Kessler Syndrome: The Space Debris Problem

Kessler Syndrome, the threat of cascading space debris fallout, is an environmental crisis that's almost completely invisible to us, but which may carry dire consequences for our infrastructure and the future of spaceflight if left unchecked.

Of all the man-made satellites in Low Earth Orbit, 95% are space junk: rocket thrusters, derelict satellites, and most of all, tiny fragments of debris from collisions and explosions. All this debris poses a potential threat to the future of space travel if we don't find a way to clean it up before it's too late.

This film has been accepted to SCINEMA: International Science Film Festival organized by the Australian Science Channel, and will be playing to audiences across Australia in summer 2019.

Credits:

Written, edited, animated and narrated by Asher Isbrucker

Created using After Effects, Blender, and Videocopilot's Orb & Element

Special thanks to Donald Kessler & Holger Krag

Executive producer:
Willem Isbrucker

Producers:
Charlie Mitchell
Caitlin Docking
Josh Ennis
Simon Bullock
Mom & Dad

I really appreciate the support!

Music:
Silver Maple
Johannes Bornlöf
Jonatan Järpehag
Blue Dot Sessions
Borrtex

Footage, Images, & Assets:
European Space Agency
NASA
University of Surrey (RemoveDebris demonstration)
AGI (Iridium–Cosmos collision model)
tashtego (ENVISAT 3D model)
unaipl2003 (Dawn satellite model)

Resources & further reading:

[Jake-lfyt]

Wow. I only came across this channel not long ago after seeing the studio ghibli video. Definitely a good find. Needless to say, you definitely deserve more credit than you are due. Your videos are so interesting and well made. Hopefully your channel explodes in 2019 :D

[rafipuff]

Your channel is underrated dude, amazing vid!

[pepsikajri]

As a member of the space industry, I can say this is one of the best videos I've come across on the topic - well researched and excellently delivered. Please keep making more!

[mariaciafre]

After watching the movie "Gravity" with Sandra Bullock and George Clooney - I found your video on YouTube. Thank you again for bringing this issue to light in a nightmarish "disposable" world. (Posted Jan. 9, 2024)

[Fiveinaline]

Ever since watching the movie Gravity a few years back The Kessler Syndrome has been an interest of mine. This is probably the best video on the subject I’ve seen so far and I’ve seen a lot!

Well done sir! Definitely earned yourself a subscriber!

[danny_]

Your video quality is so amazing for a smaller YouTuber like yourself, I’m surprised your not massive yet

[ddxgad]

Oh wow, really great job man! I need to share this with everyone

[diane]

This is an excellent film for anyone even remotely interested in space! One night a few years ago, I witnessed a piece of what I was sure was "space junk" streaking across the sky. I could hear it, it was yellow-orange, and traveling at about a 45 deg. angle in my visual field. The sensation was that it was quite close, lower than a plane, and it disappeared beyond the trees.

Presumably, it burned up so completely that it was never in the news - I searched for reports for several days! I searched online to see what would have been that color, but every kind of "falling rock" was bright white. I kept asking around, but no one had been outside at 1a.m. So, it remains my own, I guess.

[rikebos]

This is awesome!! Very well made, and all about something I’ve never thought about before but am now super interested in. Great job!!

[EvgeniaMs]

Great video! :) made me look at the space from another perspective.

[kayh]

beautifully edited video ! thank you :)

[ipeaceful]

Huh. How interesting. Very good video. Professionally made and super interesting content. Nice job.

[PinchiExivion]

Impressive, and informative, and beautiful. Thank you.

[gabrielobanks]

Very interesting and captivating to see that you were able to interview the man, Kessler himself. I would have loved to hear more about solutions to the Kessler Syndrome and what Kessler thought would actually work.

[grandbakunin]

Plz make more videos like that for science sake!

[justin_]

it seems like they could make some kind of vast rubbery sheet that unrolls like 10 meters by 10 meters, flies around collecting things for awhile then deorbits. launch those periodically in orbits known not to cross other satellites. like giant sweepers. then again youd need some sort of non-fragmenting rubber-like sheet that has a high chance to collect things. on the other hand even if something went through maybe its velocity would be reduced?

im sure experts already thought of it / ruled it out already. any comment suggestions gonna kruger dunning so hard.

[jovante]

Why don't we make a ram at an incline using the whipple shielding to basically bounce it towards earth

[samwallaceart]

That video had top-notch production and terrific dialogue; like a Vsauce video but focused on one topic.
I'm appalled at the low likes.

[meow]

Can you put magnets larger than 10cmm in orbit to attract the smaller items that are too small to track and to large to shield?

[alexshenderov]

Isn't graveyard orbit gonna make Kessler Syndrome kinda inevitable?