|
|
Article: Researchers from Johnson Space Center report recent findings in space research.
- Article from:
- Journal of Technology
- Article date:
- June 16, 2009
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2009 NewsRX. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
"The intentional breakup of Fengyun-1C on I I January 2007 created the most severe orbital debris cloud in history. The altitude where the event Occurred was probably the worst location for a major breakup ill the low Earth orbit (LEO) region, since it was already highly populated with operational satellites and debt-is generated from previous breakups," scientists writing in the journal Advances in Space Research report.
"The addition of so many fragments not only poses a realistic threat to operational satellites in the region, but also increases the instability (i.e., collision cascade effect) of the debris population there. Detailed analysis of the large ...