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Telescope and radar network needed to protect satellites - Russian expert

Posted on: Sunday, 17 August 2003, 06:00 CDT

Text of report in English by Russian news agency Interfax

Moscow, 17 August: Russian researchers have proposed establishing a Trans-European monitoring system to prevent satellite collisions with asteroids and space garbage.

"Over 200,000 objects in space that could be described as space garbage are in near-Earth orbits. Asteroids are also dangerous. A network of telescopes and radars needs to be created to monitor and tackle these problems," Igor Molotov, an expert form the Russian Academy of Sciences' Pulkovo Observatory, has told Interfax.

"The equipment available in Europe is not sufficient. Therefore, a new project involving Europe's means of surveillance and optical facilities and radars in former Soviet republics has been launched," he said.

"The new system will be able to warn of small pieces of space garbage and monitor them round-the-clock in any weather conditions. There are telescopes and radars located from Spain to the Far East and covering several time zones," Molotov said.

"The system will be capable of finding new asteroids, measuring their orbits and determining their physical properties, which will help make long-term forecasts on dangerous collisions in space and evaluate the consequences of possible collisions," he said.

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