Space debris are affecting our vital services and if it continuous to do so then time is not far when we would no longer be able to communicate, the financial markets would be paralyzed, no TV, no internet, no phone calls, no satellites, life would come to a halt, literally!
Satellite collisions would initiate the catastrophic snow balling effect amplifying the cascade of destruction. The movie Gravity did call for some serious thinking about the impacts that debris can cause. Although the movie had some serious flaws but that is not what we would be talking about as of now rather a country’s decision of safeguarding the satellites. Japan went ahead than just thinking and directly to implementation. By 2019, the country is looking forward to boost a military space force for guarding satellites from the space junk hovering Earth.
The US and Japan were mutually working towards debris issues since 2007 when China’s test missile crashed one of its satellite. With an aim of strengthening the ties between the two nations, Japan has offered towards mutually collaboration with respect to monitoring the orbital debris.
The country’s defense ministry would be creating new force using recruits from the Air Self-Defense Force, the fourth battlefield. For running observatory operations, the unit will be equipped with radar and telescope facilities from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency along with the science ministry.
Source: Mainichi
