Original subtitles

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ANNOUNCER: WHEN YOU SEE THIS SYMBOL YOU KNOW YOU'RE

WATCHING TELEVISION THAT'S EDUCATIONAL AND INFORMATIONAL.THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

DYLAN: I'M DYLAN DREYER, JOIN ME ON AN ADVENTURE

OVER 20,000 MILES INTO OUTER SPACE WHERE LITTLE

BITS OF JUNK ARE CAUSING VERY BIG PROBLEMS.

DYLAN: WE'RE HEADING INTO ORBIT, EXPLORING THE MASSIVE

NETWORK OF MANMADE SATELLITES THAT POWER

GLOBAL ECONOMIES.

BUT SPACE IS GETTING CROWDED.

HOW WILL SCIENTISTS CLEAN UP THE HEAVENS?

WE'LL TAKE A SNEAK PEEK AT THE MOST AMAZING SOLUTIONS

TO RID THE PLANET OF SPACE JUNK.

DYLAN: ON OCTOBER 4TH, 1957, THE FORMER SOVIET

UNION SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHED THE FIRST

ARTIFICIAL SATELLITE NAMED SPUTNIK 1 INTO ORBIT

AROUND THE EARTH.

NOW AFTER 60 YEARS OF SPACE EXPLORATION WE'RE

SUDDENLY FACED WITH A GROWING PROBLEM THAT SEEMS

MORE LIKE SOMETHING OUT OF A SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL;

AN ORBITING JUNKYARD OF SPACE DEBRIS THAT HAS THE

POTENTIAL TO CHANGE SPACE EXPLORATION AS WE KNOW IT.

DYLAN: THIS IS METEOR CRATER NEAR WINSLOW, ARIZONA.

IT'S CONSIDERED THE WORLD'S BEST PRESERVED

METEORITE IMPACT SITE.

50,000 YEARS AGO A MASSIVE ROCK FROM SPACE SLAMMED

INTO THE GROUND WITH A FORCE OF 10 MEGATONS;

10,000 TIMES MORE POWERFUL THAN THE ATOMIC BLAST USED

IN WORLD WAR II.

DYLAN: MEET DONALD J. KESSLER, RETIRED HEAD

OF ORBITAL DEBRIS AT NASA.

HIS GUIDE IS EDUARDO GONZALES, A 16 YEAR

VETERAN OF METEOR CRATER AND A MAN WHO SHARES

KESSLER'S PASSION FOR THE WONDERS OF THE UNIVERSE.

EDUARDO: SO DON, HOW WAS YOUR RIDE UP HERE?

DONALD: OH IT WAS WONDERFUL; IT WAS LIKE

LANDING ON THE MOON.

EDUARDO: BUT WE'RE ON EARTH, CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?

DYLAN: AT METEOR CRATER THESE TWO MEN ALWAYS FIND

COMMON GROUND.

FOR DON, THIS PLACE BRINGS SOME OF THE SCIENCE OF

ORBITAL DEBRIS TO LIFE IN A BIG WAY.

NEARLY ONE MILE ACROSS, TWO AND A HALF MILES WIDE,

AND 550 FEET DEEP, METEOR CRATER IS THE ASTOUNDING

OUTCOME OF A NICKEL AND IRON METEORITE HITTING

EARTH WITH THE FORCE OF A HYDROGEN BOMB.

IT KILLED EVERYTHING FOR 20 MILES IN ALL

DIRECTIONS.

AND ALL OF THIS HAPPENED IN JUST 10 SECONDS.

DYLAN: THE METEOR WAS MOST LIKELY THE RESULT OF

A MASSIVE COLLISION NEAR THE EARTH.

ONE OF THE LARGER PIECES BECAME CAUGHT IN THE

EARTH'S GRAVITY AND ROCKETED TOWARDS THE

SURFACE AT SPEEDS OVER 100,000 MILES PER HOUR.

♪ ADVENTUROUS MUSIC ♪ [SOUND OF BOMB]

DYLAN: IT'S A SOBERING REMINDER OF THE INCREDIBLE

COLLISIONS THAT OCCUR THROUGHOUT THE UNIVERSE

FROM METEOR IMPACTS LIKE THIS ONE TO THE COLLISION

OF ENTIRE GALAXIES.

DYLAN: THROUGHOUT TIME SPACE COLLISIONS HAVE OCCURRED

AS PART OF THE NATURAL PROCESS OF THE UNIVERSE.

SCIENTISTS BELIEVE THAT BILLIONS OF YEARS FROM NOW

OUR OWN MILKY WAY GALAXY AND ITS CLOSEST NEIGHBOR

THE ANDROMEDA SPIRAL GALAXY COULD COLLIDE AND

MERGE TO CREATE A NEW GIANT ELLIPTICAL GALAXY,

SPEWING STARS ALONG THE WAY.

THIS COMPUTER SIMULATION FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF

ILLINOIS GIVES US SOME IDEA OF WHAT THAT

COLLISION MAY LOOK LIKE OVER THE COURSE OF

BILLIONS OF YEARS.

[BACKGROUND SOUNDS AND MUSIC]

DYLAN: SPACE COLLISIONS LED DONALD KESSLER TO ASK

A VERY IMPORTANT QUESTION; IF COLLISIONS OCCUR SO

FREQUENTLY IN NATURE WHAT'S TO PREVENT ALL OF

THE MANMADE OBJECTS IN SPACE FROM EVENTUALLY

HITTING EACH OTHER?

AT FIRST KESSLER'S QUESTION WAS THOUGHT TO BE

RIDICULOUS.

UNTIL RECENTLY MANY SCIENTISTS HAVE EMBRACED

THE BIG SKY THEORY.

DYLAN: THE BIG SKY THEORY HOLDS THAT SPACE IS SO

MASSIVE YOU COULD LAUNCH ANYTHING INTO ORBIT AND

IT WOULDN'T COLLIDE WITH ANYTHING ELSE.

BUT IT TURNS OUT THAT SPACE IS SMALLER THAN WE

THOUGHT.

DYLAN: LOW EARTH ORBIT, OR LEO AS IT'S CALLED, IS HOME

TO THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION, THE HUBBLE

TELESCOPE, AND MOST OF OUR SATELLITES.

IN MIDDLE EARTH ORBIT, OR MEO, WE FIND GPS AND

WEATHER SATELLITES.

GEOSYNCHRONOUS ORBIT, OR GEO, THE ORBIT FARTHEST

AWAY FROM THE EARTH, IS CROWDED WITH COMMUNICATION

SATELLITES.

WITH SO MANY OBJECTS CAREENING THROUGH THE SAME

ALTITUDES IT'S NOT HARD TO IMAGINE THAT SOME WILL

EVENTUALLY COLLIDE.

DYLAN: DONALD KESSLER PREDICTED THAT RANDOM

COLLISIONS BETWEEN MANMADE OBJECTS WOULD

CREATE SMALLER DEBRIS THAT WOULD BECOME

INCREASINGLY HAZARDOUS TO SPACECRAFT.

THE RESULTING CHAIN REACTION WOULD CREATE

EXPONENTIALLY EXPANDING CLOUDS OF DEBRIS.

HIS PREDICTION BECAME KNOWN AS THE KESSLER

SYNDROME AND IT'S PROVEN TO BE CORRECT.

IS IT POSSIBLE THAT WE'RE NOW AT THE TIPPING POINT

OF THIS CASCADING, UNCONTROLLABLE EVENT?

AND ARE THE SATELLITES THAT MAKE OUR MODERN WORLD

POSSIBLE ABOUT TO BE DESTROYED?

THINK ABOUT THIS, HERE ON EARTH WHEN YOU DOWNLOAD A

MUSIC FILE, POST A VIDEO, SEND A TWEET, FRIEND

SOMEONE OR WATCH YOUR FAVORITE SHOW, THAT SIGNAL

IS COMING FROM A SATELLITE ORBITING AROUND OUR

PLANET.

OUR BUSY LIVES ON EARTH HAVE BECOME DEEPLY

CONNECTED TO A DELICATE NETWORK LOCATED FAR ABOVE

OUR HEADS.

IF THAT SYSTEM GOES DOWN IT'S LIGHTS OUT.

DYLAN: COMING UP NEXT, WE'LL RELIVE THE HISTORY OF

SPACE COMMUNICATION AND FIND OUT HOW MODERN

SATELLITES SAFELY ORBIT OUR WORLD.

AND LATER, WE'LL DISCOVER THE MOST PROMISING

POSSIBILITIES TO KEEP THE HEAVENS NEAT AND TIDY.

DON'T GO AWAY, THE JOURNEY CONTINUES RIGHT AFTER

THIS.

ANNOUNCER: WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

.

ANNOUNCER: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

DYLAN: SINCE THE FIRST SATELLITE WAS LAUNCHED,

SPACE HAS BECOME A BUSY PLACE.

OUR PLANET'S NEED FOR COMMUNICATION HAS

TRANSFORMED WHAT WAS ONCE CALLED THE FINAL FRONTIER

INTO SOMETHING FAR LESS ROMANTIC AND FAR MORE

CONGESTED.

SPACE IS GETTING CROWDED.

THERE ARE CURRENTLY OVER 100,000 OBJECTS ORBITING

OUR PLANET AND THAT NUMBER IS GROWING EVERY YEAR.

FROM THE DISCOVERY OF SPACE EXPLORATION TO THE

CONVENIENCES OF SATELLITE COMMUNICATION, HUMANS HAVE

DEVELOPED A PROFOUND CONNECTION TO SPACE.

BUT WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF IT WERE ALL TOO SUDDENLY

GO AWAY?

DYLAN: LAUNCHED IN 1993 COSMOS 2251 PROVIDES

COMMUNICATIONS FOR RUSSIAN MILITARY AND INTELLIGENCE

FORCES FROM LOW EARTH ORBIT.

SATELLITES LIKE THIS ARE A PART OF WHAT'S CALLED A

CONSTELLATION; A GROUPING OF SATELLITES SPREAD OUT

IN A SET OF ORBITAL RINGS PROVIDING AN UNINTERRUPTED

STREAM OF COMMUNICATIONS.

THESE AND THOUSANDS OF OTHER SATELLITES ORBIT

EARTH 16 TIMES PER DAY.

THE GRAVITATIONAL PULL FROM NEARBY EARTH IS SO

STRONG EVERY SATELLITE HAS TO TRAVEL AT HYPERVELOCITY

SPEEDS, UPWARDS OF 17,000 MILES PER HOUR.

THE PULL OF GRAVITY BALANCED AGAINST THE

SATELLITE'S VELOCITY CREATES THIS CURVED

ORBITAL PATH.

DYLAN: SATELLITES AND THEIR AROUND-THE-CLOCK SERVICES

ARE A FACT OF MODERN LIFE.

DYLAN: LEO, OR LOWER EARTH ORBIT, IS IDEAL FOR

COMMUNICATION SATELLITES LIKE IRIDIUM 33, WHICH

PROVIDES VOICE AND DATA COVERAGE FOR CELLULAR

TELEPHONES. BUT WITH SATELLITES LIKE COSMOS AND

IRIDIUM CONSTANTLY CROSSING EACH OTHER'S PATHS IN LEO,

THEY OFTEN EXPERIENCE WHAT SATELLITE OPERATORS REFER

TO AS CLOSE APPROACHES; TWO SATELLITES PASSING

WITHIN JUST A FEW SHORT MILES OF ONE ANOTHER.

AMAZINGLY, THAT CAN HAPPEN AROUND 1,500 TIMES A DAY.

SPACE HAS INDEED BECOME A BUSY PLACE.

DYLAN: JUST 50 YEARS AGO THE BOUNDARIES SEEMED

LIMITLESS.

OLD RADIO BROADCAST: FROM THE GROUND STATION NESTLED

IN THE MOUNTAINS AT ANDOVER, MAINE, A SIGNAL

IS SENT TO A SPEEDING SATELLITE, AN HISTORIC

FEAT THAT COULD RESHAPE MAN'S FUTURE.

THAT SATELLITE OF COURSE IS THE TELSTAR; 170 POUNDS

OF MESSAGES AND COMPUTER DATA ALL CAN BE HANDLED BY

THE ORBITING DEVICE.

DYLAN: IRONICALLY THIS TECHNOLOGICAL WONDER DIED

ONE YEAR LATER, BECOMING WHAT IS KNOWN AS A

ZOMBIE SATELLITE.

BUT TELSTAR NONETHELESS BEGAN THE REVOLUTION IN

COMMUNICATIONS THAT NOW FEATURES A FLEET OF

SATELLITES IN THE REGION WE KNOW AS GEO.

THEY FACILITATE MOST OF THE WORLD'S TELEVISION,

MILITARY AND INTERNET COMMUNICATIONS.

BECAUSE ITS ORBIT MIRRORS EARTH'S ROTATION, A

SATELLITE WILL APPEAR TO HOVER OVER A POINT ON THE

EARTH'S SURFACE; THE RESULT, 24/7 CONTINUOUS

COVERAGE FROM AIR TO SEA TO LAND.

DYLAN: SATELLITES MAY DRIFT DUE TO GRAVITATIONAL

PULL FROM BOTH THE SUN AND THE MOON, SLOWLY

CHANGING THEIR ORBITS.

SIGNALS ARE SENT TO THESE DRIFTING SATELLITES

COMMANDING THEM TO ADJUST THEIR ORBITS BY FIRING UP

THE ONBOARD THRUSTERS.

BUT SOMETIMES WANDERING SATELLITES CANNOT BE

RE-CORRECTED AND MUST BE DESTROYED.

THIS REALITY LED TO THE LARGEST DEBRIS CLOUD ON

RECORD.

IN EARLY 2007 AN ANTI-SATELLITE MISSILE

TEST TOOK PLACE IN LEO, ITS TARGET A DEAD WEATHER

SATELLITE THAT WAS VEERING OFF COURSE.

♪ DRAMATIC MUSIC ♪ - [SOUND OF EXPLOSION]

DYLAN: IN LESS THAN 24 HOURS THE DEBRIS ENCIRCLED

THE EARTH, HOVERING AT THE ORIGINAL IMPACT ALTITUDE

OF OVER 500 MILES; HIGH ENOUGH SO THAT THE PIECES

WON'T COME DOWN, BUT LOW ENOUGH SO THAT THEY HAVE

THE POTENTIAL TO AFFECT ALMOST ALL OTHER OBJECTS

IN LOW EARTH ORBIT INCLUDING THE

INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION.

DYLAN: COMING UP NEXT, WE'LL FIND OUT HOW SPACE

JUNK MAY ONE DAY GIVE OUR PLANET RINGS JUST LIKE

THE RINGS OF SATURN.

AND WE'LL LEARN HOW THE U.S.

SPACE SURVEILLANCE NETWORK HELPS KEEP THE

INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION RUNNING SMOOTHLY.

THE JOURNEY WILL CONTINUE RIGHT AFTER THIS.

ANNOUNCER: WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

.

ANNOUNCER: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

DYLAN: WELCOME BACK TO JOURNEY.

COMMUNICATION SATELLITES HAVE CHALLENGED THE OLD

SAYING "WHAT GOES UP MUST COME DOWN." TODAY WE KNOW

THIS ISN'T ALWAYS TRUE.

IN LOW EARTH ORBIT, HOME TO THE HUBBLE TELESCOPE

AND THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION, THERE'S AN

ESTIMATED 6,000 TONS OF SPACE JUNK, AND THAT'S

JUST THE BEGINNING.

OF THE THOUSANDS OF OBJECT LAUNCHED INTO SPACE OVER

THE LAST 50 YEARS ONLY ABOUT 1,000 ARE

OPERATIONAL, THE REST ARE SIMPLY FLOATING LIFELESS

ABOVE THE PLANET.

EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THESE NON-OPERATIONAL SPACECRAFT

IS A POTENTIAL SOURCE OF DEBRIS.

IN FACT, MOST SPACECRAFT THAT ARE LAUNCHED INTO

ORBIT ACTUALLY LEAVE A TRAIL OF DEBRIS IN THE

PROCESS.

UPPER STAGE ROCKET BODIES WEIGHING SEVERAL TONS MAKE

UP A GOOD PORTION OF THE JUNK IN SPACE.

THE REST ARE MISCELLANEOUS FRAGMENTS, EXPLODED

ROCKETS, LEFTOVER FUEL AND THE LIST GOES ON.

BUT EVEN WITH THIS INCREDIBLE AMOUNT OF

DEBRIS FEW PEOPLE WERE TAKING THE NOTION OF SPACE

JUNK SERIOUSLY UNTIL THE MORNING OF FEBRUARY 10TH,

2009.

DYLAN: EARLIER THAT DAY A REPORT WAS ISSUED

PREDICTING THAT IRIDIUM 33 WOULD ENCOUNTER A

CLOSE APPROACH OF JUST 1,900 FEET WITH ANOTHER

SPACECRAFT, COSMOS 2251. AT 4:56 P.M.

IRIDIUM 33 WENT SILENT.

DYLAN: NOW MORE THAN 100,000 PIECES FROM THIS COLLISION

CLOUD LOW EARTH ORBIT.

THE IRIDIUM/COSMOS COLLISION WAS VERY MUCH A

GAME CHANGER AND PEOPLE BEGAN TO CONSIDER "WHAT DO

WE NEED TO DO TO KEEP THIS FROM HAPPENING AGAIN?"

DYLAN: THESE COMPUTER VISUALIZATIONS SHOW A

FRAGMENT NO BIGGER THAN A BEE-BEE BLASTING THROUGH

AN ALUMINUM PLATE.

EVEN THE SMALLEST OF IMPACTS SCATTER DEBRIS

DELIVERING WIDESPREAD DAMAGE.

ORBITAL DEBRIS TRAVELING AT THESE SPEEDS POSES A

VERY REAL THREAT.

BECAUSE OF THIS, THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE

STATION FEATURES EXTRA SHIELDING AS SHOWN IN RED

OVER THE AREAS MOST LIKELY TO BE HIT.

TO FURTHER PROTECT THE ISS ITS ORBIT IS MONITORED ON

ALL SIDES TO HELP KEEP IT OUT OF HARM'S WAY.

THAT'S THE JOB OF THE U.S.

SPACE SURVEILLANCE NETWORK WHERE THEY DETECT AND

CATALOGUE MANMADE OBJECTS.

UTILIZING A VAST ARRAY OF RADARS AND SENSORS, WE'RE

ABLE TO TRACK THOUSANDS OF PIECES OF SPACE JUNK

LARGER THAN A SOFTBALL.

SOME OF THEM, LIKE ROCKET BOOSTERS, ARE THE SIZE OF

A SCHOOL BUS.

BUT WHAT'S FAR MORE TROUBLING IS ALL THE

DEBRIS THAT CAN'T BE TRACKED.

DEBRIS THE SIZE OF MARBLES, LIKE WASTE FROM

ROCKET PROPELLANT AND FRAGMENTS FROM COLLISIONS,

ARE CAPABLE OF INFLICTING LETHAL DAMAGE.

OVER TIME COLLISIONS WILL CREATE MORE DEBRIS AND IN

TURN EVEN MORE COLLISIONS.

GRADUALLY THE DEBRIS WILL SHRINK IN SIZE AND SPEEDS

WOULD SLOW.

FINALLY, THE EARTH WOULD BE SURROUNDED BY STABLE,

SATURN-LIKE RINGS.

SO WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

FORCES OF NATURE AND NATURAL COLLISIONS WILL

CONTINUE TO SHAPE OUR UNIVERSE, BUT MANMADE

COLLISIONS, PERHAPS THOSE WE CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT.

DONALD: THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT PEOPLE HAVE BEGUN TO

COME UP WITH NEW IDEAS TO BRING BACK THE PRISTINE

ENVIRONMENT THAT WE WOULD LIKE SPACE TO BE.

DYLAN: COMING UP NEXT, WE'LL PEEK INTO THE FUTURE

AND REVEAL THE MOST PROMISING SOLUTIONS TO

CLEAN UP THE JUNKYARD IN SPACE.

THE JOURNEY CONTINUES RIGHT AFTER THIS.

ANNOUNCER: WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

.

ANNOUNCER: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

DYLAN: WE'VE LEARNED ALL ABOUT THE MANMADE JUNK

ORBITING OUR PLANET AND THE THREAT THAT IT CAUSES

TO SPACE TRAVEL.

NOW THE QUESTION IS WHAT DO WE DO ABOUT IT?

SCIENTISTS ARE DEVELOPING SOME AMAZING IDEAS TO

CLEAN UP THE SPACE ABOVE OUR HEADS, IDEAS THAT ARE

CLOSER TO REALITY THAN YOU MAY THINK.

DYLAN: HOW DO WE CATCH UP TO AND CAPTURE

DEBRIS TUMBLING THROUGH LOW EARTH ORBIT AT

THOUSANDS OF MILES AN HOUR?

AND THEN HOW DO WE SLOW IT DOWN SO THAT IT FALLS OUT

OF ORBIT AND BURNS UP IN THE ATMOSPHERE?

ONE FASCINATING CONCEPT INVOLVES THE USE OF A TYPE

OF SPACE TETHER WHICH WOULD CREATE A DRAG ON THE

SPACECRAFT THROUGH INTERACTIONS BETWEEN THE

TETHER AND THE EARTH'S MAGNETIC FIELD.

THIS INCREASED DRAG WOULD LOWER THE SPACECRAFT OUT

OF ORBIT UNTIL IT RE-ENTERS THE ATMOSPHERE

AND BURNS UP.

DYLAN: WE MAY ALSO BE ABLE TO CAPTURE THE

DEBRIS WITH A NET.

JAPAN'S SPACE AGENCY HAS BEEN WORKING WITH A

FISHING NET MANUFACTURER TO LOOK AT CREATING A

SPACE FISHING NET WHICH COULD BE POWERED USING THE

EARTH MAGNETOSPHERE.

IMAGINE THAT, A CENTURY'S OLD FISHING TOOL MIGHT

JUST BECOME A BRAND-NEW TOOL FOR CLEANING UP

SPACE.

LASERS COULD ONE DAY SWEEP SPACE, STRIKING SMALLER

OBJECTS, SLOWING THEM DOWN AND CAUSING THEM TO TUMBLE

INTO THE ATMOSPHERE.

SOLAR SAILS COULD SOMEDAY BE A PART OF THE

SATELLITES WE LAUNCH, HELPING THEM TO DE-ORBIT

ONCE THEIR WORK IN SPACE IS DONE.

WHAT IF ONE DAY OBJECTS IN SPACE WERE LOCATED AND

CAPTURED BY A GARBAGE VEHICLE?

THE VEHICLE COULD THEN DOCK AT A RECYCLING

FACILITY, A PLACE WHERE SPACE DEBRIS COULD BE

STORED EVERY CYCLE TO CREATE NEW PARTS.

DYLAN: PERHAPS THIS SPACE-BASED RECYCLING WILL

SOMEDAY BECOME A REALITY, LAUNCHING A NEW, GREENER

ERA OF SPACE EXPLORATION.

FOR AS LONG AS HUMANS HAVE WALKED THE PLANET WE'VE

LOOKED UP TO THE HEAVENS TO HELP US DEFINE OUR ROLE

IN THE UNIVERSE.

THE CELESTIAL BODIES ABOVE US AND THE CONSTELLATIONS

THEY FORMED HAVE FOREVER SHAPED OUR NOTIONS OF TIME

AND PLACE.

TODAY WE ARE STILL CALLED TO THE STARS, TOMORROW WE

MAY REACH THEM.

I HOPE YOU ENJOYED OUR JOURNEY THROUGH SPACE.

UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN, SAFE TRAVELS.

♪ MUSIC ♪