December 2023 - Bay of Plenty Business News

2 BAY OF PLENTY BUSINESS NEWS December 2023
> THE PORTER REPORT
A monthly update on the business
world from leading writer David Porter
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OUR CROWDED SKIES
> By DAVID PORTER
I
recall as a toddler being
transfixed by the grainy
black and white movies
of humankind’s first explorations
into space, culminating
in the first landings on the
moon.
As we look up into our
night sky, we may be deluded
into thinking that we are still
looking out onto a vast unexplored
world.
But leaving to one side the
recently launched space telescope’s
remarkable
revelations
of
the mysteries
of
deep
David Porter
space, we have still managed
to clutter up Earth’s near
orbit to an amazing extent.
According to a source published
online, quoting the
Index of Objects Launched
into Outer Space – maintained
by the United Nations
Office for Outer Space
Affairs (UNOOSA) – there
were 11,330 individual satellites
orbiting the Earth at
the end of June 2023. That is
almost 40 percent up on January
2022.
That is in itself unsurprising
given that 2022 saw the
most objects ever launched
into space in one year, with
2,474 objects leaving the
planet.
However, as the report
notes, in the first half of 2023
there have already been more
than 1,000 objects launched,
so the numbers are likely to
keep going up.
Even here in New Zealand
we can lay claim to our own
space launch station, the
Rocket Lab Launch Complex,
located near Ahuriri
Point at the southern tip
of Māhia Peninsula.
International
protocols
Keep in mind there are various
international protocols
involved in gaining permission
to launch a satellite.
But still, the growth in the
industry is staggering. Since
2018 there have been more
objects launched into space
than in the previous 60 years
of the space industry.
And according to Encyclopaedia
Britannica fact checkers,
space debris – that is artificial
material orbiting the
earth that is no longer functional
– represents a staggering
problem.
Much of the debris is in
low Earth orbit, within 2,000
km of Earth’s surface, though
some debris can be found in
geostationary orbit around
35,000 km above the equator.
As of 2021, the United States
Space Surveillance Network
was tracking more than
15,000 pieces of space debris
larger than 10cm across.
According to their article,
there are about 200,000
pieces between 1 and 10cm
across and that there could
be millions of pieces smaller
than 1cm. How long a piece
of space debris takes to fall
back to Earth depends on its
altitude.
Because of the high speeds
at which objects orbit Earth
(up to 8 km per second), a collision
with even a small piece
of space debris can damage
a spacecraft. For example,
space shuttle windows have
often had to be replaced
because of collision with
debris collisions with objects
smaller than 1mm (0.04 inch).
You may have wondered
to what extent the internet
services we have all come to
rely upon may be affected
by this curious dump site we
have created in near space.
As with so many things, it all
comes down to money.
As a sailor I have long
depended upon GPS navigation
for sea voyages. Thankfully
satellites provide access
for locations that have no
cables running anywhere
close such as ships, oil platforms,
aircraft, overland
expeditions … and my yacht.
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