After the Earth, man does not seem to spare the space from its maximum exploration, rather exploitation. It’s now the turn of the great black yonder to become a crowded place with — satellite operators, space agencies and prospective space tourism companies, all vying for elbow room in space. Thus, the risk of collisions between different spacecraft and between satellites and space junk is increasing all the time.



A senior American space expert fears that despite the dangers, it will take a major collision to push space-faring nations into creating a near-Earth equivalent of air traffic control. Bill Ailor, director of the US air force-funded Center for Orbital and Reentry Debris Studies in California, calls on countries to begin planning how to manage space traffic. He says this in a paper to be published in the space-flight journal Acta Astronautica next month.



Via: New Scientist