Space debris junking up Earth orbit is actually an increasing problem. At last, though, some UK researchers have come up with tiny garbage hauler satellites to clear it all up! Useful and adorable!
I myself have toyed with the idea of some sort of big Swiffer or spiderweb attached to a satellite that could catch and hold space junk and clear it away. I'm not a space research center, though, so I'm glad someone else with the wherewithal to do it was thinking along the same lines.
5 comments:
i wonder about having great big chunks of starlit plastic that float in orbit and pick up the bits that hit them over time. than the star light could be pickup up or dropped into the atmosphere
One thing I wasn't quite clear on--once CubeSail takes itself out of orbit, is it just hauling the junk into space? Or does "out of orbit" mean burning up in the atmosphere?
Tim: I think the problem with that would be bigger pieces punching holes in the plastic.
Comicsfan: I THINK it means burn up in the atmosphere.
this would strictly be for the smaller stuff that's just as hazardous to a person in a space suit
I do like the redesign btw
Tim: It could work. There is that aerogel stuff. I think the frame would be a problem, too. It would have to be able to maneuver.
Post a Comment