3 ms·
Dumb question, but can't we put some giant blocks of single-piece kevlar-ish material in orbit? I imagine they would have no chance for breaking apart and woul
by daenz 11y ago
Dumb question, but can't we put some giant blocks of single-piece kevlar-ish material in orbit? I imagine they would have no chance for breaking apart and would just serve as "bullet" catchers for these small pieces of debris.
- ble 11y agoHypervelocity is very high velocity, approximately over 3,000 meters per second (6,700 mph, 11,000 km/h, 10,000 ft/s, or Mach 8.8). In particular, hypervelocity is velocity so high that the strength of materials upon impact is very small compared to inertial stresses. Thus, even metals behave like fluids under hypervelocity impact. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypervelocity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypervelocity The orbital velocity needed to maintain a stable low Earth orbit is about 7.8 km/s, but reduces with increased orbital altitude. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_Earth_orbit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_Earth_orbit