WEBVTT 00:02.040 --> 00:04.350 Hello . I'm space for second Lieutenant 00:04.360 --> 00:06.582 Olivia Krauss stationed at Vandenberg . 00:06.582 --> 00:08.750 Space for space California where we 00:08.750 --> 00:10.972 like to say there's never a day without 00:10.972 --> 00:13.320 space operations . A big part of making 00:13.320 --> 00:15.190 sure things like GPS and other 00:15.190 --> 00:16.968 information and communication . 00:16.968 --> 00:18.690 Satellite systems are safe and 00:18.690 --> 00:20.780 operational is to track and monitor 00:20.780 --> 00:23.640 space junk . Now let's be clear . Space 00:23.640 --> 00:26.370 junk is not extra garbage or trash that 00:26.370 --> 00:28.537 is launched into outer space . It is a 00:28.537 --> 00:30.760 term that refers mostly to manmade 00:30.770 --> 00:33.030 objects that are in orbit around earth 00:33.040 --> 00:35.262 that are no longer used in that we have 00:35.262 --> 00:38.440 no direct control over space junk could 00:38.440 --> 00:40.680 be pieces of launch rockets , pieces of 00:40.680 --> 00:42.680 spacecraft that have broken off the 00:42.680 --> 00:44.990 main body or even leftover satellites 00:44.990 --> 00:47.101 that have completed their mission are 00:47.101 --> 00:49.046 no longer working but are still in 00:49.046 --> 00:52.970 orbit . At this very moment there are 00:52.970 --> 00:55.137 literally thousands of pieces of space 00:55.137 --> 00:58.540 junk in orbit around the Earth . So how 00:58.540 --> 01:00.550 do we track all of this space junk 01:02.340 --> 01:04.562 Isaac Newton's three laws of motion are 01:04.562 --> 01:06.729 as relevant today as when he presented 01:06.729 --> 01:08.673 them hundreds of years ago . Their 01:08.673 --> 01:10.784 basic ideas help us predict and track 01:10.784 --> 01:13.350 the movement of space junk . Let's hear 01:13.350 --> 01:15.517 what First Lieutenant Adams has to say 01:15.517 --> 01:17.683 about the laws of motion . So in order 01:17.683 --> 01:21.020 to understand why the space junk stays 01:21.020 --> 01:23.076 in orbit , let's talk about Newton's 01:23.076 --> 01:25.740 laws of motion . Newton's first law 01:25.750 --> 01:27.880 says that objects at rest will remain 01:27.880 --> 01:30.050 at rest and objects in motion will 01:30.060 --> 01:32.430 remain in motion unless acted upon by 01:32.430 --> 01:36.360 an outside force . So once we have 01:36.360 --> 01:39.150 an object that's in orbit , it will 01:39.150 --> 01:42.070 continue to be in orbit unless acted 01:42.070 --> 01:44.790 upon by an outside force . one of these 01:44.790 --> 01:47.460 forces could be the atmosphere pushing 01:47.460 --> 01:49.682 against it , but that only applies when 01:49.682 --> 01:51.904 the satellite or object is really low . 01:54.740 --> 01:57.050 If the object is really high , it will 01:57.050 --> 01:59.340 continue to be in orbit for a very long 01:59.340 --> 02:03.310 time . So now that we've talked about 02:03.310 --> 02:05.366 the first law of motion , Let's talk 02:05.366 --> 02:07.366 about the 2nd law of motion , which 02:07.366 --> 02:10.690 says that force is equal to mass times 02:10.690 --> 02:13.620 acceleration . It means that larger 02:13.620 --> 02:16.370 objects require more force to move 02:16.370 --> 02:19.520 around than smaller objects . Do . One 02:19.520 --> 02:23.050 example of this is when the I . S . S . 02:23.050 --> 02:25.290 The international space station is at 02:25.290 --> 02:27.390 risk for coming close to a piece of 02:27.390 --> 02:29.580 debris . It takes an incredible amount 02:29.580 --> 02:31.950 of force to move around such a large 02:31.960 --> 02:33.682 object as opposed to a smaller 02:33.682 --> 02:36.250 satellite . I'm not sure if you noticed 02:36.250 --> 02:38.361 what the lieutenant was holding . But 02:38.361 --> 02:40.583 here's a closer look , this is actually 02:40.583 --> 02:42.900 a full sized satellite that has not 02:42.900 --> 02:45.510 been launched into space yet . As small 02:45.510 --> 02:47.540 as it seems , a piece of space junk 02:47.550 --> 02:49.950 this size can do some major damage If 02:49.950 --> 02:52.117 it were to collide with an operational 02:52.117 --> 02:54.020 satellite , spacecraft or the 02:54.020 --> 02:56.210 international space station . Let's 02:56.210 --> 02:58.321 head back to Lieutenant for the third 02:58.321 --> 03:00.390 and final Law . Let's talk about 03:00.390 --> 03:02.580 Newton's 3rd law , which says that for 03:02.580 --> 03:04.469 every action there's an equal but 03:04.469 --> 03:05.600 opposite reaction 03:08.820 --> 03:11.042 to get something into orbit . You place 03:11.042 --> 03:13.153 it on a rocket and that rocket has to 03:13.153 --> 03:15.290 exert of force in the opposite 03:15.290 --> 03:17.550 direction that you want the object to 03:17.550 --> 03:21.500 go . And this ties right 03:21.500 --> 03:23.900 back into Newton's first Law , which is 03:23.900 --> 03:25.900 that it will continue to be in that 03:25.900 --> 03:28.180 orbit . So how do we keep track of all 03:28.180 --> 03:30.430 this ? The space force has a large 03:30.430 --> 03:32.880 network of radars and telescopes all 03:32.880 --> 03:35.130 over the world , and our mission at 18 03:35.130 --> 03:38.180 space is to take this information and 03:38.180 --> 03:40.124 put it out into the public so that 03:40.124 --> 03:41.624 everyone can have a better 03:41.624 --> 03:43.680 understanding of what's happening in 03:43.680 --> 03:47.080 space . Well , I hope now you have a 03:47.080 --> 03:49.302 better understanding of what space junk 03:49.302 --> 03:51.524 is , how Isaac . Newton's laws apply to 03:51.524 --> 03:54.040 objects at rest and in motion . And one 03:54.040 --> 03:56.096 of the missions of the United States 03:56.096 --> 03:56.460 Space Force .