New Scientist - 14.09.2019

14 September 2019 | New Scientist | 15

Technology Analysis Earth orbit

David Hambling Jonathan O’Callaghan

ROBOTS fitted with devices to

distract suspects could be hurled

through broken windows before

police storm buildings.

The idea is to take small robots

called Throwbots that many US

police departments already use

and add a device that disorientates

people by producing a loud bang

and brilliant flash of light.

Weighing about half a kilogram,

Throwbots can be tossed through

windows or over walls. Then they

can be driven around to explore

rooms with video cameras and

infrared sensors.

The robots are made by

Minnesota-based Recon

Robotics and, unlike robots for

bomb disposal, they can be

operated with minimal training.

The firm says around 6000

Throwbots have been sold.

The plan is to offer an upgraded

version fitted with the Enhanced

Diversionary Device, a modern

version of a stun grenade, often

called a flashbang. This variant

of the grenade, made by another

firm called Liberty Dynamic,

doesn’t explode but ejects a cloud

of material that reacts to produce

a flash and a bang in mid-air.

There is no shrapnel, so the

firm says it has a much lower risk

of starting a fire or causing injury,

and results in less smoke than

earlier devices. “Flashbang

devices are a lot more problematic

than acknowledged by law

enforcement,“ says Peter Kraska at

Eastern Kentucky University. They

are explosives, which can and have

led to serious mishaps, he says.

The robot and diversionary

device is intended for hostage

rescue and police SWAT teams. ❚

Police could throw

robot into buildings

to help end sieges

A SATELLITE owned by the

European Space Agency (ESA)

has had to dodge one owned by

US entrepreneur Elon Musk. The

incident raises critical questions

about whether we need clearer

rules on navigation as the

number of objects in orbit soars.

The near miss happened

on 2 September, as the ESA’s

Aeolus satellite, which monitors

wind patterns, was orbiting

320 kilometres above Earth. In

May, Musk’s company SpaceX

launched 60 communications

satellites, and one of these,

Starlink 44, veered dangerously

close to Aeolus. According to

ESA, the chance of a collision

was one in 1000 – 10 times

higher than the level of risk

that necessitates an avoidance

manoeuvre. SpaceX put the

risk even higher, at one in 591.

While ESA says it wasn’t

perturbed by the incident, a lack

of response from SpaceX caused

unnecessary uncertainty. The

firm failed to correspond with

the agency during the five days

in the run-up to the incident,

apart from one email early on

when the risk of collision was

still low. SpaceX blamed this

on a “bug in our on-call paging

system”. As a result, ESA was

forced to fire Aeolus’s thrusters

to move it.

Situations like this arise quite

often – ESA says it executed

avoidance manoeuvres 28 times

in 2018 – and there are no laws

on how each operator should

act. Safe resolution relies on

goodwill communication to

clarify who will move.

“It highlights that the current,

mostly ad-hoc, system probably

is not suitable for where we’re

going to be in the next few

years,” says Brian Weeden at

the Secure World Foundation,

an organisation which

promotes cooperation in space.

Incidents like this are

probably going to become more

common. SpaceX has plans to

put 12,000 Starlink satellites in

orbit to provide global internet

connections. Other companies,

including Amazon, OneWeb and

Kepler Communications, are

also working to create mega

constellations for the same

purpose, with more than

20,000 satellites planned in

all. There are only 2000 active

satellites orbiting Earth today.

It is all too apparent that our

archaic rules, based largely on

1967’s Outer Space Treaty, can’t

cope with this increase. Space

consultant Rand Simberg,

however, says he is working

with the US government to

update the rules. “The goal is to

try right now to develop some

customary laws and norms,”

he says. “I’m hoping that within

the next few months we’ll have

some draft language.”

It may be a challenge to

reach agreement though.

“I wouldn’t want government

to impose rules of the road

regulation,” says Tim Maclay,

director of mission systems

engineering at OneWeb.

“It could be that we get to a

point where that kind of a

structure is necessary, but

I don’t think we’re there yet.”

Others say we need proper

rules soon. “We’ve never seen

constellations this large before,”

says Weeden. At the most basic

level, deciding who has right

of way could be crucial. ❚

We need better ways of

stopping space pile-ups

ESA/ATG MEDIALAB

Aeolus, a European

satellite, had to move

to avoid a SpaceX craft

12,

Number of satellites planned for

SpaceX’s Starlink constellation

Learn about the threat

from space junk

newscientistlive.com

“ The robot can unleash
a loud bang and brilliant
flash to distract suspects
before police storm in”