Did you know that to stay in orbit around the Earth, objects need to race through space at about 8 km/s speed?
That means zooming from Milan to New York in about 13 mins.
With that speed, a piece of metal as big as an iPhone would have the kinetic energy of a bus roaring at 100 km/h.
At such hyper-velocities, even a screw has immense  destructive potential.
In case of impact, a satellite could be completely destroyed. In an instant.
And thousands of fragments would be generated, hurtling through space like a swarm of lethal cosmic bullets.
Houston, we have a problem
Space debris, or “everything we’ve launched into space without taking care to dispose”, comprise defunct satellites and fragments of them generated by past accidents. Sharing their orbits with operational spacecrafts, they threaten these invaluable space assets.
Countless of these insidious objects surround the Earth. Statistical estimates reveal that over 11 tons of space junk orbit our planet, ranging in number from tens of thousands to even millions depending on the size range considered.
And it’s getting worse.
Copyright: ESA/ID&Sense/ONiRiXEL, CC BY-SAÂ 3.0Â IGO come testo ESA
How could this affect our lives here, down on the ground?
Satellites are essential assets behind many modern services, making space debris an imminent concern not only for the space industry, but for everyone.
Through this website, Leosstar aims to raise awareness among people and let them understand the imperativeness of the problem.
Here are some examples: try to imagine living without these services
Weather forecast
It’s not just about knowing whether to bring the umbrella or not. Stop and think, how would this influence air transports?
GPS
Affecting navigation systems relied upon by countless industries and individuals.
Satellite communications
No internet. No tv. No satellite phone.
Satellite images
To help coping with emergencies during natural disasters.
Earth sciences
For climate research, environment monitoring and related agricultural applications.
Defense and Security
Space assets are fundamental in assisting the military to ensure every day the safety of our skies.
Space research
Memory foam, water purification systems, dried food, infrared thermometers, memory cards and insulin pumps..They’re all technologies derived from space research!
How are we dealing with this issue?
- Guidelines to follow to minimize the generation of new debris.
- Shielding to protect spacecrafts against smaller fragments (around 1 millimeter, or below).
- Continuous observation of larger debris from ground Space Surveillance and Tracking (SST) stations to make their trajectory predictable and avoid collisions with satellites.
However:
- Even if we were to stop generating new debris today, the population would still continue to grow due to collisions.
- Predictions from ground observations usually have large uncertainties.
- Currently, SST stations have problems detecting objets below a few cm, the largest portion of the debris population.
As a responsible action, Leosstar wants to contribute to global Space Situational Awareness, introducing an innovative solution designed to work in harmony with existing technologies to address the challenge at hand.
This resulted in designing a novel space-based data source device, offering a revolutionary perspective for observations while bridging the gaps in modern SST networks.Â
Soon to be launched!
Better accuracy
Higher duty cycle
Broader coverage
Potentially continuous tracking
Get to detect small, untracked debris
Better accuracy
Higher duty cycle
Broader coverage
Potentially continuous tracking
Get to detect small, untracked debris
Lorenzo Dionigi
CEO
Federico Guerinoni
CTO