Making Space Junk Extinct
Someday future generations are going to curse their grandparents for preventing them from leaving Earth due to space junk.
Fortunately it looks like one company is working on a solution to reduce future space junk, which may help us keep terrestrial and Martian skies clean.
Under government funding, Global Aerospace Corporation has begun developing a LEO satellite de-orbit system that uses a lightweight, inflated envelope to increase the drag area that can increase natural orbit decay by orders of magnitude. The Gossamer Orbit Lowering Device (GOLD) concept increases the cross-section area of a satellite to increase atmospheric drag, or momentum exchange with atmospheric molecules, that results in a reduction of satellite energy and subsequent orbit lowering. [...]
It has been determined that if GOLD were to be used by all satellites under US regulatory influence over the period from 2010 to 2025, its use would reduce the probability of collisions to most LEO satellites by up to ~40%. (Global Aerospace)
While GOLD will not by itself rid our skies of space junk, it can help reduce how much future garbage we leave in the heavens above (which will aid us later after someone figures out how to safely remove the space debris).
Even if it were too late to keep our terrestrial skies clear of space junk, Global Aerospace’s technology could help us keep other worlds like Mars and Saturn’s Titan free of debris, helping us from repeating the environmental sins of our fathers.
(via SpaceMart, Image Credit: Global Aerospace)
Update: Removed lunar reference (since the Moon has not atmosphere) and inserted Mars and Titan. Thanks Remco!
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Carnival Of The Space Geeks (15 Minuets Of Fame)
Thursdays Carnival of Space was hosted by Dr. Pamela Gay over at Star Stryder, which had various posts ranging from Earth to Mars (and back again).
Some interesting posts included:
- Louise Riofrio (aka A Babe in the Universe) has a post (with video) on how NewSpace can potentially save NASA over 90 billion dollars on their lunar quest.
- Brian Wang of Advanced Nanotechnology informs everyone on how a ram accelerator (as well as a magnetic launch ring) could reduce the cost of space by $500/kg.
- Bigelow Aerospace celebrates the fact that they are displaying ads alongside their orbital stations which potentially could be a great source of revenue for Bigelow.
- Paul Gilster of Centauri Dreams discusses why anti-matter will be the fuel of the future and how it can open up the outer solar system (if not beyond).
- Stuart of Cumbrian Sky sums up why everything we do in space (and on Earth) is really about humanities search for new life.
- Fraser of Universe Today gives an encouraging update regarding the Martian rovers.
But the best post thus far was by Phil (from Phil for Humanity) who may have discovered a solution for removing space junk from among the heavens.
(Phil for Humanity) Since it is not economically feasible for a spacecraft to pick up all the pieces of space junk, then I recommend a laser that could vaporize or redirect space debris back to Earth. This laser would probably be most easily installed on the International Space Station, since it will need a huge supply of power that I think the space station could be upgraded to provide. Since only large objects can be detected and redirected by the laser, this solution would be limited.
Create massive blobs of aerogel or lightweight surfaces with huge surface areas so that space debris would impact and be stuck to. Since these objects would be in a slow decaying orbit, this would in affect be a large vacuum cleaner removing potential dangerous materials from space. Furthermore, aerogel would be most cost effective to launch into orbit and burn up completely in Earth’s atmosphere.
Instead of tossing trash away in space, like what was recently done onboard the International Space Station, use waste to create huge orbit junkyards surrounding the space station for additional shielding. These junkyards would additionally be storage locations for resources that future space missions could use if needed.
Note: Emphasis is from the author, Phil.
Although NASA (and the general space community) may not enjoy the idea of using additional space junk as a shield, using a laser to vaporize and/or redirect the orbits of these solar fragments may be much more appealing.
Coupled with a strong “sticky net” humanity may be able to clear the skies of these dangerous objects (of our own creation), lest we find ourselves unhappily stranded here on planet Earth.
(Image: Satellite destroying space junk. Credit: Space for Peace)
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Space Junk: Dangerous To Earthlings And Astronauts
Despite the chances of being hit by an object floating above our heads is slim to none, the very fact that space junk can hit us should be of major concern to everyone on Earth.
(Red Orbit) A spent Russian booster rocket re-entered the atmosphere Thursday over Colorado and Wyoming, the North American Aerospace Defense Command said.
NORAD spokesman Sean Kelly said the agency was trying to confirm a report that a piece of the rocket may have hit the ground near Riverton, Wyo., at about 6 a.m. Kelly said military personnel had not yet reached the scene.
No damage was reported and the debris was not believed to be hazardous, NORAD said.
Note: There was also another report of space junk falling through someone’s house. Hopefully we can find a near term solution for removing these objects from space, as they could represent a significant threat, especially since humanity will begin heading into space again.
Content Copyright 2006-2009 of Colony Worlds. All Rights Reserved.
Violators (and hosts) can be prosecuted under national and international laws.
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