MeDotOrg wrote:May I suggest a large orbiting Roomba? Seriously, there may come a time when we have orbital garbage maintenance is part of our space programs.
It doesn't seem like it would be the toughest thing to develop some kind of space ship with a battering ram to knock old garbage out of orbit. I mean, this isn't rocket science.
Wait...
ETA: It's fun to imagine NASA doing this, knocking older satellite artifacts off earth's orbit and into space, only for a couple of them to find themselves stuck in another planet's gravitational pull. The old junk crashes on another planet in our solar system, and many centuries in the future, after the apocalypse and the slow rebirth of humanity, space explorers will finally be able to visit other planets, find the old junk and start theorizing about ancient civilizations that may have sent life to Earth.
A satellite battering ram might be a toughy to design (Newton's Third Law). I had an engineer friend that worked for NASA. Her job was to calculate when and how Astronauts could exercise on the space station and what they needed to do to counter the effect it would have on the orbit of the ISS.
Pushing space junk out of low earth orbit (where most of it is) to escape velocity would require an enormous amount of fuel.
Nudging junk into a failed orbit would be easier, but those things will eventually re-enter and burn up before they reach the ground, anyway.
I think the real concern is small items (nuts and bolts) that can't be tracked and are whizzing around at hundreds of times the speed of a bullet. Manned spacecraft all carry emergency patch kits just for that eventuality. Hopefully, they work.
This, or any other post that I have made or will make in the future, is strictly my own opinion and consequently of little or no value.
"Faith is believing something you know ain't true" Twain.
Quasimodo wrote:A satellite battering ram might be a toughy to design (Newton's Third Law). I had an engineer friend that worked for NASA. Her job was to calculate when and how Astronauts could exercise on the space station and what they needed to do to counter the effect it would have on the orbit of the ISS.
Pushing space junk out of low earth orbit (where most of it is) to escape velocity would require an enormous amount of fuel.
Nudging junk into a failed orbit would be easier, but those things will eventually re-enter and burn up before they reach the ground, anyway.
I think the real concern is small items (nuts and bolts) that can't be tracked and are whizzing around at hundreds of times the speed of a bullet. Manned spacecraft all carry emergency patch kits just for that eventuality. Hopefully, they work.
It was just a thought that occurred to me after reading MeDotOrg's post, and I mostly thought NASA wouldn't do it for the cost. Your post was very interesting. I'd barely thought of the real technical considerations. I just started imagining once proud satellites lost in space.
God belief is for people who don't want to live life on the universe's terms.
And by the way, if you give my little satellite scenario any thought at all, you'll find plot holes a-plenty (like our distant grandchildren not noticing all the space junk on their way to better space travel technology).
Sounds like the makings of a terrible Bruckheimer movie.
God belief is for people who don't want to live life on the universe's terms.
Some Schmo wrote:It was just a thought that occurred to me after reading MeDotOrg's post, and I mostly thought NASA wouldn't do it for the cost. Your post was very interesting. I'd barely thought of the real technical considerations. I just started imagining once proud satellites lost in space.
Just the fact you were speculating on the problem is a very good thing. Elon Musk made a fortune doing just that.
I don't think NASA is very worried about it. The graphic posted in the OP is a little deceptive. It makes it look like there is little room up there now, but there is a massive amount of space in space. Even in low earth orbit. The earth is about 24,000 miles in circumference and 2,000 miles further up, there is a lot more space for satellites.
Older satellites were about the size of a car. Newer ones are much smaller. Of course, it is a self solving problem. No satellites will get lost in space. All their orbits will gradually decay and they will come back down as shooting stars.
This, or any other post that I have made or will make in the future, is strictly my own opinion and consequently of little or no value.
"Faith is believing something you know ain't true" Twain.
Quasimodo wrote:Just the fact you were speculating on the problem is a very good thing. Elon Musk made a fortune doing just that.
I don't think NASA is very worried about it. The graphic posted in the OP is a little deceptive. It makes it look like there is little room up there now, but there is a massive amount of space in space. Even in low earth orbit. The earth is about 24,000 miles in circumference and 2,000 miles further up, there is a lot more space for satellites.
Older satellites were about the size of a car. Newer ones are much smaller. Of course, it is a self solving problem. No satellites will get lost in space. All their orbits will gradually decay and they will come back down as shooting stars.
Yet more interesting information, and it doesn't surprise me it's not something they worry about much.
But yeah, I love thinking about this stuff. I wonder how much you drive your friend crazy asking her about her work. I imagine I would.
Does she like talking about it?
God belief is for people who don't want to live life on the universe's terms.
Some Schmo wrote:And by the way, if you give my little satellite scenario any thought at all, you'll find plot holes a-plenty (like our distant grandchildren not noticing all the space junk on their way to better space travel technology).
Sounds like the makings of a terrible Bruckheimer movie.
I really enjoyed watching "Gravity", but it was totally unrealistic. Hey, look! there's the Chinese space station. Just cruse over there.
This, or any other post that I have made or will make in the future, is strictly my own opinion and consequently of little or no value.
"Faith is believing something you know ain't true" Twain.
Quasimodo wrote:I really enjoyed watching "Gravity", but it was totally unrealistic. Hey, look! there's the Chinese space station. Just cruse over there.
Even worse was after she got into the Chinese re-entry module, and was trying desperately to guess which was the 'separate' button, so she could get back down to earth. As my Chinese friends pointed out, it was right in front of her nose and very clearly labelled ... how dumb can an astronaut be?
Zadok: I did not have a faith crisis. I discovered that the Church was having a truth crisis. Maksutov: That's the problem with this supernatural stuff, it doesn't really solve anything. It's a placeholder for ignorance.
