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>does something like that exist? Technically: yes. Practically: it's so expensive to launch anything, much less a cleanup-bot, that it basically isn't done ou

by Groxx 3y ago

>does something like that exist? Technically: yes. Practically: it's so expensive to launch anything, much less a cleanup-bot, that it basically isn't done outside of research. This will probably change, but costs are unavoidably high so it'll probably always be rare. There's a decent summary of the area in this, from a quick googling: https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/12/tech/space-junk-robot-esa-intl-hnk-scli-scn/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/12/tech/space-junk-robot-esa-int... For small near-station use: I'm not sure! Some uses would certainly make sense, but I would be willing to bet that the risk of it going slightly too fast and damaging something makes it undesirable. It'll probably happen eventually, but I'd be a bit surprised if it is already a thing - most that I've seen have been armed machines that "walk" around the surface by grabbing things, which is much slower and safer.

jstanley 3y ago
But if you lose something from the ISS, couldn't you chuck the drone out the airlock of the ISS and get it back before it's gone very far?
- nerpderp82 3y ago
  A drone would potentially be an ISS damaging missile. It could cause a whole lot more problems than it might solve. Ever have your foot nailed by an RC car? That times 100. Also its propulsion gas could also setup oscillations in the station itself. So a lot of math would have to go into counteract this little bee flying around outside the station.
  - Groxx 3y ago
    Yeah, for ISS specifically you probably just consider the bag lost and use backups until the next resupply, for "cheap enough" and zero risk. ISS is in a rather low orbit, it requires quite a bit of upkeep (ha) to stay in space due to the tiny bit of atmospheric drag: https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/9482/how-long-would-iss-stay-in-orbit-if-it-didnt-get-reboosts https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/9482/how-long-woul... That's true for everything else near that orbit, so the tool bag will probably burn up (well, re-enter anyway) in the atmosphere within a year or two, and be a complete non-issue after the next boost takes it to a permanently-different orbit.

by Groxx 3y ago

jstanley 3y ago

But if you lose something from the ISS, couldn't you chuck the drone out the airlock of the ISS and get it back before it's gone very far?

nerpderp82 3y ago
A drone would potentially be an ISS damaging missile. It could cause a whole lot more problems than it might solve. Ever have your foot nailed by an RC car? That times 100. Also its propulsion gas could also setup oscillations in the station itself. So a lot of math would have to go into counteract this little bee flying around outside the station.
- Groxx 3y ago
  Yeah, for ISS specifically you probably just consider the bag lost and use backups until the next resupply, for "cheap enough" and zero risk. ISS is in a rather low orbit, it requires quite a bit of upkeep (ha) to stay in space due to the tiny bit of atmospheric drag: https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/9482/how-long-would-iss-stay-in-orbit-if-it-didnt-get-reboosts https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/9482/how-long-woul... That's true for everything else near that orbit, so the tool bag will probably burn up (well, re-enter anyway) in the atmosphere within a year or two, and be a complete non-issue after the next boost takes it to a permanently-different orbit.