Privateer chief science adviser, Moriba Jah, says the company will keep governments accountable by tracking space junk in orbit
Apple co-founder Steven Wozniak's Privateer aims to help the powers at be make better decisions to ensure space is safe, secure and sustainable, and it plans to do so by creating a ‘Waze for space.’
The company’s chief science adviser, Moriba Jah, told DailyMail.com in a phone interview that Privateer will rely on crowdsourcing from all types of technology – both on the ground and in space- to track and predict the path of space junk.
This, according to Jah, will help keep governments accountable buy providing proof of who is at fault in the event a piece of their discarded technology wreaks havoc in the final frontier
‘There is a lot of he said, she said [when it comes to space junk floating in orbit], especially with what happened with the Russian satellite,’ said Jah.
‘I think it is total bull*** and is very aggravating and frustrating any which way you slice it. Nothing positive came out of this flexing in orbit with [Russia] destroying its satellite,’ said Jah.
‘However, the US government came out early condemning Russia for what happened.
'I am not saying it wasn’t true, it is, but we need to move away from the he said, she said and provide evidence.’
The Hawaii-based company, announced by Wozniak and co-founder Alex Fielding in September, wants to identify, catalogue and track each piece of space junk floating around Earth.
The European Space Agency (ESA) estimates there are at least 36,500 of debris larger than a softball in orbit, but there are probably one million pieces between 0.4 inches and four inches.
And the ESA says there is likely a whopping 330 million that are smaller than 0.4 inches.
Jah, who is also an associate professor of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics at The University of Texas at Austin, said to track all space junk, Privateer plans to launch a ‘few hundred satellites’ into its constellation.
‘It will begin February prono 1, a prototype, which will be a demonstrator with sensors,’ said Jah.
‘The idea is to make space more transparent, make it more predictable, by knowing where space junk will be over the next few minutes and hours.
‘We will be able to predict how two objects from two different governments will act, before there is a reason to worry.’
He also notes that the company will rely on other sources, such as telescopes, satellites and armature astronomers who are willing to search for and report space junk findings.
This work from Privateer will help avoid troubles
