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Space Junk Removal Testing Craft Ejected From the ISS

posted by martyb on Friday June 22 2018, @01:28PM   Printer-friendly
from the gonna-need-a-bigger-net dept.

takyon writes:

Astronauts eject UK-led space junk demo mission

A UK-led project to showcase methods to tackle space junk has just been pushed out of the International Space Station.

The RemoveDebris satellite was ejected a short while ago with the help of a robotic arm.

The 100kg craft, built in Guildford, has a net and a harpoon.

These are just two of the multiple ideas currently being considered to snare rogue hardware, some 7,500 tonnes of which is now said to be circling the planet.

Previously: SpaceX Launches CRS-14 Resupply Mission to the ISS

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  • (Score: 2) by Immerman on Friday June 22 2018, @04:40PM (2 children)

    by Immerman (3985) on Friday June 22 2018, @04:40PM (#696817)

    Only if it's deorbitting-assist systems fail completely. And even then, only for a short while - at the ISS's low altitude atmospheric drag will rapidly deorbit anything that's not actively propelling itself to maintain orbit.

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  • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Friday June 22 2018, @04:45PM (1 child)

    by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Friday June 22 2018, @04:45PM (#696820) Journal

    Idea for a re-usable space junk removal craft.

    It puts itself into an orbit to intersect the desired piece of junk. It then winds up a giant spring. Then with a giant kick of the spring the target junk moves into a new lower perigee, and the removal craft into a higher new apogee. The junk craft now gets a more atmospheric drag at each perigee. The removal craft either has enough prop to put itself into another intersection orbit, or it becomes a new replacement piece of space junk.

    --
    The lower I set my standards the more accomplishments I have.

    • (Score: 2) by bob_super on Friday June 22 2018, @04:58PM

      by bob_super (1357) on Friday June 22 2018, @04:58PM (#696829)

      I was thinking of a big oven to melt the captured object and eject the result as propellant.
      The problem is to keep the nozzle clean despite the unavoidable clumps. Sending mama to space to clean up could be dangerous for people's health.