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Meet Amber Yang. She's trying to prevent a space debris catastrophe

By Thomas Page, CNN

Updated 6:56 AM ET, Fri January 26, 2018

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College first-year Amber Yang has won a number of prizes for her method of predicting the path of orbital debris. Scroll through to find out why these often tiny piece of matter in Earth's orbit pose such a problem for space missions.
Photos: Space debris: Small objects, big problem
College first-year Amber Yang has won a number of prizes for her method of predicting the path of orbital debris. Scroll through to find out why these often tiny piece of matter in Earth's orbit pose such a problem for space missions.
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Space debris is an issue NASA has been aware of since our first excursions beyond Earth. One recent report stated that debris as small as 0.12 inches across "<a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/news/sensor_to_monitor_orbital_debris_outside_ISS" target="_blank">could pose danger to human spaceflight</a>." This photo, taken in August 1960, shows a 0.8 inch piece of polyethylene hitting an aluminum target at 19,500 feet per second, as part of an impact test conducted by NASA's Ames Research Center.
Photos: Space debris: Small objects, big problem
Space debris is an issue NASA has been aware of since our first excursions beyond Earth. One recent report stated that debris as small as 0.12 inches across "could pose danger to human spaceflight." This photo, taken in August 1960, shows a 0.8 inch piece of polyethylene hitting an aluminum target at 19,500 feet per second, as part of an impact test conducted by NASA's Ames Research Center.
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Hyper-velocity testing is a key part of engineering spacecraft fit for orbit. This 2009 image from the European Space Agency shows the effect of a 0.47 inch, 0.06 ounce aluminum ball hitting a 7-inch thick aluminum block at 4.2 miles per second. The agency says the pressure and temperature of such an impact "exceeds those found at the center of the Earth."
Photos: Space debris: Small objects, big problem
Hyper-velocity testing is a key part of engineering spacecraft fit for orbit. This 2009 image from the European Space Agency shows the effect of a 0.47 inch, 0.06 ounce aluminum ball hitting a 7-inch thick aluminum block at 4.2 miles per second. The agency says the pressure and temperature of such an impact "exceeds those found at the center of the Earth."
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This 2004 image shows an "eyebolt," a two-inch component which had detached from a solar array. Along with spent rockets and dead satellites, other objects -- including a <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/s/411233/astronauts-lose-100000-tool-kit/" target="_blank">$100,000 tool kit </a>and the creator of "Star Trek's" ashes -- have ended up in orbit. Some will quickly slip out of orbit and burn up on reentry, while others will circle the planet for years. Intersecting orbits can cause a huge hazard for satellites and space stations.
Photos: Space debris: Small objects, big problem
This 2004 image shows an "eyebolt," a two-inch component which had detached from a solar array. Along with spent rockets and dead satellites, other objects -- including a $100,000 tool kit and the creator of "Star Trek's" ashes -- have ended up in orbit. Some will quickly slip out of orbit and burn up on reentry, while others will circle the planet for years. Intersecting orbits can cause a huge hazard for satellites and space stations.
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A close-up photograph showing the damage sustained by the Solar MAX experiment from a tiny piece of space debris. Today the International Space Station has a number of debris protocols, from maneuvering out of a collision path to sheltering in a Soyuz capsule when the probability of a significant collision is high.
Photos: Space debris: Small objects, big problem
A close-up photograph showing the damage sustained by the Solar MAX experiment from a tiny piece of space debris. Today the International Space Station has a number of debris protocols, from maneuvering out of a collision path to sheltering in a Soyuz capsule when the probability of a significant collision is high.
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A number of magnified images showing "pitting" in space shuttle windows. The glass used was extremely strong, but could be damaged by debris as small as a fleck of paint. Today the International Space Station's cupola observation windows are quadruple glazed, but are still susceptible to miniscule pieces of debris.
Photos: Space debris: Small objects, big problem
A number of magnified images showing "pitting" in space shuttle windows. The glass used was extremely strong, but could be damaged by debris as small as a fleck of paint. Today the International Space Station's cupola observation windows are quadruple glazed, but are still susceptible to miniscule pieces of debris.
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The Long Duration Exposure Facility (picture top) seen before deployment by Space Shuttle Challenger in 1984. Containing a number of experiments, it was left in low Earth orbit until 1990. Upon retrieval analysts counted over 20,000 impacts on the satellite according to NASA's Orbital Debris Program.
Photos: Space debris: Small objects, big problem
The Long Duration Exposure Facility (picture top) seen before deployment by Space Shuttle Challenger in 1984. Containing a number of experiments, it was left in low Earth orbit until 1990. Upon retrieval analysts counted over 20,000 impacts on the satellite according to NASA's Orbital Debris Program.
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A picture from NASA's Orbital Debris Program mapping the many impact points on panels from the Hubble Space Telescope. The US Department of Defense tracks thousands of objects in orbit, and can forewarn satellite owners when significant debris is on its way. But the US Space Surveillance Network only tracks objects four inches and larger, meaning pieces fractions of an inch wide slip through and can cause damage.
Photos: Space debris: Small objects, big problem
A picture from NASA's Orbital Debris Program mapping the many impact points on panels from the Hubble Space Telescope. The US Department of Defense tracks thousands of objects in orbit, and can forewarn satellite owners when significant debris is on its way. But the US Space Surveillance Network only tracks objects four inches and larger, meaning pieces fractions of an inch wide slip through and can cause damage.
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In December 2017, NASA released details of its <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/news/sensor_to_monitor_orbital_debris_outside_ISS" target="_blank">Space Debris Sensor</a>, a new addition to the International Space Station. It will record instances of debris between 0.002-0.02 inches wide for two to three years, using an acoustic system to measure size, speed, direction and density.
Photos: Space debris: Small objects, big problem
In December 2017, NASA released details of its Space Debris Sensor, a new addition to the International Space Station. It will record instances of debris between 0.002-0.02 inches wide for two to three years, using an acoustic system to measure size, speed, direction and density.
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As we fill low Earth orbit with more debris, the likelihood of a significant collision increases. Yang's software, now used by her company Seer Tracking, has won a number of awards for its use of an artificial neural network to predict the future path of debris. She says she has received attention from a number of private companies looking to launch satellites into space.
Photos: Space debris: Small objects, big problem
As we fill low Earth orbit with more debris, the likelihood of a significant collision increases. Yang's software, now used by her company Seer Tracking, has won a number of awards for its use of an artificial neural network to predict the future path of debris. She says she has received attention from a number of private companies looking to launch satellites into space.
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amber yang headshotnasa space debris test 1960esa hypervelocity testeyebolt space debrisnasa space debris damagespace debris shuttle windowsNASA LDEF payload shuttlehubble telescope impact mapnasa space debris sensoramber yang seer tracking software

Story highlights

  • Yang's prize-winning project models the path of space debris
  • The software uses an artificial neural network, designed to replicate the learning process of the brain
  • She claims it can predict orbit paths more accurately than current technology

This feature is part of Tomorrow's Hero, a series profiling young innovators transforming the world for a brighter future. Discover their stories here.

(CNN)After watching "Gravity," Amber Yang started having nightmares.

The ninth-grader and astrophysics enthusiast from Windermere, Florida was naturally drawn the film, which imagined an astronaut's desperate escape to Earth after the destruction of a NASA space shuttle.
"Gravity" bent some rules of physics, broke others, but its most terrifying plot device was, in theory, true. A phenomenon known as the Kessler syndrome, it's a scenario in which low Earth orbit -- home to the International Space Station and other satellites -- has reached a critical density of objects. An explosion, or collision between two objects with intersecting orbits, creates debris, setting off an exponential chain of collisions causing a catastrophic breakup of objects above Earth.
    "Gravity" (2013) was loosely based on a destructive orbital event known as the Kessler syndrome.
    "Gravity" (2013) was loosely based on a destructive orbital event known as the Kessler syndrome.
    The implications are chastening, with the debris belt limiting our ability to reenter space for a significant amount of time.
    Yang, now a college first year, has moved on from the nightmares. She's too busy trying to stop a space debris calamity from ever happening.
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    Faster than a speeding bullet

    Low Earth orbit, starting a few hundred miles up, contains millions of objects, ranging from space stations and rocket boosters to flecks of paint. Traveling 10 times faster than a bullet, a speck of debris less than half an inch wide can impact with the force of a hand grenade, meaning no object is benign.
    The European Space Agency says for many missions, space debris impact represents the third highest risk of losing a spacecraft behind risks associated with launch and deployment in orbit. Avoiding collisions requires constant monitoring and intervention -- the US Department of Defense's Space Surveillance Network makes hundreds of thousands of observations every day.
    Timothy Payne, chief of operations assessments division at Headquarters Air Force Space Command (AFSPC), told CNN that AFSPC "routinely provides to NASA satellite predictions 10 days into the future to support collision avoidance," but did not elaborate as to how these predictions were made.
    But Yang says she's developed a new way to predict orbits more accurately, and do so weeks into the future. What's more, she's won a number of prizes for her solution.

    The neural network

    "I started researching when I was in my second year of high school," she told CNN. Yang looked at current tracking methods -- ground and space-based sensors and radars -- as well as predictive methods such as an extended Kalman filter, a mathematical algorithm dating from the time of the Apollo program she says some organizations still use. (Payne confirmed AFSPC is not among them.)
    A close-up photograph showing damage sustained by the Solar Max experiment from a tiny piece of orbital debris.
    A close-up photograph showing damage sustained by the Solar Max experiment from a tiny piece of orbital debris.
    By 2016 Yang had turned to artificial neural networks, a computing system designed to replicate the learning process of the human brain. They can be used to identify patterns -- patterns like orbital debris paths.
    'Satellite catcher' will use magnets to clean up space junk
    'Satellite catcher' will use magnets to clean up space junk
    Using computer modeling software with a neural network tool, Yang began programming software of her own. She inputted various laws of physics and refined the parameters of her neural network. "It was a new experience for me," she says, "I hadn't really done much coding beforehand."
    To her network she added the coordinates of space debris available to the public online (accessible via Space-Track. You can see a model of this real-time data set via stuffin.space). In June 2016, Yang asked her network to predict three days ahead using 16 days-worth of back data. She says it was 98% accurate.
    "There definitely is a threshold limit as to the accuracy, the further in advance you go," she cautions, but says it compares favorably to other methods. Moreover, the network is evolving.
    "Artificial intelligence basically operates on the fact that it can be relearned and retrained," she adds. "So the more data I have... the more accurate the predictions will be."

    Founding a company in college

    Yang entered her project into multiple competitions. By the end of the year she had presented her finding at CERN, attended the White House Frontiers Conference, and delivered an impassioned TEDx talk containing powerful insights about the obstacles facing women in STEM industries.
    In 2017 she became a finalist in the Regeneron Science Talent Search, won the Intel Foundation Young Scientist Award -- and a $50,000 scholarship with it. Yang also found time to start university at Stanford.
    She's now studying physics while running Seer Tracking, a commercial enterprise looking to license out her software.
    "I'm getting a lot of consumer interest from private space corporations," Yang says. "Startup companies trying to launch different things into space are very interested in my work, because it's essentially very low-cost," she adds, comparing her neural network to sensors and radars.
    A screenshot of Yang's software, which predicts the flight path of space debris via an artificial neural network.
    A screenshot of Yang's software, which predicts the flight path of space debris via an artificial neural network.
    "It is still a bit too early to put an exact price tag on my software," Yang said in a followup email, "however, current space startups that are providing debris mapping services charge around $750,000 to $1 million for one license." None, she said, use artificial neural networks.
    Yang notes that no government space agency has contacted her thus far. CNN asked US AFSPC for their thoughts:
    "We currently do not use neural networks for predicting orbital paths although we do think neural networks are well worth consideration and study for other areas related to satellite operations," said Payne.
    "Nonetheless," he added, "we are very impressed with such a young scientist showing interest in the area of satellite orbit prediction and the capability to develop a neural network to predict them."
    Looking ahead, Yang says she plans to go further in developing her software's accuracy, and is exploring convolutional neural networks and deep learning ("A lot of people think it's the next driving force in machine learning," she says).
      And as for going into space, and the potential catastrophe she's trying to avert?
      "If ever have the opportunity to go I still would. So far we haven't had any dangers to astronauts yet -- hopefully it remains that way."
      Galaxy NGC 4485 collided with its larger galactic neighbor NGC 4490 millions of years ago, leading to the creation of new stars seen in the right side of the image.
      Photos: Wonders of the universe
      Galaxy NGC 4485 collided with its larger galactic neighbor NGC 4490 millions of years ago, leading to the creation of new stars seen in the right side of the image.
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      Astronomers developed a mosaic of the distant universe, called the Hubble Legacy Field, that documents 16 years of observations from the Hubble Space Telescope. The image contains 200,000 galaxies that stretch back through 13.3 billion years of time to just 500 million years after the Big Bang.
      Photos: Wonders of the universe
      Astronomers developed a mosaic of the distant universe, called the Hubble Legacy Field, that documents 16 years of observations from the Hubble Space Telescope. The image contains 200,000 galaxies that stretch back through 13.3 billion years of time to just 500 million years after the Big Bang.
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      A ground-based telescope's view of the Large Magellanic Cloud, a neighboring galaxy of our Milky Way. The inset was taken by the Hubble Space Telescope and shows one of the star clusters in the galaxy.
      Photos: Wonders of the universe
      A ground-based telescope's view of the Large Magellanic Cloud, a neighboring galaxy of our Milky Way. The inset was taken by the Hubble Space Telescope and shows one of the star clusters in the galaxy.
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      wonders of the universe 0419
      Photos: Wonders of the universe
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      One of the brightest planetary nebulae on the sky and first discovered in 1878, nebula NGC 7027 can be seen toward the constellation of the Swan.
      Photos: Wonders of the universe
      One of the brightest planetary nebulae on the sky and first discovered in 1878, nebula NGC 7027 can be seen toward the constellation of the Swan.
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      The asteroid 6478 Gault is seen with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, showing two narrow, comet-like tails of debris that tell us that the asteroid is slowly undergoing self-destruction. The bright streaks surrounding the asteroid are background stars. The Gault asteroid is located 214 million miles from the Sun, between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.
      Photos: Wonders of the universe
      The asteroid 6478 Gault is seen with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, showing two narrow, comet-like tails of debris that tell us that the asteroid is slowly undergoing self-destruction. The bright streaks surrounding the asteroid are background stars. The Gault asteroid is located 214 million miles from the Sun, between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.
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      The ghostly shell in this image is a supernova, and the glowing trail leading away from it is a pulsar.
      Photos: Wonders of the universe
      The ghostly shell in this image is a supernova, and the glowing trail leading away from it is a pulsar.
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      Hidden in one of the darkest corners of the Orion constellation, this Cosmic Bat is spreading its hazy wings through interstellar space two thousand light-years away. It is illuminated by the young stars nestled in its core — despite being shrouded by opaque clouds of dust, their bright rays still illuminate the nebula.
      Photos: Wonders of the universe
      Hidden in one of the darkest corners of the Orion constellation, this Cosmic Bat is spreading its hazy wings through interstellar space two thousand light-years away. It is illuminated by the young stars nestled in its core — despite being shrouded by opaque clouds of dust, their bright rays still illuminate the nebula.
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      In this illustration, several dust rings circle the sun. These rings form when planets' gravities tug dust grains into orbit around the sun. Recently, scientists have detected a dust ring at Mercury's orbit. Others hypothesize the source of Venus' dust ring is a group of never-before-detected co-orbital asteroids.
      Photos: Wonders of the universe
      In this illustration, several dust rings circle the sun. These rings form when planets' gravities tug dust grains into orbit around the sun. Recently, scientists have detected a dust ring at Mercury's orbit. Others hypothesize the source of Venus' dust ring is a group of never-before-detected co-orbital asteroids.
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      This is an artist's impression of globular star clusters surrounding the Milky Way.
      Photos: Wonders of the universe
      This is an artist's impression of globular star clusters surrounding the Milky Way.
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      An artist's impression of life on a planet in orbit around a binary star system, visible as two suns in the sky.
      Photos: Wonders of the universe
      An artist's impression of life on a planet in orbit around a binary star system, visible as two suns in the sky.
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      An artist's illustration of one of the most distant solar system objects yet observed, 2018 VG18 -- also known as "Farout." The pink hue suggests the presence of ice. We don't yet have an idea of what "FarFarOut" looks like.
      Photos: Wonders of the universe
      An artist's illustration of one of the most distant solar system objects yet observed, 2018 VG18 -- also known as "Farout." The pink hue suggests the presence of ice. We don't yet have an idea of what "FarFarOut" looks like.
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      This is an artist's concept of the tiny moon Hippocamp that was discovered by the Hubble Space Telescope. Only 20 miles across, it may actually be a broken-off fragment from a much larger neighboring moon, Proteus, seen as a crescent in the background.
      Photos: Wonders of the universe
      This is an artist's concept of the tiny moon Hippocamp that was discovered by the Hubble Space Telescope. Only 20 miles across, it may actually be a broken-off fragment from a much larger neighboring moon, Proteus, seen as a crescent in the background.
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      In this illustration, an asteroid (bottom left) breaks apart under the powerful gravity of LSPM J0207+3331, the oldest, coldest white dwarf known to be surrounded by a ring of dusty debris. Scientists think the system's infrared signal is best explained by two distinct rings composed of dust supplied by crumbling asteroids.
      Photos: Wonders of the universe
      In this illustration, an asteroid (bottom left) breaks apart under the powerful gravity of LSPM J0207+3331, the oldest, coldest white dwarf known to be surrounded by a ring of dusty debris. Scientists think the system's infrared signal is best explained by two distinct rings composed of dust supplied by crumbling asteroids.
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      An artist's impression of the warped and twisted Milky Way disk. This happens when the rotational forces of the massive center of the galaxy tug on the outer disk.
      Photos: Wonders of the universe
      An artist's impression of the warped and twisted Milky Way disk. This happens when the rotational forces of the massive center of the galaxy tug on the outer disk.
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      This 1.3-kilometer (0.8-mile)-radius Kuiper Belt Object discovered by researchers on the edge of the solar system is believed to be the step between balls of dust and ice and fully formed planets.
      Photos: Wonders of the universe
      This 1.3-kilometer (0.8-mile)-radius Kuiper Belt Object discovered by researchers on the edge of the solar system is believed to be the step between balls of dust and ice and fully formed planets.
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      A selfie taken by NASA's Curiosity Mars rover on Vera Rubin Ridge before it moves to a new location.
      Photos: Wonders of the universe
      A selfie taken by NASA's Curiosity Mars rover on Vera Rubin Ridge before it moves to a new location.
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      The Hubble Space Telescope found a dwarf galaxy hiding behind a big star cluster that's in our cosmic neighborhood. It's so old and pristine that researchers have dubbed it a "living fossil" from the early universe.
      Photos: Wonders of the universe