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> the big Western satellite operators are generally moving in the right direction and have moved faster than regulators to try to set space debris management st
by nordsieck 3y ago
> the big Western satellite operators are generally moving in the right direction and have moved faster than regulators to try to set space debris management standards.
We'll see. Starlink/Kuiper use a low enough orbit that non-functional satellites will de-orbit on their own in a reasonable timeframe. But OneWeb, which is up at 1000km+ already has had a satellite failure. And although they've vowed to remove it somehow, it's not obvious how they'll do so.
- dotnet00 3y agoAs far as I'm aware, OneWeb sats have the Astroscale grappling point on them so the vehicle Astroscale is developing can grab and deorbit the dead satellites. The most recent news on that being that an in-orbit demonstration is intended to launch in 2025. Edit: correction, oneweb doesn't specifically use the astroscale grappling fixture, instead it seems they use either their own design, or ones designed by Altius. Apparently these designs are such that they can be grappled either mechanically or magnetically, so presumably the difference is not significant enough to meaningfully limit which MEV can handle the job.