sifuyee t1_jbvy7w9 wrote on March 12, 2023 at 3:25 AM

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

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.

_shapeshifting t1_jbw2llo wrote on March 12, 2023 at 4:04 AM

I guess a cloud of hot vapor hits softer than a solid

MagicHamsta t1_jbwh89e wrote on March 12, 2023 at 6:38 AM

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,

sifuyee t1_jbwhqdb wrote on March 12, 2023 at 6:45 AM

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.

Jasrek t1_jbycit8 wrote on March 12, 2023 at 5:53 PM

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.