The US-Russian satellite collision not only caused a disturbance to the outer space, but also helped to arouse concern among space explorers about such accidents. The whole world has been reflecting on the inefficiency of existing space surveillance systems and has been calling for the introduction of new "space traffic regulations."

Different opinions and arguments

Editor: Why did the existing monitoring system fail to prevent this collision?

Guan Kejiang (People's Daily US correspondent): The Pentagon admitted that the capabilities of US military's space surveillance are limited. It cannot supervise the movement of all objects in space and had made errors in calculations. Elizabeth Mailander, a spokesperson for US' Iridium Satellite LLC, said that they did not receive any prior warning. In addition, since the warnings they had previously received were not precise enough and there were too many satellites changing direction in orbit, they failed to avoid the threat.

Yu Hongjian (People's Daily Russia correspondent): Russian space expert Igor Lisov explained that Russia's Kosmos-2251 satellite has stopped functioning as early as 1995. In contrast, the US Iridium 33 satellite was in normal working condition and its operational orbit could be controlled and adjusted. Lisov speculates that the US monitoring network was only paying attention to smaller space debris and ignored the larger defunct "dead satellites".

Li Yan (People's Daily France correspondent): Philippe Goudy, deputy director of France's space center in Toulouse, thinks that the cause might have been careless monitoring by US operators. They had really underestimated the "destructive power" of flying debris in outer space.

Debris not to be ignored

Editor: This collision has brought new pressure to outer space traffic which was already congested enough. At present, how much space debris is there and how has it dispersed following the collision?

Guan Kejiang: General James Cartwright, the US Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said it will take a month or two for the debris to settle down before they can effectively track it. NASA officials believe that the debris will probably not pose a threat to the space shuttle that is scheduled to be launched later this month.

Yu Hongjian: Major General Alexander Yakushin, chief of staff for the Russian military's Space Forces, said that the debris may be scattered over altitudes from 500 to 1,300 kilometers above the earth, traveling at speeds of around 200 meters per second. Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin, former commander of the International Space Station, thinks that the debris does not pose any immediate threat to the International Space Station currently, but after it is affected by gravity and changes orbit, it "will certainly threaten the ISS".