New Mars Forums

Palomar

Member

From: USA

Registered: 2002-05-30

Posts: 9,734

Re: Terminator Tether - ...space junk begone!

http://www.space.com/businesstechnology … .html]Help for getting rid of all that space junk

*Geez.    A toothbrush...(have read a similar article months ago; that one mentioned a toothbrush in orbit).

It's hard to believe, when stargazing or taking my 'scope out, that there really IS that much junk floating around up there.  Of course the majority of this stuff is so small they can't be seen with optics, etc...but still.  :-\

Satellites or other objects in orbit higher than 700 kilometers will stay there for hundreds of years; LEO satellites have an average working life of just five years.

Studies have shown that low Earth orbit is not a limitless resource and should be managed more carefully.

*I'd say.  :-\

--Cindy

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We all know [i]those[/i] Venusians: Doing their hair in shock waves, smoking electrical coronas, wearing Van Allen belts and resting their tiny elbows on a Geiger counter...

--John Sladek (The New Apocrypha)

SpaceNut

Administrator

From: New Hampshire

Registered: 2004-07-22

Posts: 28,960

Re: Terminator Tether - ...space junk begone!

It has been suggested that every satellite deployed should carry extra propellant so the satellite can boost itself up to a higher "graveyard" orbit. Unfortunately, not only must the extra kilograms of propellant be boosted up from Earth, the rocket and guidance systems must be usable for many years after launch. Also, graveyard orbits merely leave satellites up higher, where micrometeorite damage slowly causes these objects to break apart; smaller fragments will filter back down, leaving this problem for our children to solve. These smaller fragments are almost impossible to clean up. Extra propellant could also bring the satellite down; of course, this also requires that the rocket and guidance systems work at the end of the satellite's life. If either system fails to work, the satellite stays right where it is.

Basically Hubble de-orbit boost ideas for how to either abandon its use plunging it into the Earths atmosphere to burn up or the attempt to put off the decision for another day.

But ya there is a lot of space debri out there.

How about putting up very large ion engine driven space fly swatter to knock the junk out of orbit.

Palomar

Member

From: USA

Registered: 2002-05-30

Posts: 9,734

Re: Terminator Tether - ...space junk begone!

http://www.spacedaily.com/news/debris-05f.html]1 in 200 chance 

*This predicament might actually get us out of LEO.  Who wants to tromp through all that waste?  Let's just rocket through it and on to Mars.

"NASA released a study earlier this year warning that the chances of the International Space Station or the Space Shuttle suffering a catastrophic accident from a collision with a piece of orbiting (man-made) space debris is only one in 200," Hitchens said

Hopefully no one will be injured/killed as a result.

--Cindy

::EDIT::  May 31:  I asked a question in my post, but am taking it out and will create a Poll for it in the Human Missions folder (no need for redundancy)...especially since no one has responded since May 27.

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We all know [i]those[/i] Venusians: Doing their hair in shock waves, smoking electrical coronas, wearing Van Allen belts and resting their tiny elbows on a Geiger counter...

--John Sladek (The New Apocrypha)

srmeaney

Member

From: 18 tiwi gdns rd, TIWI NT 0810

Registered: 2005-03-18

Posts: 976

Re: Terminator Tether - ...space junk begone!

Orbital Debris field casts shadow over North America. Shuttle Cant Launch. Radio Astronomy Out of the Question. Deep space Radar cant tell difference between that and Inbound Nukes...

Schapelle Corbey Clone cuts Posts.