Kessler Syndrome

Kessler Syndrome

A group of three enters a conference room, mid-conversation. "And how am I supposed to get up there? We can't even retain a solid contact with our satellites." They were discussing the idea of sending a manned mission to deliver supplies to the Martian Colony. "Look, I know that they're having trouble with the harvest, but let's face it - no man has gone to space since 2052, and no satellites have gone up since 2070. This is 2078, Dimitri, LEO is covered in junk." "I know the risks we are taking here, Arch, but the Mars colony is our only hope for humanity surviving, given our current global warming situation." "He has a point, Arch." "Yeah, I suppose he does, Jeff. I just don't know how we're going to get out of this hell-hole."

Global warming had taken quite a toll on the Earth. Both the ocean and the land saw a great drop in animal diversity as many cold-climate animals died out. The area around the equator was becoming unlivable due to constant high temperatures, and several major cities around the globe were flooded and now reside underwater. In the year 2032, a stable colony was established on Mars, a first for mankind. By 2040, many sought refuge on Mars, knowing the fate of the Earth to come. Thousands of people were evacuating the Earth every month, but the rockets they were leaving on only added to the problem, and it created a new one. by 2050, space organizations had to actively plan the time and positions of their launches in order to avoid the debris that the rockets had been leaving behind. On June 7, 2052, a launch carrying 200 passengers - including the eccentric actor Charlie Sheen, hit the abandoned stage of a launch from 4 years earlier and exploded. Surprisingly, though, there was one survivor, and that was Charlie Sheen. His drug usage allowed him to survive the explosion and hold his breath for 4 minutes, just long enough to strap himself to an escape module and deorbit. After the news of the crash had gone global, a global ban was put on manned space travel for civilian purposes - it was simply too dangerous. For the years following, satellites were launched irregularly to receive communications from the Mars colony, and to study the potentially habitable moons of Saturn and Jupiter. Everything had gone on as normal, with only one mission being lost from every 15 launches, but the satellites, too, were adding to the problem. All missions to space were ultimately cancelled once it was observed that there would only be the potential for 2 - 3 successful launches per year. It was agreed that these windows would only be used if an emergency arose - such as a supply shortage in the colony on Mars.

"Let's start with the basics" said Dimitri "We know that our closest window is September, 8 months from now - and we know that we will need some sort of shielding for our rocket in the case that there is still debris in the way"

"Alright, but what is going to be able to take an impact at speeds no lower than 8 kilometers per second!?" Responded Jeff.

"I'm not sure anything can, but what if we can move the debri out of the way?" Arch knew that this idea was crazy, but he was desperate, and he knew the others were too. "What if we used that trans-continental personnel drop - that should be able to move any debris out of our way"

"Arch, let me get this straight . ." Said Jeff, with a dumbfounded look on his face "You want to use a 1200mm rail cannon that fires a pod that holds a marine and his gear, which is used to transport soldiers from the United States to France, to move space debris out of our way?"

"I think Arch is on to something, Jeff - we can move the debris out of our way, but it certainly won't be with a 1200mm cannon. What about mounted miniguns to shoot the debris out of our way?

"I don't think that will work, Dimitri, we wouldn't have enough time to react, and I don't think that the guns would move the debris out of the way fast enough." refuted Jeff.

"We have another option, guys. It will cost a lot more fuel, and we will have to figure out how to overcome that challenge, but what if we initially launched into polar orbit, there is a lot less debris blocking the poles." Suggested Dimitri.

"That's actually a really good idea, Dimitri"

"I agree with Arch, I'm all in for it"

"Good, I will get my team of researchers to tell me when the next available window for a polar orbit is. Meanwhile, you two get your team working on R&D for a material that will be able to withstand the impact of the debris, should we run into any. We will meet again on Friday to discuss our plan, and any extra information we have acquired." With that, Dimitri concluded the meeting, and the three left the room to inform their teams of their assignments.

Part II

The date is August 27, 2078, this is the window for Dimitri, Arch, and Jeff to leave the planet via polar orbit. The research teams developed a strong material that should be able to withstand the force of impact from hitting debris. An entirely new rocket was designed as well, just so the rocket could make a polar orbit, switch to a standard orbit, and make it all the way to Mars.

"T minus ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, liftoff - good luck out there boys"

"Thank you mission control, we'll need it" responded Arch. The Launch was successful, Dimitri, Arch, and Jeff were all on their way, hurtling through the atmosphere.

A few minutes later, a polar orbit was established, Dimitri was talking to mission control for further instructions. "Alright, so we will need to reorient the rocket 90 degrees to the east, and burn the engine at apogee, is that right?"

"That is correct, Apogee will be in T minus 2 minutes and 38 seconds"

"Thank you mission co-" Dimitri was interrupted by a very loud BANG. and the crew's ears were ringing for the next 5 minutes.

"This is mission control, what is your status . . . I repeat, this is mission control, what is the status of your ship and your crew . . . I repeat, this is mission control, please tell us -"

"We're fine, I think. I believe we got hit by debris, it was so loud we couldn't hear your requests, mission control." Interrupted Jeff

"What is the status of the ro-"

"DEBRIS, COVER YOUR EARS!" yelled Arch.

"This is mission control, what is the condition of the crew and the ship?" Five minutes of waiting later "This is mission control, please respond with a full report of the damage done to your ship . . . . I repeat this is mission control - what is your status . . . I repeat, this is mission con-"

In a very weak, defeated voice "Dead . . . Arch and Dimitri are dead . . . the ship is" Jeff is trying his hardest to talk in between heavy breaths and spitting out blood from his mouth. Behind him are the bloody bodies of Arch and Dimitri, they were standing right next to where the second debris hit. "the ship is . . . screwed" the famous last words of Jeff were uttered at that moment, just before he went into a coughing fit and died from his lungs filling up with blood.

The End