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Fishing for space junk [News]

2018; Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers; Volume: 55; Issue: 6 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1109/mspec.2018.8362211

1939-9340

Jeremy Hsu,

Space Science and Extraterrestrial Life

A spacecraft may soon be able to snare space junk by firing harpoons and nets. A European mission was expected to begin tests in late May of space-age versions of those ancient tools to clean up Earth's cluttered orbital lanes. Space junk has already destroyed at least one satellite, damaged others, and periodically forces the crew aboard the International Space Station to take evasive action. There are more than half a million pieces of space debris larger than a marble and tens of thousands of significantly larger specimens left over from spent rocket boosters and defunct satellites. To head off future catastrophe, experts from NASA and the European Space Agency have proposed removing 5 to 10 large pieces of debris each year.