayoz 3y agoThe orbital tracks at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_satellite_collision https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_satellite_collision clearly show how a high-speed collision can raise the orbits of the resulting debris, having imparted significant acceleration to them. (For example: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_satellite_collision#/media/File:Collision-50a.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_satellite_collision#/medi...>) That smash "created at least 1,000 pieces of debris larger than 10 cm (4 in)".