Japan launched a cargo ship which will use a half mile tether to remove debris from Earth's orbit.

The junk has accumulated has accumulated in the more than 50 years of human space exploration since the Soviet-launched Sputnik satellite in 1957.
Collisions between satellites and the testing of anti-satellite weapons have made the problem worse.

Many of these objects are moving at high velocity around the Earth at speeds of up to 28,000km/h (17,500mph) and could cause catastrophic accidents and damage to the world's orbital telecommunications network.

made of aluminium strands and steel wire, it is designed to slow the debris, pulling it out of orbit.
The innovative device was made with the help of a fishing net company.
There is estimated to be more than 100 million pieces of space junk in orbit, including discarded equipment from old satellites, tools and bits of rocket.

a reply to: omniEther

This needs to be done. Do you have a link to the source of this info for further reading?

Nevermind I missed it!

Props to Japan!

Maybe build something to get all the plastic out of the Pacific?

Neat story OP, it's a shame there's not more details in the article on how it's supposed to work.

a reply to: Voiceofthemajority

Sorry not many details yet, but I think it might be in their a video if you followw the link.

a reply to: omniEther
Now all they have to do is start selling the retrieved pieces on E-bay and at least 20 others will be coming up with bigger and better devices to get the debris back to auction.

You know, with all this debris we have up there . . . it just makes you wonder why anyone could even conceive of complaining about depleting our ozone layer. I mean we are making a man-made ozone layer it seems.

On serious side though, it is good to see someone putting a space program to good use for a change. Maybe they can move some of them spy satellites out of orbit while their at it too.

a reply to: omniEther



GRAVITY (2015)

Perhaps the first "space junk" film ever, certainly one of the most breathtaking visual effects movies of all time. Perfectly crispy. Not possible to tell where the special effects begin and end.

a reply to: NightSkyeB4Dawn

You are totally right.

Space junk art would be a real hot seller.

originally posted by: TheAlleghenyGentleman
a reply to: NightSkyeB4Dawn

You are totally right.

Space junk art would be a real hot seller.

It would be, but I'm pretty sure this thing will just reenter and burn on purpose.

Nice gesture and very needed.

originally posted by: Voiceofthemajority
Neat story OP, it's a shame there's not more details in the article on how it's supposed to work.

The net-like tether will be extended from the space station by a robotic arm. It will generate a force strong enough to influence the orbital trajectory of space debris, directing pieces of junk toward Earth's atmosphere where they will burn up.

Source

a reply to: Bedlam

Well, possibly right?

But.....

I can't imagine it would all incinerate though. It may fuse together. It needs to be controlled. Maybe we can launch it into the sun. Gods furnace.

originally posted by: TheAlleghenyGentleman
a reply to: Bedlam

Well, possibly right?

But.....

I can't imagine it would all incinerate though.

Unless it's really tough, yeah, it'll burn up.

a reply to: omniEther


My only question is why do they think this net will work? You have pieces the size of bullets moving much faster than a bullet. cant see any net that can hold up to that. I'm thinking there experiment will just create new ones as it shreds there net.

How does this satellite stay in orbit while exchanging energy with the junk to speed it up?

originally posted by: Astyanax
How does this satellite stay in orbit while exchanging energy with the junk to speed it up?

Like most deorbiters, I'd expect it to get in position and slow down, either passively through a dissipative tether or actively, with a retrofire. The net will drag anything else down with it.

originally posted by: Bedlam

originally posted by: Astyanax
How does this satellite stay in orbit while exchanging energy with the junk to speed it up?

pay me or ill yank it out the sky sea space time cross it out and prove i was first born of setting yalls space trash on fire just cause.

Like most deorbiters, I'd expect it to get in position and slow down, either passively through a dissipative tether or actively, with a retrofire. The net will drag anything else down with it.

a reply to: omniEther

So a cargo ship is now something that flies through space, rather than sails through the ocean. I guess my grasp of the language is not what it was.

What I don't understand is where the space junk is?

The picture makes it seem like it's all over the place and would be easily visible if you were above the Earth.
The ISS live feed that was shown, which had it's camera pointing directly at Earth, showed no such problem, you couldn't see any space junk at all, none.

Is it black? Dark? Is it hard to see?

So when the space debris smashes into this 'aluminium and steel fishing net' at 17,500 mph and rips it to pieces...isn't the resulting shredded net just going to add to the original problem?