The space race and more recent commercial space activities have led to a proliferation of objects in Earth’s orbit. What exactly are these objects? How do they behave? Who are we leaving them for? Is it junk or can it be reclaimed? Dr. Stuart Grey considers our role in polluting space and how this circulation of material impacts the future.

Cosponsored by the Department of Physics and Astronomy and Penn Sustainability.

Dr. Stuart Grey is a member of the The Aerospace Centre of Excellence (ACE) in the Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering at the University of Strathclyde. His research focuses on the precise orbit determination of space debris, in particular on how non-conservative forces affect the shape, attitude and orbit of debris. Dr Grey received his PhD in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Glasgow, carried out post-doctoral research leading to a faculty position at the Space Geodesy and Navigation Laboratory at University College London before moving to the ACE in 2016.