Submitted by thebelsnickle1991 t3_11oootr in Futurology
Annicity t1_jbw5w81 wrote
Reply to comment by crosiss76 in Scientists call for global action to clean up space junk by thebelsnickle1991
The easiest way to dispose of orbiting bodies is to crash them into Earth. Most sats are quite small and unless you're dropping the ISS, they burn up in the atmosphere.
Future sats may use drag sails to slowly pull it down. https://www.space.com/esa-drag-sail-prototype-adeo-unfurls
And regulation is already happening, the FCC has introduced the 5-year plan. https://www.nasa.gov/smallsat-institute/sst-soa/deorbit-systems https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-adopts-new-5-year-rule-deorbiting-satellites
Removing existing debris will ultimately mean slowing them down, to drag them to earth. A likely candidate is using lasers. https://phys.org/news/2021-04-laser-sky-space-debris.html But other concepts are being developed. https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/12/09/505020386/japan-sends-long-electric-whip-into-orbit-to-tame-space-junk https://www.npr.org/2021/03/21/979815691/new-effort-to-clean-up-space-junk-prepares-to-launch https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/30/business/space-debris-capture/index.html
BergilSunfyre t1_jc02rnl wrote
There's also the "Laser broom", a design for ground-mounted laser that hits space junk to cause it to decelerate, so it will fall from orbit to burn out in atmosphere.
Annicity t1_jc17wxr wrote
I didn't know that was the term for it. Neat, TIL.
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