Space Station

While soaking in my hut tub a little after 5:00 this morning, I watched the International Space Station drift directly overtop me.  The station, catching the sun from far below my predawn horizon, was bright and conspicuous as it slipped through the array of stars fixed above.

The gravel road I drive to access our more private spur into the ranchlands is well traveled.  Over time, the roadside collects a fair amount of cans and bottles.  Every so often, I make a point to clean up the roadside.  I grabbed a couple of stray cans just yesterday afternoon on a drive home.

Space is another thing.  The orbital shell of our planet is filled with our junk.  We spray junk into space as we fire rockets into space conducting our explorations and making our heavenly platforms. 

At present, more than 500,000 pieces of space junk are being tracked by NASA.  These scraps of metal and whatnots travel at speeds up to 17,500 mph.  At such speeds, a bolt small enough to be clutched in your hand could tear apart a satellite if it struck one.

Fortunately, the space station drifted through the junk unscathed this morning.

And I would gather up and discard the space junk if I could.

I have posted a short video about the space junk.

 --Mitchell Hegman

Video Link:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVov8o9x0y