4 ms·

I'm thinking of "space roombas" that glide around and bump all the sats in LEO into the atmosphere like a game of pool Only problem is they are toxic as they b

by ck2 4mo ago

I'm thinking of "space roombas" that glide around and bump all the sats in LEO into the atmosphere like a game of pool Only problem is they are toxic as they burn up and create a lot of pollution * https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2025-space-orbit-satellites-pollution/ https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2025-space-orbit-satellit... (too bad gravity is impossible to overcome cheaply or do the opposite and yeet into sun)

dredmorbius 4mo ago
If you have to yeet space trash to a gravitational well, Jupiter is probably the more attractive option. Lower delta-V, still a large well, and so long as you get reasonably close, orbital decay should solve the problem eventually. For de-orbiting LEO satellites, electrodynamic tethers is probably the most viable active method: "Study on electrodynamic tether system for space debris removal" <https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0094576504002176 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S00945...>