Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by Fnord666 on Thursday April 20 2017, @04:32AM   Printer-friendly
from the what-a-piece-of-junk! dept.

Scientists sounded the alarm Tuesday over the problems posed to space missions from orbital junk—the accumulating debris from mankind's six-decade exploration of the cosmos.

In less than a quarter of a century, the number of orbiting fragments large enough to destroy a spacecraft has more than doubled, a conference in Germany heard.

And the estimated tally of tiny objects—which can harm or degrade spacecraft in the event of a collision, and are hard to track—is now around 150 million.

"We are very much concerned," said Rolf Densing, director of operations at the European Space Agency (ESA), pleading for a worldwide effort to tackle the mess.

"This problem can only be solved globally."

Travelling at up to 28,000 kilometres (17,500 miles) per hour, even a minute object impacts with enough energy to damage the surface of a satellite or manned spacecraft.

If you always wondered why the Death Star had a trash compactor, here's your answer.


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 20 2017, @04:42AM (3 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 20 2017, @04:42AM (#496691)

    Make a Deal with Mexicans who drive scrap metal trucks down back alleys, sell them spaceships instead, and pay them to collect space junk in orbit. Accomplish two goals. Clean up the space junk. Get the Mexicans out of sight.

  • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 20 2017, @08:10AM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 20 2017, @08:10AM (#496753)

    Just build a wall around Earth... done.

    • (Score: 3, Funny) by DannyB on Thursday April 20 2017, @07:05PM (1 child)

      by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Thursday April 20 2017, @07:05PM (#497009) Journal

      That is called a Donaldson Sphere. A mega structure constructed around the Earth. To keep out the aliens. And we'll make the aliens pay for it.

      Now crazy left wing liberals will complain that the sky is falling because the Donaldson Sphere will block out all sunlight to the surface of the Earth. But don't let them confuse you with facts. Things will be great. Stay inside, enjoy plenty of light powered by unlimited clean coal. And it will put the coal miners back to work. Those hippy liberals promoting solar power will be the laughingstock. How will their solar power work without sunlight?

      --
      People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
      • (Score: 2) by kaszz on Friday April 21 2017, @12:31PM

        by kaszz (4211) on Friday April 21 2017, @12:31PM (#497369) Journal

        It will be powered with great radiation free nuclear power stations. Getting sun light is easy, you just swipe your credit card as long as your credit status is alright..
        No scientist backs the rumors about nuclear being radioactivity is is true. So the budgets talks next week we be great! :p