![](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/RPF-lixoespacial-2024-12-info-ING-DESK.png\")
\n <\/picture>Once the telescopes have been purchased, installation is expected to take one year. One of the telescopes will be integrated into the Pico dos Dias Observatory, which is part of the National Astrophysical Laboratory (LNA) in Braz\u00f3polis, Minas Gerais. The other two will be installed in S\u00e3o Paulo and Goi\u00e1s.<\/p>\n
The risk management system has already been acquired and has been operating since January of this year. Called the GSTT Orbit Guard, it is software developed by the Italian company GMSPAZIO, which uses information collected by telescopes and other sensors, such as radar, to predict and prevent the risk of collisions.<\/p>\n
In Brazil, the system operates in two distinct forms, with one information platform at the FAB Space Operations Center in Bras\u00edlia, which is responsible for monitoring, controlling, and operating Brazilian military satellites. The other platform is installed at LMOE-TIA, which focuses on research, development, and training for the defense sector and the Brazilian aerospace industry.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are already processing data from other sensors, such as the ROBO40 automated telescope with a 40-cm diameter lens installed at the LNA,\u201d says Amaral. The equipment is mainly used for astronomical observations\u2014tracking space debris is a secondary activity.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/RPF-lixo-espacial-telescopio-2024-12-800.jpg\")
Comunica\u00e7\u00e3o LNA<\/span>PanEOS Telescope: the only equipment in Brazil dedicated to monitoring space debrisComunica\u00e7\u00e3o LNA<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n Aiming for 15 telescopes<\/strong> \u201cA good configuration for a national space debris monitoring network should consist of at least 15 dedicated instruments, with different diameters, installed at different locations,\u201d says astrophysicist Wagner Corradi, director of the LNA. \u201cBrazil is very large. We need information collected at different places for good data triangulation, which allows us to correctly determine the objects\u2019 trajectory and speed,\u201d he states. The researcher explains that tracking the trajectory of space debris enables precise satellite maneuvers, thereby helping to avoid potential collisions.<\/p>\n Most of the telescopes dedicated to tracking space debris are located in the northern hemisphere, and there are many observation gaps below the equator. In Brazil, the only instrument dedicated to this task is the Panoramic Electro Optical System (PanEOS), which belongs to the Roscosmos State Corporation for Space Activities (Roscosmos). It has been installed at the Pico dos Dias Observatory since 2017, following an agreement with the Brazilian Space Agency (AEB), and it is co-managed by the Industry Research and Consulting Foundation based in Itajub\u00e1 (MG).<\/p>\n The instrument, which comprises a series of cameras, is made up of a main telescope with a 75-cm diameter lens, complemented by two 25-cm and two 13.5-cm telescopes. As Corradi explains, Roscosmos determines the focus of PanEOS observations, as it is the recipient of the data collected. \u201cWe have full access to the data generated by PanEOS. It is stored and available for anyone to use. But we do not have the prerogative a priori<\/em> to choose the telescope\u2019s targets. The national network was set up precisely to give us the freedom to choose these targets,\u201d says the LNA director.<\/p>\n The opportunity to use PanEOS allowed Colombian physicist William Humberto \u00dasuga Giraldo to develop the first Brazilian digital \u201cmask\u201d for detecting space debris in telescope images. It was the subject of his master\u2019s degree in aerospace engineering and sciences at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte\u2019s (UFRN) School of Science and Technology in 2022.<\/p>\n The mask consists of a computational process capable of analyzing the telescopic images to filter out and distinguish between space debris and stars in the sky. They are exclusively used for the telescopes for which they have been created. But PanEOS already has Russian masks. According to astrophysicist Jos\u00e9 Dias do Nascimento J\u00fanior, Giraldo\u2019s master\u2019s thesis advisor, the project paves the way for Brazilian research with PanEOS and provides training to assist Brazilians in developing new masks to read space debris data.<\/p>\n A debris observation telescope at the Para\u00edba Astronomical and Geospatial Observatory, at S\u00edtio Unha de Gato, near Juazeirinho (PB) is expected to be operational in 2025. The project is the result of an agreement between the State University of Para\u00edba (UEPB) and the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory in China. The FocusGeo instrument consists of three telescopes with a diameter of 18 cm.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are in the process of drawing up the telescope\u2019s operating manual,\u201d says physicist Lourivaldo Mota Lima, from the UEPB\u2019s Physics Department and project coordinator. However, he says, the information collected will belong to the Chinese observatory, which has the discretionary power to make the data available to Brazilian institutions and researchers or to international space debris monitoring systems. \u201cUEPB\u2019s aim is to use the images generated for research once the telescope is operational,\u201d explains Lima. \u201cAccording to the agreement signed, for the first five years, the images will be available to the researchers involved in the project, both in Brazil and abroad.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div> Millions of pieces of debris in space<\/strong> In a bulletin published in July 2024, the European Space Agency (ESA) estimated that there are 40,500 pieces of space debris larger than 10 cm, 1.1 million objects between 1 cm and 10 cm, and 130 million pieces of debris between 1 millimeter (mm) and 1 cm in Earth\u2019s orbit. Only 36,860 of the largest objects are regularly tracked and catalogued by space surveillance networks.<\/p>\n Most of the fragments are the result of around 650 collisions, explosions, and ruptures caused by space artefacts, such as the 2009 collision of the defunct Russian satellite Kosmos 2251 with the US satellite Iridium 33, which produced 2,000 pieces of debris larger than 10 cm and thousands of smaller fragments.<\/p>\n \u201cA millimeter-sized object travelling at more than 20,000 kilometers per hour can cause significant damage if it collides with a satellite, a space telescope, or the International Space Station,\u201d says astrophysicist Roberto Dias da Costa, from the Institute of Astronomy, Geophysics, and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of S\u00e3o Paulo (IAG-USP). \u201cA broken satellite can have a significant impact on telecommunications, territorial monitoring, and weather forecasting.\u201d<\/p>\n As far as life on Earth is concerned, space debris has yet to cause any real damage. To date, only one individual, American Lottie Williams, is known to have been struck by space debris\u2014an incident that occurred in January 1997 and resulted in no injury. \u201cThere are no records of significant material damage,\u201d says Costa. According to the USP professor, the majority of objects lost in space are relatively small, which causes them to burn up and disintegrate when they enter the Earth\u2019s atmosphere. Larger debris that survives reentry has generally fallen in remote desert or oceanic regions. \u201cBut potential risks remain,\u201d he warns.<\/p>\n NASA<\/span>Casing of the Delta 2 rocket\u2019s engine, which crashed in Saudi Arabia in 2001NASA<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n Unknown environmental impact<\/strong> The researcher highlights that while it is straightforward to identify who owns and is legally responsible for a rocket or satellite, the situation becomes more complex when dealing with fragments of objects that have exploded or collided with other debris. These fragments, which often collide with other space debris during their trajectory, make it challenging to ascertain clear accountability.<\/p>\n Formiga, along with mathematician Denilson Paulo Souza dos Santos, head of the Department of Aeronautical Engineering at UNESP\u2019s S\u00e3o Jos\u00e9 da Boa Vista School of Engineering (FESJ), coauthored a mathematical model designed to predict the trajectory of space debris, including reentry dynamics and potential impact points on Earth. \u201cThe mathematical model plays a crucial role in debris monitoring, particularly since many objects in orbit are not continuously tracked. [\u2026] One potential application of this research is in the collection of space debris, thereby mitigating the challenges posed by the growing accumulation of debris in Earth\u2019s orbits,\u201d they note in an article published in 2021 in the Brazilian Journal of Development<\/em>.<\/p>\n The duo\u2019s proposal focuses on analyzing the life cycle of space debris, with particular emphasis on satellite fragments. \u201cWe aim to study the dynamics of debris following an explosion or collision,\u201d says Santos. After such an event, he notes, a cloud of fragments is generated. The algorithms being developed will track the propagation of this cloud, the trajectories of the objects, and, when necessary, their reentry points into Earth\u2019s atmosphere. \u201cBy understanding the entire life cycle of the debris, we will be able to determine its origin, assess its risks, and establish legal responsibility for the resulting waste,\u201d adds Formiga.<\/p>\n With support from FAPESP, the two professors have also proposed a preventive strategy to mitigate the impact of space debris, focusing on maneuvers to alter the objects\u2019 trajectories. This approach would utilize pulses emitted by a ground-based laser system; a technique originally suggested by American physicist Claude Philipps in a 2014 article published in Acta Astronautica<\/em>.<\/p>\n Formiga and his colleagues developed a mathematical model that incorporates data on the trajectory of space debris and the gravitational forces acting on it to calculate the necessary propulsion from a laser and assess the impact of the laser pulse on the debris\u2019 displacement. The findings were published in The European Physical Journal<\/em> in 2023. The article demonstrates that a laser pulse can induce a slight change in the debris\u2019 velocity, thereby altering its reentry path into the atmosphere and preventing potential collisions.<\/p>\n The story above was published with the title “Trash in Earth\u2019s orbit” in issue 346 of December\/2024.<\/p>\n Projects<\/strong> Scientific articles<\/strong>
\nThe ITA project also envisages monitoring low orbit telescopes, up to an altitude of 2,000 km. Most of Brazil\u2019s 30 active satellites, including the China-Brazilian Earth Resources Satellites (CBERS), the government\u2019s Amazonia 1 (see<\/em> Pesquisa FAPESP issue n\u00ba 300<\/em><\/a>), which uses remote sensing to monitor deforestation and agricultural activity in the Amazon, and the VCUB1 nanosatellite for Earth observation and data collection from Visiona, a joint venture between Embraer Defense & Security and Telebras.<\/p>\n![](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/RPF-lixoespacial-2024-12-info2-ING-DESK.png\")
\n <\/picture>Alexandre Affonso\u2009\/\u2009Pesquisa FAPESP<\/span><\/div>
\nIn addition to operational autonomy, the creation of its own network for monitoring and tracking space debris will give Brazil privileged access to international initiatives that monitor these fragments, such as the US Space Surveillance Network and the European Space Operations Centre. According to Corradi, nations and institutions that share information with international networks have broad access to the data collected by other countries, while those that do not share can only access public data.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/RPF-lixo-espacial-foguete-2024-12-1140.jpg\")
\nOne issue that remains insufficiently measured is the impact of space debris on the environment and life on Earth. \u201cThis is information that agencies do not disclose,\u201d asserts mathematician Jorge Kennety Silva Formiga, a researcher at the Department of Environmental Engineering at S\u00e3o Paulo State University\u2019s Institute of Science and Technology (ICT-UNESP) in S\u00e3o Jos\u00e9 dos Campos. \u201cWe know that the material reaching Earth contains titanium, aluminum, iron, lead, and other substances. But what is the long-term environmental impact and who is accountable for it?\u201d questions the professor.<\/p>\n
\n1.<\/strong> Space debris: Life cycle analysis and preventive mitigation (n\u00ba 23\/01391-5<\/a>); Grant Mechanism<\/strong> Regular Research Grant; Principal Investigator<\/strong> Denilson Paulo Souza dos Santos (UNESP); Investment<\/strong> R$46,497.07.
\n2.<\/strong> Space debris mitigation: Dynamics based on maneuvers combined with ground-based laser and space blower propulsion (n\u00ba 22\/13228-9<\/a>); Grant Mechanism<\/strong> Regular Research Grant; Principal Investigator<\/strong> Jorge Kennety Silva Formiga (UNESP); Investment<\/strong> R$48,123.46.<\/p>\n
\nMORAES, L. C. et al<\/em>. Mapping of space debris: Consequences to the environment and the space program<\/a>. Brazilian Journal of Development<\/strong>. Aug. 16, 2021.
\nPHIPPS, C.R. A laser-optical system to re-enter or lower low Earth orbit space debris<\/a>. Acta Astronautica<\/strong>. Vol. 93, pp. 418\u201329. Jan. 2014.
\nFORMIGA, J. K. S. et al<\/em>. Ground-based laser effect on space debris maneuvering<\/a>. The European Physical Journal<\/strong>. Vol. 232, pp. 3059\u201372. Dec. 2023.<\/p>\n