WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.000 Good afternoon. My name is Patrick Murphy and I work for the 00:00:05.000 --> 00:00:06.600 space technology Mission directorate. 00:00:06.600 --> 00:00:10.000 And so my question is this last Wednesday, 00:00:10.000 --> 00:00:18.400 India holiday anti-satellite test and this test created a cloud 00:00:18.400 --> 00:00:21.300 of orbital debris that's flying in low earth orbit. 00:00:22.500 --> 00:00:26.100 And so when I think it orbited agree that they're tracking 00:00:26.100 --> 00:00:30.200 it's a size of my fist several several pieces of that now that's 00:00:30.200 --> 00:00:33.900 potentially of high-risk to Ness assets and more importantly 00:00:33.900 --> 00:00:35.600 to our NASA astronauts. 00:00:35.600 --> 00:00:37.600 What's NASA's reaction to that? 00:00:38.500 --> 00:00:41.800 Thank you. That's a great question Patrick panda. 00:00:43.200 --> 00:00:46.900 There's this is a town hall in and of itself. 00:00:46.900 --> 00:00:52.400 It is absolutely true that intentionally creating orbital. 00:00:52.400 --> 00:00:55.000 Debris field is not compatible with human spaceflight. 00:00:55.000 --> 00:00:59.400 Here's what we know about the most recent direct descent 00:00:59.400 --> 00:01:01.600 anti-satellite test that was done by India. 00:01:01.600 --> 00:01:06.600 We know that we have identified four hundred pieces of orbital 00:01:06.600 --> 00:01:08.400 debris from that one event. 00:01:09.800 --> 00:01:11.500 That's what's been identified. 00:01:11.500 --> 00:01:15.700 Now, all of that cannot be tracked what we are tracking 00:01:15.700 --> 00:01:19.000 right now objects big enough to track we're talking about 10 centimeters 00:01:19.000 --> 00:01:19.400 or bigger. 00:01:20.700 --> 00:01:25.100 About about 60 pieces have been tracked and it was about a tracking 00:01:25.100 --> 00:01:27.700 number and then we're able to keep keep up with where they are 00:01:27.700 --> 00:01:29.100 of those 60. 00:01:29.100 --> 00:01:33.300 We know that 24 of them are going above the apogee of the International 00:01:33.300 --> 00:01:33.900 Space Station. 00:01:35.300 --> 00:01:39.700 That is a terrible terrible thing to create an event that sends 00:01:39.700 --> 00:01:42.100 debris in an apogee that goes above the International 00:01:42.100 --> 00:01:45.200 Space Station and not kind of activity is not compatible 00:01:45.200 --> 00:01:48.800 with the future of human spaceflight that we need to see how 00:01:48.800 --> 00:01:51.000 it happened. We are charged with commercializing 00:01:51.000 --> 00:01:51.700 low earth orbit. 00:01:51.700 --> 00:01:56.300 We are charged with enabling more activities in space than we've ever 00:01:56.300 --> 00:01:59.400 seen before for the purpose of benefiting The Human Condition 00:01:59.400 --> 00:02:03.800 whether it's Pharmaceuticals or printing human organs in 3D to 00:02:03.800 --> 00:02:08.600 save lives here on Earth or manufacturing capabilities 00:02:08.600 --> 00:02:11.500 and space that aren't you're not able to do in a gravity. Well, 00:02:11.500 --> 00:02:15.000 like all of those are placed at risk when these kind of 00:02:15.000 --> 00:02:18.600 events happen and when one country does it then other countries 00:02:18.600 --> 00:02:19.800 feel like they have to do it as well. 00:02:19.800 --> 00:02:22.900 So Patrick I'm with you I get it. 00:02:22.900 --> 00:02:24.100 I understand it. 00:02:24.100 --> 00:02:28.700 It's unacceptable and nausea needs to be very clear about what 00:02:28.700 --> 00:02:32.800 its impact to us is now we're learning more and more every 00:02:32.800 --> 00:02:34.900 hour that goes by about this orbital debris. 00:02:35.300 --> 00:02:38.800 It has been created from this anti-satellite test where we were 00:02:38.800 --> 00:02:43.000 last week with an assessment that comes from NASA experts 00:02:43.000 --> 00:02:45.000 as well as the joint space operations, 00:02:45.000 --> 00:02:47.300 and I guess it's the combined space operations center. 00:02:47.300 --> 00:02:51.400 Now the C spot was that the risk to the International 00:02:51.400 --> 00:02:54.900 Space Station was increased by 44% 00:02:57.200 --> 00:03:01.300 The risk and then I'm talking about small debris impact to the 00:03:01.300 --> 00:03:05.000 International Space Station the risk went up 44% 00:03:05.900 --> 00:03:07.300 Over a. Of 10 days. 00:03:07.300 --> 00:03:11.200 So good thing is it's low enough in Earth orbit that overtime. 00:03:11.200 --> 00:03:14.500 This will all dissipate you go back in time. 00:03:15.700 --> 00:03:21.100 2007 director Sent anti-satellite test by the Chinese all of that 00:03:21.100 --> 00:03:22.800 orbit. LaBrie is not all of it. 00:03:22.800 --> 00:03:25.000 But a lot of it is still in orbit North still dealing with it 00:03:25.000 --> 00:03:28.700 and we're still we as a nation are responsible for doing space 00:03:28.700 --> 00:03:31.700 situational awareness and Space Traffic management conjunction 00:03:31.700 --> 00:03:33.400 analysis for the entire world. 00:03:33.400 --> 00:03:35.600 And we're doing it for free compliments of the taxpayer 00:03:35.600 --> 00:03:38.700 of the United States of America from an orbital debris field. 00:03:38.700 --> 00:03:40.900 It was created by another country. 00:03:40.900 --> 00:03:43.300 Why do we do that as a nation? 00:03:43.300 --> 00:03:45.700 Because it's the right thing to do because we want to preserve 00:03:45.700 --> 00:03:48.900 the space environment and I know I know why you ask a question 00:03:48.900 --> 00:03:53.500 topics the space technology Mission directorate you're responsible 00:03:53.500 --> 00:03:56.100 under space policy directive 3 signed by the president 00:03:56.100 --> 00:03:59.700 United States for the first time in American history for building 00:03:59.700 --> 00:04:03.200 the Technologies in the capabilities ultimately to to ensure 00:04:03.200 --> 00:04:06.800 that we can track this kind of debris in the future at a better 00:04:06.800 --> 00:04:07.900 State than we can right now. 00:04:08.800 --> 00:04:13.400 With that the United States Air Force and strategic Command 00:04:13.400 --> 00:04:16.100 right now. They've got a lot of different programs in place 00:04:16.100 --> 00:04:19.600 the space fence right now, we're able to track about twenty-three 00:04:19.600 --> 00:04:21.900 thousand pieces of orbital debris things that are 10 centimeters 00:04:21.900 --> 00:04:25.000 are bigger with the space fence coming online really looking at 00:04:25.000 --> 00:04:27.100 hundreds of thousands of pieces of orbital debris. 00:04:27.100 --> 00:04:31.100 Some people say 200,000 some people say 500,000 bottom line 00:04:31.100 --> 00:04:34.400 is we don't know what we do know is whatever it looks like it's 00:04:34.400 --> 00:04:35.100 going to be scary. 00:04:36.400 --> 00:04:38.600 And what we have to do is we have to get a lot better 00:04:38.600 --> 00:04:43.800 at figuring out how to reduce the bubbles around each one of those 00:04:43.800 --> 00:04:47.800 objects in low earth orbit that could risk put at risk the International 00:04:47.800 --> 00:04:51.700 Space Station. So we don't have to constantly be maneuvering 00:04:51.700 --> 00:04:52.800 the International Space Station. 00:04:52.800 --> 00:04:57.300 I guess the point is this NASA has a role to play here, 00:04:57.300 --> 00:05:00.500 especially when it comes to protecting the lies of our astronauts 00:05:00.500 --> 00:05:04.000 NASA has a role to play here when it talk about the new technology of 00:05:04.000 --> 00:05:07.300 the new capabilities under space policy directive 3 signed 00:05:07.300 --> 00:05:10.500 by the president to make sure that our people are safe and that 00:05:10.500 --> 00:05:13.900 are hundreds of billions of dollars worth of Assets in low earth 00:05:13.900 --> 00:05:18.300 orbit are safe and we have a role to play with the Commerce 00:05:18.300 --> 00:05:21.000 Department under space policy directive 3 space situation. 00:05:21.000 --> 00:05:23.100 We're in a space traffic management is not going to be done 00:05:23.100 --> 00:05:25.100 by strategic command anymore. 00:05:25.100 --> 00:05:26.300 It's going to be done by the Commerce Department, 00:05:26.300 --> 00:05:29.800 which I think is a great move because this is not just about 00:05:29.800 --> 00:05:34.100 National Security about Economic Development how that gets developed. 00:05:34.100 --> 00:05:36.200 Of course it again, that's another town hall. 00:05:36.400 --> 00:05:40.500 But at the end of the day we need to be clear with everybody in 00:05:40.500 --> 00:05:41.100 the world. 00:05:41.100 --> 00:05:45.200 Where is the only agency in the federal government that has human 00:05:45.200 --> 00:05:49.700 lives at stake here and it is not acceptable for us to allow 00:05:49.700 --> 00:05:52.900 people to create orbital debris field that put at risk our people 00:05:52.900 --> 00:05:58.400 anchor here because there's probably people sending Tweets 00:05:58.400 --> 00:06:00.400 and all kinds of things right now based on my, 00:06:00.400 --> 00:06:01.500 know this 00:06:03.800 --> 00:06:08.400 while the risk went up 44% our astronauts are still safe. 00:06:08.400 --> 00:06:11.000 The International Space Station is still safe. 00:06:11.000 --> 00:06:14.900 If we need to maneuver it we will the probability of that I think 00:06:14.900 --> 00:06:15.500 is low. 00:06:17.000 --> 00:06:19.200 But at the end of the day we have we have to be clear 00:06:19.200 --> 00:06:23.300 also that these activities are not sustainable or compatible 00:06:23.300 --> 00:06:24.200 with human spaceflight. 00:06:24.200 --> 00:06:27.100 So thank you for the question again. 00:06:27.100 --> 00:06:30.700 We'll do a whole nother Town Hall about this and division 00:06:30.700 --> 00:06:34.200 NASA has ultimately for house situation awareness and Space 00:06:34.200 --> 00:06:37.800 Traffic management should unfold in the future of a Patrick. 00:06:37.800 --> 00:06:40.100 That's a that's a great great point.