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wsclose t1_jbu7pha wrote

Reply to comment by JiminyDickish in Scientists call for global action to clean up space junk by thebelsnickle1991

Just gotta catch it first.

"In low Earth orbit (below 1,250 miles, or 2,000 km), orbital debris circle the Earth at speeds of between 4 and 5 miles per second (7 to 8 km/s). However, the average impact speed of orbital debris with another space object will be approximately 6 miles per second (10 km/s). Consequently, collisions with even a small piece of debris will involve considerable energy."NASA Link

So for the anyone who wants to know (6 miles per second) 6mi/s= 21600.00mph. So I hope you are the flash or superman.

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PortlyCloudy t1_jbvq6kd wrote

One of the early shuttle flights came back with a pea-sized divot in the windshield. NASA later determined the ship collided with a paint flake.

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Geektomb t1_jbvfo96 wrote

Mothership is going to be shredded on entry

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MagicHamsta t1_jbvutwj wrote

Why? Why not just shoot it down/up instead? Enough lasers could probably do something. Or what if we shoot the debris with some sort of gas to knock it out of orbit?

>Just gotta catch it first.

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sifuyee t1_jbvy7w9 wrote

Actually they have been proposing using lasers for a while now and it seems promising: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/51946228_Removing_Orbital_Debris_with_Lasers

While using gas would work too, it rapidly disperses, requiring an enormous supply and potentially dragging down working spacecraft too.

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MagicHamsta t1_jbwh89e wrote

I see that as an absolute win. Couldn't we gas bomb the area to clear out large swaths of space?

> While using gas would work too, it rapidly disperses,

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sifuyee t1_jbwhqdb wrote

Well, you *could* but it would be very expensive because the rapid dispersal means you'd need so much of it do do anything that you'd require thousands of rockets just hauling gas to orbit. While that would drive down the cost of rockets individually, no one has that kind of money to spend.

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Jasrek t1_jbycit8 wrote

It rapidly disperses in the sense that the gas scatters too much to actually influence anything's orbit. For you to use it to clear out any swath of space, you would need an enormous amount of gas released at a high velocity. And even then, since all the debris is constantly moving, it's not like that area is now 'clear'. You just have slightly less debris at that orbital inclination. Or slightly more debris, depending on the design of your gas bomb.

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wsclose t1_jbvz45w wrote

But then we would miss the opportunity for Space junk athletes and competitions.

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carbonclasssix t1_jbvyikh wrote

To stay in low earth orbit you'd basically have to be going as fast as everything else, so it's kind of a moot point to say you have to catch it

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Silliestmonkey t1_jbvzini wrote

I mean if these little scraps collide and fall to earth who’s responsible? Are they just gonna hit the Earth as shrapnel?

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wsclose t1_jbwc7c7 wrote

Most objects burn up in our atmosphere on reentry, so not a lot or worry over falling debris.

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RedJimi t1_jbxtud7 wrote

You seem to have it backwards. We WANT the smallest shrapnel to fall to the atmosphere because then they'll burn up. The problem is the stuff that is way above the effects of atmospheric drag (the top of the atmosphere varies at 10-17 km) and travelling at the speed required to maintain the orbital height they're at. They might stay there indefinitely unless we learn how to make gravity guns or something. For example, some orbital speeds: 6.90 km/s @ 2000 km, 7.35 km/s @ 1000 km.

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jon_reremy9669 t1_jbwscla wrote

you would have hated the wheel during the stone ages.... /s😊

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