12 ms·

LEO trash collectors doesn't the atmosphere do a good enough job? seems that most things in LEO will decay within a few years

• mdorazio 11y ago
  Not quite. It really depends on the shape of the orbit and density of the debris. It could be months, but it could also be decades to de-orbit naturally. Also, the bigger problem is that the amount of debris is growing faster than the decay rate [1] so the problem is getting worse over time. [1] http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/news/orbital_debris.html http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/news/orbital_debri...
• CapitalistCartr 11y ago
  Unfortunately no. The curent amount is already serious and, if we were continue at our past rate, we'll make space inaccessible. Orbital Debris Quarterly is a good resource on the subject. http://orbitaldebris.jsc.nasa.gov/newsletter/newsletter.html http://orbitaldebris.jsc.nasa.gov/newsletter/newsletter.html
  • patrickyeon 11y ago
    (I'm not an orbits expert, but I do work for Planet Labs, and we're sending up piles of cubesats.) The actors puting objects up in orbit are trying hard to be good neighbours these days. Our cubesat missions are designed such that should we completely lose control over a satellite the orbit will naturally degrade and re-enter the atmosphere on a ~10 year time scale. Our hardware deployed from the ISS is gone in less than two years. It's my understanding that it is required of us (and most groups in general) to plan our missions such that they will naturally de-orbit within 25 years.
  • grinich 11y ago
    Thanks for that link!