“What was that bright light in the sky last night?” is a popular question NASA hears from the public and media, and one that the Meteoroid Environment Office, along with its All Sky Fireball Network, does its best to answer, in detail.

The May issue of Orbital Debris Quarterly News (ODQN) includes articles on policy updates, personnel, project details and more. 

An update to the NASA Procedural Requirements for Limiting Orbital Debris and Evaluating the Meteoroid and Orbital Debris Environment (NPR 8715.6B) was released on February 16, 2017. NPR 8715.6B replaces the previous version, NPR 8715.6A with Change 1, which was released on  May 25, 2012.

The February 2017 edition of Orbital Debris Quarterly News included the article "Space Debris Sensor Waiting for Launch." Continue reading for the full article. 

The Perseid meteor shower, which peaks in August of each year, was twice as active in 2016 compared to other years. The Perseids are always a major shower and move at very high speeds, so monitoring is essential for the safety of NASA’s spacecraft as there is great potential for high-energy impacts. Increases in activity, like that seen this year, add additional mission risks.

The July 2016 edition of Orbital Debris Quarterly News included an article on Micrometeoroid and Orbital Debris impacts on an International Space Station cover. Continue reading for the full article. 

Not much is known about the Kappa Cygnid meteor shower, and NASA’s Meteoroid Environments Office (MEO) is working to rectify that.

NASA’s Meteoroid Environments Office recently released two Technical Manuals (TMs): NASA Meteoroid Engineering Model Release 2.0 (TM-2015-218214) and Lunar Impact Flash Locations (TM-2015-218213).

The October 2015 issue of Orbital Debris Quarterly News is now available and features the article "Two More Collision Avoidance Maneuvers for the International Space Station." Continue reading for the full article.