There’s a bit of “a mess” out there in the Earth’s orbit, where about 11,000 satellites are in place — a number that could grow to around 50,000 over the coming years.
That’s the word from David Kendall, retired director general of Space Science and Technology at the Canadian Space Agency, who spoke to Jonathan Geehan’s Astronomy 11 class at Vic High on Friday.
By the way, he added, 63 per cent of the current satellites are owned by Elon Musk.
Kendall said there aren’t really any rules in space, which is considered a “global commons,” and nothing to control the number of satellites that are launched.
But there’s also no ownership there, he said — no one can claim a planet as their own — something that 126 nations have signed off on.
Among many other hats, Kendall also chaired the Vienna-based United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, and said for three decades that group has been debating where space actually starts. It has never come up with a definitive answer, he said, but NASA says it begins at 80 kilometres from Earth, while an official body in France puts it at 100 kilometres.
“The rockets that are going up with space tourists right now from Amazon, they go to about 102 kilometres.”
The Vic High astronomy course is unique in the Greater Victoria School District, Geehan said. “It’s a course that I designed because none existed before,” said Geehan, who has a master’s degree in astronomy from the University of Victoria.
He partnered with colleague Clayton Uyeda in putting the course together.
Geehan said the course doesn’t delve too deeply into the mathematical aspects of astronomy, so it attracts a wide range of students who have a more general interest in the subject.
Adding to the appeal of the course is that when Vic High underwent its recent seismic upgrade and expansion, one of its features was an outdoor space on the third floor that can serve as an observation deck for student astronomers, as well as a general outdoor classroom.
Grade 10 astronomy student Caesar Lelj said she would love to go to space, and is happy that Vic High offers an astronomy course.
“I want to go to space so bad,” Caesar said. “I just really like space, the concept, the whole thing.”
She said she is also interested in the math component, as well as physics and chemistry.
“I like all the sciences,” Caesar said. “It’s kind of my goal in high school to do all the sciences before I graduate.”
Molly Descantes, who is in Grade 12, said she is taking the course to find out more about space “and how it works.”
While she sees herself taking courses like anthropology and Indigenous studies in university, she said, she wants to have a base in the sciences, as well.
“I love learning about sciences and I love taking science classes.”
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