Talk by Anthony McNamee: Space: The Final Junkyard

Anthony is an artist and musician and has taught Sculpture and Combined Materials at Westport College of Further Education since 2000, he is also a lifelong amateur astronomer and teaches a night class in astronomy.  With his wealth of knowledge, he will delve into the Kessler syndrome, that paints a rather bleak scenario concerning the impact of space junk on the future of space travel and existing orbiting satellites. As of January 2024, the number of debris objects estimated to be in orbit are 34 000 objects larger than 10 cm in diameter.

These include defunct satellites, spent rocket boosters, empty fuel tanks, debris from accidental collisions that have already occurred, and intentional impacts conducted by various nations contributing to the weaponization of space. In addition, there are 9000 objects ranging from 1 cm to 10 cm in size including nuts, bolts, spent rocket fuel, solar panels, a camera and a glove. And there are 128 million objects from 1 mm to 1 cm mostly paint chips and various other objects including bits of wiring and circuitry. The 2013 movie “Gravity” brought the idea of Kessler Syndrome to the big screen.

Most of these pieces have the potential to damage functioning satellites and interfere with spacecraft entering orbit or even destroy them altogether. So how did we get to this point, what are we doing to address the problem and what can happen if we do not? These questions will be looked at in his talk.

Westport Library

Phone: 098 25747