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Satellite collision

chaosof99chaosof99
edited February 2009 in News
Two satellites collided over Siberia.
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Of course, this produced a metric shitton of new space debris and with debris creating more debris as it hits other debris due to the Kessler Syndrome, I really hope that most of the debris will fall to earth and burn out in the atmosphere. This could potentially endanger every other satellite in orbit or the ISS.

In a worst case scenario, this or future incidents, perhaps caused by this, may even make earth's orbit impassable due to chain reaction and without satellites this would kill a lot of communication.
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Comments

  • AprecheApreche
    We just need to have an operation to clean up the space junk. Send up a rocket that has a space net. Fill the net with space junk and push it towards the sun. Gravity and fusion will take care of the rest.
  • George PatchesGeorge Patches
    We just need to have an operation to clean up the space junk. Send up a rocket that has a space net. Fill the net with space junk and push it towards the sun. Gravity and fusion will take care of the rest.
    How do you propose we impart the massive kinetic energy needed to escape the earths gravity?
  • MrRobotoMrRoboto
    edited February 2009
    We just need to have an operation to clean up the space junk. Send up a rocket that has a space net. Fill the net with space junk and push it towards the sun. Gravity and fusion will take care of the rest.
    How do you propose we impart the massive kinetic energy needed to escape the earths gravity?
    Same way we launch satellites only a bit bigger, just think about it like this, you clear 60 pieces of waste and leave in return 3 or 4.
    Post edited by MrRoboto on
  • chaosof99chaosof99
    We just need to have an operation to clean up the space junk. Send up a rocket that has a space net. Fill the net with space junk and push it towards the sun. Gravity and fusion will take care of the rest.
    If we can really fill up such nets, it would be easier and better to take those nets in and bring the debris back to earth. At least it could be recycled rather than wasting fuel trying to escape earth's gravity.
  • Loganator456Loganator456
    We just need to have an operation to clean up the space junk. Send up a rocket that has a space net. Fill the net with space junk and push it towards the sun. Gravity and fusion will take care of the rest.
    If we can really fill up such nets, it would be easier and better to take those nets in and bring the debris back to earth. At least it could be recycled rather than wasting fuel trying to escape earth's gravity.
    That's actually a good idea (I don't know why I ever thought of that, I've probably seen it in anime countless times).
  • George PatchesGeorge Patches
    We just need to have an operation to clean up the space junk. Send up a rocket that has a space net. Fill the net with space junk and push it towards the sun. Gravity and fusion will take care of the rest.
    How do you propose we impart the massive kinetic energy needed to escape the earths gravity?
    Same way we launch satellites only a bit bigger, just think about it like this, you clear 60 pieces of waste and leave in return 3 or 4.
    Do a little reading on the Apollo program and the Saturn V rocket, the energy required is massive. Bringing it back to earth is really the only economically viable option.
  • chaosof99chaosof99
    (I don't know why I ever thought of that, I've probably seen it in anime countless times).
    I pretty much had a flashback to Planetes when I read that story. Ah Planetes, a great manga but a below average anime :/
  • OmnutiaOmnutia
    Just crash the stuff into the atmosphere. Can anything we put up there survive reentry if we don't specifically design it to do so?
  • George PatchesGeorge Patches
    Just crash the stuff into the atmosphere. Can anything we put up there survive reentry if we don't specifically design it to do so?
    Depends....
  • ChurbaChurba
    It is not outside of the realm of possibility.
  • OmnutiaOmnutia
    What about breaking it up into little bits before hand or deliberately dropping it straight into the sea?
  • AprecheApreche
    Most of the space debris is metal right? Is it magnetic? We can put a big magnet in orbit, have it collect debris. Then the shuttle can grab it by putting a magnet on the robotic arm.
  • OmnutiaOmnutia
    That wouldn't work so well, a magnet that could attract things moving that fast would need to be pretty massive (even an electromagnet). I heard something about using aerogel to trap small particles.
  • AlexAlex
    We can put a big magnet in orbit, have it collect debris.
    My first suspicion is that "big" in this case would be prohibitively big. You'd need a very, very powerful magnet - or a very large number of weaker ones - to sweep any significantly-sized region of space. And in whatever region of space you sweep, there's no way for the magnet to distinguish live satellites from chunks of dead ones.

    I have no idea what portion of the debris is even magnetic, though, so all of this could be beside the point.
  • StarfoxStarfox
    edited February 2009
    Send up a rocket that has a space net. Fill the net with space junk and push it towards the sun.
    Too much space; how do you make a strong enough net?
    Do a little reading on the Apollo program and the Saturn V rocket, the energy required is massive. Bringing it back to earth is really the only economically viable option.
    If you actually do a little reading, you will see that would be if you wanted to send people into the sun. Gee, if only we had a way to launch other stuff out of Earth's gravity...
    We can put a big magnet in orbit, have it collect debris.
    Same problems. Space is just too big. A magnet capable of grabbing any amount of stuff (assuming you could at all) would no to be ludicrously strong. Space is just too big, and stuff moves too fast.
    Post edited by Starfox on
  • CremlianCremlian
    We just need to have an operation to clean up the space junk. Send up a rocket that has a space net. Fill the net with space junk and push it towards the sun. Gravity and fusion will take care of the rest.
    Sounds like a plot to a manga/anime OH WAIT IT IS!
  • ......
    I pretty much had a flashback to Planetes when I read that story. Ah Planetes, a great manga but a below average anime :/
    This entire thread has been making me "OH GOD THE FUTURE IS HERE! WE WILL GO ON VACATION TO THE MOOOOOON!" Planetes was a rather good anime if you ask me.
    We can put a big magnet in orbit, have it collect debris.
    That is one stupid idea. First off, there's debris that circles the earth at high speeds. Were it to pass over the magnet its trajectory would be bend towards earth. If said piece of debris is big enough could cause all sorts problems. For example, half-burned up old satellites crashing into the White House. A magnet also doesn't discriminate between junk and operational satellites. Using a net to collect trash and bumping that back to earth also sounds like a crazy idea. Shit, net has burned up, now all the trash is crashing freely against each other again, let's hope no large chunks remain to impact into somebody's beach house.
    What about breaking it up into little bits before hand
    You'd have to collect it before you can break it up. At that point it becomes more sensible to just take a trash compactor up into space to just compact the trash into small blocks instead of breaking it apart.
  • AprecheApreche
    We can have the space shuttle collect it and then drop it back to earth into the ocean. Perhaps we can also get some sort of container, so the stuff wont' burn up.
  • Dr. TimoDr. Timo
    Catching the debris is highly impractical due to the very high and varying speeds at which it travels. There are some plans to send clean up satellites into orbit that shoot debris down with lasers.
  • ......
    edited February 2009
    We can have the space shuttle collect it and then drop it back to earth into the ocean.
    "BOB BEHIND YOU!" "What?" Bob gets hit in the face by a screw travelling at a few hundred kilometres an hour. This is the method used in Planetes though. Debris haulers collecting (slow travelling) debris that gets nearby.

    As for putting the stuff in containers that can re-enter the atmosphere, wouldn't that cost a lot? To make those containers. How much does making something capable of getting back here on earth in one piece cost, per square meter?
    There are some plans to send clean up satellites into orbit that shoot debris down with lasers.
    Jamming with Edward.
    Post edited by ... on
  • RochelleRochelle
    There are some plans to send clean up satellites into orbit that shoot debris down with lasers.
    Jamming with Edward.
    MPU!
  • bugmenotbugmenot
    There are some plans to send clean up satellites into orbit that shoot debris down with lasers.
    Ignoring all the no weapons in space stuff, how would that work?
    The only way I can think of is to superheat it into plasma when it'll be affected by earth's magnetic field.
    Then again I have no edumacation in any of related fields.
  • JasonJason
    We need to release a fleet of Roombas that navigate using aerosol bursts.
  • AprecheApreche
    Well, we have technology that lets us track the locations and orbits of the junk, or at least the bigger junk. Let's put a big bucket in space that can move around. Then we just have to move it so that objects fly into it. When it's full we can tell it to close its lid, and have it drop itself into the ocean. Then we can put it back in space and repeat. We can also use the bucket to collect other things in space, like space rocks and dark matter.
  • WindUpBirdWindUpBird
    Could have been a lot worse.
  • JasonJason
    We need to release a fleet of Roombas that navigate using aerosol bursts.
    I'm not kidding. Space nets and space buckets are unintelligent tools. Give AI-driven 'bots rein to scour the atmosphere for junk. They'd be small and light enough to adjust trajectory, hunt down debris, match speed, collect it, and move on. Then they could rendezvous with a shuttle/ISS for drop-off and re-fueling and head back out. While collecting, they could employ radar and programming to recognize real, necessary satellites and avoid them; or they could be operated remotely if an unforeseen circumstance arose.
  • OmnutiaOmnutia
    The problem is that chasing down each an every piece takes a lot more energy than just moving a net a bit at a time and waiting for each item to orbit into it.
  • Dr. TimoDr. Timo
    edited February 2009
    There are some plans to send clean up satellites into orbit that shoot debris down with lasers.
    Ignoring all the no weapons in space stuff, how would that work?
    Shoot space junk with laser -> a small spot on it's surface evaporates -> the resulting thrust shifts it into an orbit that will decay much faster than what it would normally, say tens of years v.s. hundreds of years.

    Edit: This has some more info, I particularly like the aerogel blob idea.
    Post edited by Dr. Timo on
  • Kate MonsterKate Monster
    edited February 2009
    The problem is that chasing down each an every piece takes a lot more energy than just moving a net a bit at a time and waiting for each item to orbit into it.
    So you are advocating a Skynet? Did you go to RIT? We must find John Connor!!!!!
    Post edited by Kate Monster on
  • OmnutiaOmnutia
    The problem is that chasing down each an every piece takes a lot more energy than just moving a net a bit at a time and waiting for each item to orbit into it.
    So you are advocating aSkynet? Did you go to RIT? We must find John Connor!!!!!
    Very droll madam, very droll indeed.
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