Kathmandu, February 9
In 1982, the Soviet Union launched a spy satellite, Cosmos 1408, into space. The satellite crashed two years after it went into space and has been in orbit ever since.
Finally, in November 2021, Russia destroyed an anti-satellite missile by launching an anti-satellite missile. In that process, about 15 hundred pieces were spread in space. The United States had similarly destroyed its useless satellites in 2008 and China in 2007.
Russia’s latest move has drawn sharp criticism, as pieces of a satellite could collide with another spacecraft and cause a major crash in space.
Russia has shown that the satellite can be destroyed in space without breaking any law. But that may not be the case in the coming days.
Dirt in spac
According to Jonathan McDavel, a space physicist at the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, people think space is useless, but it’s not.
As of April 2021, more than 7,300 satellites are orbiting the earth at a high speed in space a few hundred kilometers above the earth. All of them are running at a speed of 17,000 miles per hour and are moving in every direction. It’s like a big playground where players are running around.
The satellite has to run so fast to stay in its orbit. The International Space Station and other satellites orbit the Earth 16 times a day.
After all, what are so many satellites doing in space?
”Satellites are commonly used in communications, such as television broadcasting, telephone, and the Internet, for weather forecasting and aviation,” says McDavell. Satellites make it easier to see the Earth’s position, so it’s helpful to do research on climate change.
That is, a large part of our needs on Earth are connected to these satellites. In the past, most satellites were launched by governments, as during the Cold War most satellites were launched by either the US government or the Soviet government.
But over time, private companies are entering the field for commercial use. The question is if such a large number of satellites are orbiting in space, why don’t they collide with each other? Is there a regulator for these?
”The regulation on these is very simple,” says McDavell. There is a very strict rule for the use of radiofrequency that one wave should not be interrupted by another. But you can do whatever you want on your axis. There is no road in space like cars on the road moving in the same direction at the same speed according to the rules. Some are missing here and others there. The notion that spaces is a very large space and there is no possibility of one colliding with another is becoming a big problem.
Serious anxiety
Space is now becoming a crowded place and efforts to avoid collisions are on the rise.
Most of the garbage, i.e.; satellite fragments, is being monitored. But traces of what happened when Russia destroyed its satellite last year have not been tracked. Some of its fragments were near the orbit of the International Space Station.
According to McDavell, every 93 minutes at the time, Mission Control Radio was sending a message to the space station that the space station was approaching a piece of garbage, so be safe. In fact, it is very difficult to avoid the reality of space garbage, even without knowing the reality.
If the destruction of a satellite of a country could cause such a great danger, how much destruction would be done if a deliberate attempt was made to cause damage? Can be estimated.
Is it possible for tensions between the two countries to reach space, not just on Earth?
According to McDavell, the military presence in space began from the moment a man stepped into space. Although countries have not sent weapons into space, they are launching spy or communications satellites to support their gold on Earth. However, the US and other armies are talking about the war in space.
Modern armies rely heavily on satellites for communications. So, when war breaks out on Earth, it can reach space. If there is a space war, a much larger amount of garbage will be created in space and then outer space will become unsuitable for use. Stress in space will affect the lives of millions of people. The concern is that this is not a matter of the future, it has already begun.
Tension in space orbit
According to experts, countries may have different interests in harming each other’s space missions.
Interfering in space and blocking access to information can prove to be a success for the powerful nation.
There are various ways to intervene in a space mission. There are anti-satellite missiles, which can destroy satellites, jam GPS, and even temporarily disable the satellite’s optical sensors.
According to experts, there is a kind of traffic jam in space right now, especially in the lower axial region of the earth. There are a large number of satellites. There are also damaged satellites, fragments of rockets, and fragments of destroyed satellites. If a satellite stops working in such an area, it is difficult to find out the cause and effect immediately. In such a situation, there is a risk that one country will accuse another country and subversive activities may take place in space on the pretext of that.
Despite all this, there are many missions in space where different countries of the world are moving forward together. But it is also true that space is becoming strategically important for the military. So, what can be done to make space a peaceful place?
According to Michelle Hennell, a professor at the University of Mississippi in the United States and a space lawyer, it would be wrong for any country to think that its satellites orbiting thousands of kilometers away from the Earth are outside the realm of law.
According to experts, an attack on Earth related to digital technology indicates what could happen in cyberspace and space in the future.
In recent times we have seen attacks on every aspect of human life. The root of the war will be the earth, whether it is cyberspace or space. As long as the fighting force is not affected in any way and no incentive is given to stop it, no region can be free from the effects of war.
According to Shashank Joshi, defense editor at The Economist, the recent allegations against Russia amid tensions in Ukraine indicate a rehearsal for a space war. Russia is blocking images of its military forces on the Ukrainian border from appearing on the radar.
According to him, there is a radar satellite called Sentinel. Used to take pictures of Russian military posts around Ukraine. But Russia has been accused of manipulating satellites to prevent such images from being taken. This is actually a rehearsal for space warfare, which is taking place on a daily basis.
In reality, space warfare can be far more destructive than space warfare seen in science fiction movies. The more hardware a country has, the more insecure it seems to be. In this regard, China and the United States are almost at the same level. But it is wrong to think that the country with the most satellites in space is the most powerful in space.
According to experts, moderate powers such as Iran or North Korea do not have many satellites. However, by jamming the frequency of the GPS signal, they can affect the space even with a laser. And for that, it’s not just the big powers that are involved. Ability to influence space, try to tilt other countries, or how to use space? All this is no longer limited to a handful of countries.
Experts say regulations need to be set for space traffic lenses. There should be rules about garbage accumulating in space because it is becoming unstable now. (Sourced from BBC)
By Karuna Thapa
