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Satellite Harpoons Space Debris in Test
- ChuckMcM 8y agoI was really impressed with this, while it is only a test it shows you can build a tungsten penetrator type harpoon and latch a line on to space debris. Once attached adding a small delta V even with something like an ion thruster could accelerate the deorbiting of space junk.
- stevep98 8y agoI dont think the delta-v for deorbiting is even necessary. You just need to agglomerate all the debris into one big mass. This will make it easier to track. In the future, when we need some in-orbit resources, etc, we can use these. (much of the debris is spent booster stages)
- marsokod 8y agoYou would still need a delta-V to agglomerate multiple debris. Depending on the context, it may be cheaper to just de-orbit them. We're a long way from recycling stuff in orbit. We've not even started manufacturing anything worthy in orbit.
- ChristianGeek 8y agoThis is awesome...robotic space whaling! The next “Moby Dick” will be about the quest for the Black Knight.
- walrus01 8y agoLife imitates art? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6miuzFzonU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6miuzFzonU
- cgb223 8y agoConsidering the amount of space debris out there, is a single harpoon the most practical way to get rid of it all?
- ChuckMcM 8y agoI don't think there is any one solution to "all" space debris (perhaps there is but it seems intractable with a single solution to me). However there is always benefit in removing space debris. If this technique was only successful on pieces 5" (10 cm) in size or greater it could still get a lot of stuff out of the way. Especially things that are prone to creating Kessler cascades.
- marsokod 8y agoThis harpoon is designed to catch big debris. The target used for this demonstration is a honeycomb panel typical of bigger satellites.
- aaron695 8y agoI not sure I get the point other than very cool footage. It shot itself in the foot, but in space, not hard is it once you get to space? I guess the extendable test arm is hard tech, but not relevant to the actual mission. The hard bit is getting aligned with a different object and paying the money(fuel) to do that?
- slim 8y agoPredator Satellite. Other satellites will need protection
- b_tterc_p 8y agoWhat’s a bigger concern? Big space debris or small space debris?
- elorant 8y agoThe latter. There are more than 170 million objects with dimensions up to 1cm, while the larger ones are less than a million.
- godelski 8y agoNot only that, but they are MUCH harder to track. Tracking systems just aren't good at tracking small things.
- parcec 8y ago1cm objects are currently essentially impossible to track.
- b_tterc_p 8y agoSo might the risk of harpooning one big thing have a net negative effect by creating more tiny objects?
- GlenTheMachine 8y agoYes. It,s nearly impossible to avoid, really. Space debris doesn't really look like a problem that can be solved. It can only be managed. Other than removed selected really large pieces, such as entire derelict spacecraft, in crowded orbits like GEO where the likelihood of hitting something else is high.
- marsokod 8y agoThat's what is being assessed with this mission. If creating a few debris with he harpoon allows you to de-orbit the whole debris, which would have generated a certain amount of small debris over time, then it can be a win if the former is smaller than the potential latter. Also, depending on the orbit considered, the debris generated by the harpoon may be less harmful: they have typically a high surface area/weight ratio so they will deorbit fast if the altitude is low enough, like for this mission.