Cozy Dark emerging technology began work in 2010 as a skunkworks-style engineering firm and is registered with CCR and NSPIRES.
Our early engineering & design efforts have focused on orbital debris solutions and electrodynamic tether technology.
Zach Urbina founded Cozy Dark with the cooperation of technical, research, and academic colleagues in the Southern California AeroAstro community.
We also have a growing library of space science talks featuring Apollo astronaut Buzz Aldrin, astrophysicist Sean Carroll and more.
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24 posts tagged space debris
Alice Gorman, space archaeologist |
Alice is an expert in traditional cultural heritage, in particular Aboriginal stone tool analysis, but her primary interest is space archaeology. She lectures in both areas at Flinders University.
When I tell people I’m a space archaeologist …
The first reaction is that they assume that I’m using remote sensing to look at sites on Earth. Then I say: ‘No, no, no, I’m actually looking at rockets and planetary landing sites and orbital debris’. And then sometimes there’s a look of puzzlement, then a little bit of a think, then I’ll see an expression of revelation and they’ll say: “Oh you’re actually looking at those things!” So either they’ll think it’s really crazy or ok, that all makes sense
I became interested in space archaeology …
When I was a little kid I wanted to be two things: an astrophysicist or an archaeologist and I ended up going down the archaeology path. But about seven or eight years ago, I put the two things back together again. I just wondered if all the principles that I was applying to my cultural heritage work with Aboriginal sites would work for space junk.
Cozy Dark founder Zachary Urbina discusses the history and future of electrodynamic space tether systems at Future Salon LA on 11 December 2011.
![What Are the Odds You’ll Get Struck by the Falling ROSAT Satellite? |
Not long after re-emerging en masse from our underground bunkers and panic rooms, having successfully avoided being squashed by a falling NASA satellite on Sept. 24, humanity has learned that the sky is falling yet again. Another huge piece of space debris, a 2.6-ton, defunct German telescope called the Roentgen Satellite (ROSAT), will crash back to Earth Saturday or Sunday (Oct. 22 or 23), and the chances it will hit someone are even greater this time around.
The odds are 1-in-2,000 that a chunk of ROSAT will strike a person. For the UARS satellite that fell into the southern Pacific Ocean in September, the odds were 1-in-3,200. According to Heiner Klinkrad, head of the European Space Agency’s Orbital Debris Office, ROSAT poses a higher risk than UARS because more of its mass is expected to survive atmospheric re-entry and reach Earth’s surface. [Photos: Germany’s ROSAT Satellite Falling to Earth]
“The fact that the ROSAT re-entry risk estimate is higher than for UARS lies in the surviving mass, which, percentage-wise, is considerably higher for ROSAT than for UARS, and hence, the net mass reaching ground is higher for ROSAT than for UARS,” Klinkrad told Life’s Little Mysteries, a sister site to SPACE.com. “This is due to the ROSAT internal mirror assembly that is very resistant to [heat] during re-entry.” continue reading](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ltbqrrDrb91qb7n75o1_500.jpg)
What Are the Odds You’ll Get Struck by the Falling ROSAT Satellite? |
Not long after re-emerging en masse from our underground bunkers and panic rooms, having successfully avoided being squashed by a falling NASA satellite on Sept. 24, humanity has learned that the sky is falling yet again. Another huge piece of space debris, a 2.6-ton, defunct German telescope called the Roentgen Satellite (ROSAT), will crash back to Earth Saturday or Sunday (Oct. 22 or 23), and the chances it will hit someone are even greater this time around.
The odds are 1-in-2,000 that a chunk of ROSAT will strike a person. For the UARS satellite that fell into the southern Pacific Ocean in September, the odds were 1-in-3,200. According to Heiner Klinkrad, head of the European Space Agency’s Orbital Debris Office, ROSAT poses a higher risk than UARS because more of its mass is expected to survive atmospheric re-entry and reach Earth’s surface. [Photos: Germany’s ROSAT Satellite Falling to Earth]
“The fact that the ROSAT re-entry risk estimate is higher than for UARS lies in the surviving mass, which, percentage-wise, is considerably higher for ROSAT than for UARS, and hence, the net mass reaching ground is higher for ROSAT than for UARS,” Klinkrad told Life’s Little Mysteries, a sister site to SPACE.com. “This is due to the ROSAT internal mirror assembly that is very resistant to [heat] during re-entry.” continue reading
![Second giant chunk of space junk heading for Earth |
Today an American spacecraft called the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite is expected to hit the Earth’s surface, with a one in 3,200 chance it could hit someone.
However a second satellite is set to smash into Earth next month and the odds are even shorter that it could come down in a populated area.
The 2.4-ton Röntgensatellit, or ROSAT, has been spinning through space for 12 years after it was switched off in 1999 after its guidance system broke.
With its orbit bringing it inexorably closer to Earth, the authorities initially thought it would burn up entirely on re-entry.
However, it is now believed that pieces of space junk weighing up to 400kg could smash into the planet’s surface as early as the end of October.
Up to 30 pieces of metal and carbon fibre are expected to survive the blazing temperatures of re-entry to the Earth’s atmosphere and strike land.
Among them are the giant mirrors which were designed to be heat-resistant to protect the telescope’s x-ray array. continue reading
[image: A defunct German space telescope weighing over two tons is forecast to collide with Earth less than five weeks after a satellite the size of a bus hits the planet.]](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ls1f6chuc91qb7n75o1_500.jpg)
Second giant chunk of space junk heading for Earth |
Today an American spacecraft called the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite is expected to hit the Earth’s surface, with a one in 3,200 chance it could hit someone.
However a second satellite is set to smash into Earth next month and the odds are even shorter that it could come down in a populated area.
The 2.4-ton Röntgensatellit, or ROSAT, has been spinning through space for 12 years after it was switched off in 1999 after its guidance system broke.
With its orbit bringing it inexorably closer to Earth, the authorities initially thought it would burn up entirely on re-entry.
However, it is now believed that pieces of space junk weighing up to 400kg could smash into the planet’s surface as early as the end of October.
Up to 30 pieces of metal and carbon fibre are expected to survive the blazing temperatures of re-entry to the Earth’s atmosphere and strike land.
Among them are the giant mirrors which were designed to be heat-resistant to protect the telescope’s x-ray array. continue reading
[image: A defunct German space telescope weighing over two tons is forecast to collide with Earth less than five weeks after a satellite the size of a bus hits the planet.]
![NASA Says Satellite Debris Fell in Pacific |
NASA said all debris from a decommissioned research satellite appears to have dropped in a remote section of the Pacific Ocean well “away from the western coast of the U.S,” but the precise spot may never be pinpointed.
Nick Johnson, chief scientist for orbital debris at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, told reporters the fiery trajectory of the 13,000-pound satellite ended as it crossed eastward over portions of the Indian Ocean and Africa for the final time. It then most likely disintegrated and scattered debris over a roughly 500-mile stretch across the northern portion of the Pacific.
About 11 hours after the splashdown, Mr. Johnson said there weren’t any credible reports about debris falling on land or anyone recovering satellite parts—contrary to widespread Internet speculation about purported remnants of the satellite falling to the ground in Canada or elsewhere. But “we may never know” precisely where the debris ended up, he told reporters, as ground-based sensors and other tracking devices provide only approximate locations of where the satellite started breaking up, and debris began falling vertically. NASA also said it hadn’t received any reports of debris sightings from aircraft or vessels.
The descent of the 20-year-old satellite, which stopped collecting climate data about six years ago, was the largest object NASA has tracked in an uncontrolled re-entry for more than three decades. But about once a year, similar-size space objects plummet back to Earth amid commands from the ground. continue reading
[image: UARS orbital history, courtesy NASA]](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ls1q9unohc1qb7n75o1_500.jpg)
NASA Says Satellite Debris Fell in Pacific |
NASA said all debris from a decommissioned research satellite appears to have dropped in a remote section of the Pacific Ocean well “away from the western coast of the U.S,” but the precise spot may never be pinpointed.
Nick Johnson, chief scientist for orbital debris at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, told reporters the fiery trajectory of the 13,000-pound satellite ended as it crossed eastward over portions of the Indian Ocean and Africa for the final time. It then most likely disintegrated and scattered debris over a roughly 500-mile stretch across the northern portion of the Pacific.
About 11 hours after the splashdown, Mr. Johnson said there weren’t any credible reports about debris falling on land or anyone recovering satellite parts—contrary to widespread Internet speculation about purported remnants of the satellite falling to the ground in Canada or elsewhere. But “we may never know” precisely where the debris ended up, he told reporters, as ground-based sensors and other tracking devices provide only approximate locations of where the satellite started breaking up, and debris began falling vertically. NASA also said it hadn’t received any reports of debris sightings from aircraft or vessels.
The descent of the 20-year-old satellite, which stopped collecting climate data about six years ago, was the largest object NASA has tracked in an uncontrolled re-entry for more than three decades. But about once a year, similar-size space objects plummet back to Earth amid commands from the ground. continue reading
[image: UARS orbital history, courtesy NASA]
![Heads up! That’s the word from NASA today (Sept. 7) given the impending re-entry of a 6.5-ton satellite through Earth’s atmosphere.
The huge Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) is expected to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere in an uncontrolled fall in late September or early October. Much of the spacecraft is expected to burn up during re-entry, but some pieces are expected to make it intact to the ground, NASA officials said.
The U.S. space agency will be taking measures to inform the public about the pieces of the spacecraft that are expected to survive re-entry.
“It is too early to say exactly when UARS will re-enter and what geographic area may be affected, but NASA is watching the satellite closely and will keep you informed,” NASA said in a statement released today (Sept. 7). [Worst Space Debris Events of All Time]
The satellite launched to Earth orbit in 1991 aboard NASA’s space shuttle Discovery and was decommissioned on Dec. 14, 2005. It is 35 feet (10.7 meters) long and 15 feet (4.5 m) wide.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lr7utjeIPZ1qb7n75o1_500.jpg)
Heads up! That’s the word from NASA today (Sept. 7) given the impending re-entry of a 6.5-ton satellite through Earth’s atmosphere.
The huge Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) is expected to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere in an uncontrolled fall in late September or early October. Much of the spacecraft is expected to burn up during re-entry, but some pieces are expected to make it intact to the ground, NASA officials said.
The U.S. space agency will be taking measures to inform the public about the pieces of the spacecraft that are expected to survive re-entry.
“It is too early to say exactly when UARS will re-enter and what geographic area may be affected, but NASA is watching the satellite closely and will keep you informed,” NASA said in a statement released today (Sept. 7). [Worst Space Debris Events of All Time] The satellite launched to Earth orbit in 1991 aboard NASA’s space shuttle Discovery and was decommissioned on Dec. 14, 2005. It is 35 feet (10.7 meters) long and 15 feet (4.5 m) wide.
Study: Space Debris Has Reached A ‘Tipping Point’ |
The National Research Council released a report today that sounds an alarm about the amount of debris orbiting Earth. The report recommends that NASA develop a formal strategy to track and perhaps remove debris to “mitigate risks.”
In its summary, the Council said the debris has reached a “tipping point, with enough currently in orbit to continually collide and create even more debris, raising the risk of spacecraft failures…”
“The current space environment is growing increasingly hazardous to spacecraft and astronauts,” Donald Kessler, chair of the committee that wrote the report and retired head of NASA’s Orbital Debris Program Office, said in a statement. “NASA needs to determine the best path forward for tackling the multifaceted problems caused by meteoroids and orbital debris that put human and robotic space operations at risk.”
The problem is very real. In its story today, USA Today recountstwo minutes in June when the crew of the International Space Station was about ready to evacuate. A piece of debris — perhaps the remnants of a rocket or an old spacecraft or satellite — was about to collide with the space station. Luckily, the space shuttle was docking at that same time and when it did, it moved the station just enough to get it out of the way of the debris. continue reading
photo caption: “In June, the International Space Station had a near miss with some debris.”
