theexile14 t1_jae7zee wrote on February 28, 2023 at 8:16 PM

Reply to comment by Pigs_in_the_Porridge in We need more rules for space junk and moon bases, NASA and US officials say by DevilsRefugee

I have worked in space debris tracking before. I'm not forgetting anything. Low LEO clears in a relatively short period of time, it is not at serious risk. High LEO...I mentioned? You seem to be freaked out that I didn't mention a specific term that's become overly common amongst those who don't understand the environment.

The most serious risks to High LEO are what I mentioned: ASATs and breakups of non-operating satellites. If those continue to happen unabated for some time then we can start to worry about Kessler Syndrome. Too many people watched Gravity and took it as a real risk.

myflippinggoodness t1_jaey5bz wrote on February 28, 2023 at 11:10 PM

Ok, mby you're someone to ask about this: what if they put up like a big, heavy metal shield just to float around, let small shit smash into it, just so the small shit loses velocity and falls into LOW LEO so that it falls in like a couple years instead of a couple centuries?

Hopes like I'm 5 👌

theexile14 t1_jaf082x wrote on February 28, 2023 at 11:24 PM

There are ideas about doing that with some gel type substance to capture junk. Unfortunately, a large metal object doesn't work as the collisions may occur at relative speeds of hundreds or thousands of km/hr. At that speed you mostly just smash things into pieces and send the careering all over. Unfortunately that hurts more than helps.

Also, that mass would be huge and cost a ton to put into orbit.