Private space-junk probe snaps historic photo of discarded rocket in orbit
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Re: Private space-junk probe snaps historic photo of discarded rocket in orbit
#2This reminds me of an old 1979 TV pilot/series "Salvage"[0] about a private company reclaiming space junk for resale.
Re: Private space-junk probe snaps historic photo of discarded rocket in orbit
#3I did some quick Googling and could not figure out what the plan is for doing this economically. There are thousands of pieces of debris scattered over thousands of orbits, and the fuel cost of transfers to many orbits are prohibitive. That's why most of the debris-cleanup ideas I was familiar with involved lasers or other techniques that don't require the cleanup satellite to match orbits with the debris. So what's the strategy here? Just clean up a few of the most highly trafficked orbits? Anyone got a link?
Re: Private space-junk probe snaps historic photo of discarded rocket in orbit
#4Another problem which will not be considered a problem big enough for who is causing it but then which will bite us all in the butt in 25-50-100 years and then it is going to become everyone's fault.
I'll nickname them as "Anthropogenic Meterorites" (unless they already have a name.)
I will also be the one starting the debate that I don't believe they are actually man-made, meteorites have been falling forever and there is no scientific consensus it's our fault.
Re: Private space-junk probe snaps historic photo of discarded rocket in orbit
#5I did some quick Googling and could not figure out what the plan is for doing this economically. There are thousands of pieces of debris scattered over thousands of orbits, and the fuel cost of transfers to many orbits are prohibitive. That's why most of the debris-cleanup ideas I was familiar with involved lasers or other techniques that don't require the cleanup satellite to match orbits with the debris. So what's…
Down the rabbit hole:
This page obtained the image from a tweet (Or an x?) from the company, Astroscale, that instead had a link to a page [1] that explains:
> The ADRAS-J spacecraft was selected by JAXA for Phase I of its Commercial Removal of Debris Demonstration (CRD2) program. Astroscale Japan is responsible for the design, manufacture, test, launch and operations of ADRAS-J.
Image is also available for download [2]
[1] https://astroscale.com/astroscale-unveils-worlds-first-image...
Re: Private space-junk probe snaps historic photo of discarded rocket in orbit
#6I did some quick Googling and could not figure out what the plan is for doing this economically. There are thousands of pieces of debris scattered over thousands of orbits, and the fuel cost of transfers to many orbits are prohibitive. That's why most of the debris-cleanup ideas I was familiar with involved lasers or other techniques that don't require the cleanup satellite to match orbits with the debris. So what's…
Down the rabbit hole: This page obtained the image from a tweet (Or an x?) from the company, Astroscale, that instead had a link to a page [1] that explains: > The ADRAS-J spacecraft was selected by JAXA for Phase I of its Commercial Removal of Debris Demonstration (CRD2) program. Astroscale Japan is responsible for the design, manufacture, test, launch and operations of ADRAS-J. Image is also available for download…
I read that link previously but it doesn’t really answer my question (other than pointing out that the cost of developing tech for proximity operations can be split with in-orbit servicing companies).
Re: Private space-junk probe snaps historic photo of discarded rocket in orbit
#7I did some quick Googling and could not figure out what the plan is for doing this economically. There are thousands of pieces of debris scattered over thousands of orbits, and the fuel cost of transfers to many orbits are prohibitive. That's why most of the debris-cleanup ideas I was familiar with involved lasers or other techniques that don't require the cleanup satellite to match orbits with the debris. So what's…
I think their goal is to capture large debris before it becomes small debris.
Re: Private space-junk probe snaps historic photo of discarded rocket in orbit
#8This reminds me of an old 1979 TV pilot/series "Salvage"[0] about a private company reclaiming space junk for resale. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvage_1
There was also quark.
Re: Private space-junk probe snaps historic photo of discarded rocket in orbit
#9I did some quick Googling and could not figure out what the plan is for doing this economically. There are thousands of pieces of debris scattered over thousands of orbits, and the fuel cost of transfers to many orbits are prohibitive. That's why most of the debris-cleanup ideas I was familiar with involved lasers or other techniques that don't require the cleanup satellite to match orbits with the debris. So what's…
It might be “get military contracts deorbiting someone else’s not-junk satellites”.
Re: Private space-junk probe snaps historic photo of discarded rocket in orbit
#10I did some quick Googling and could not figure out what the plan is for doing this economically. There are thousands of pieces of debris scattered over thousands of orbits, and the fuel cost of transfers to many orbits are prohibitive. That's why most of the debris-cleanup ideas I was familiar with involved lasers or other techniques that don't require the cleanup satellite to match orbits with the debris. So what's…
I couldn't get a clear sense either. But their website's focus on "orbit servicing" and EOL gives me the impression that this is really for proactively managing space debris from recent missions, not cleaning up historic debris. Their method makes more sense for cleaning dense "packets" of debris whose orbits haven't yet significantly deviated from the original mission orbit, so the cleanup satellite doesn't have to make too many maneuvers.
It still doesn't seem economical or even all that feasible.