Space junk or space debris is a growing problem in the space around Earth. The amount of defunct artificial objects in Earth's orbit is growing by the month.

According to the US Space Surveillance Network, over 20,000 synthetic traceable objects are currently soaring around in near-earth space. Those are only the objects that can be actively tracked; it is estimated that over 160 million pieces of space debris exist with a diameter smaller than 1 centimeter forming a growing risk for space exploration.

In an attempt for the UK to fulfill its ambition to become a responsible spacefaring nation, the University of Warwick launched a research center to tackle the growing threat of space junk.

*Image Credit: Dotted Yeti via Shutterstock / HDR tune by Universal-Sci*

The research center has been named the Centre for Space Domain Awareness. It will place emphasis on threats to the technology that fills the sky above our heads in preparation for an extensive increase in the number of satellites that offer critical services such as navigation, communications, and Earth observation. Threats include space junk but also phenomena like damaging fluctuations of solar winds.

The director of the new center, Professor Don Pollacco, stated that the near-Earth environment is becoming of increasing importance; however, 'we don't know that much about what's really going on there.' Therefore, the research center will focus on investigating the solar wind and its influence on the Earth's atmosphere and satellites, in addition to the debris situation in all orbital regimes and its impact on spacecraft.

UK spacefaring ambitions

Pollacco: "Both those areas have become important, especially in terms of the UK's ambition to become a spacefaring country and the responsibility that entails."

Although satellites are crucial to the UK's space-for-Earth industries like the internet, telecommunications, infrastructure (including banking), and Earth Observation, the near-Earth environment has become littered with trash from multiple space launches.

*Image Credit: University of Warwick/Mark Garlick*

Besides derelict man-made objects left in orbit, there are also other types of space junk. These include particles from spacecraft erosion, disintegration, and collisions. On top of there are unburned particles derived from solid rocket motors as well as solidified liquids that got expelled. Even paint flecks can form a threat at the enormous speeds of orbital flight.

Scientists at the University of Warwick have been developing innovative ways to detect debris in orbit via projects such as DebrisWatch, as well as investigating how solar winds may affect spacecraft operations.

Pollacco: "The bulk of modern society is dependent on space. But we now have a space traffic issue. Sooner or later, this is all going to become a big issue. From our point of view, the idea is to get onto it a lot earlier.

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