\janitor satellite\ to clear space junk orbitng earth
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today
Arab Today, arab today
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today

Swiss technology to take lead

'Janitor satellite' to clear space junk orbitng Earth

Arab Today, arab today

Arab Today, arab today 'Janitor satellite' to clear space junk orbitng Earth

CleanSpace One closes in on a discarded 'Cubesat' satellite in an illustration
Berne - Arabstoday

CleanSpace One closes in on a discarded 'Cubesat' satellite in an illustration The growing space junk problem in various orbits around the Earth gets plenty of ink these days, particularly when the ISS has to fire its thrusters to dodge a piece of a satellite, or when a defunct satellite smashes into a perfectly good, multimillion dollar piece of orbital communications hardware. Gathering up and disposing or all that fast-moving refuse makes for a difficult problem, but over at EPFL in Switzerland a team of researchers is developing a new kind of micro-sat that could help clean up low Earth orbit, starting by disposing of Switzerland’s own leftover space debris.
CleanSpace One is a project aimed at building a prototype for a family of satellites that would chase down and capture small pieces of orbital debris. NASA is currently tracking some 16,000 pieces of junk larger than about four inches diameter, but the agency estimates there are many more times that ripping around the planet at orbital speeds (call it 17,500 miles per hour).
Related Article Again, Space Station Has to Be Moved Out of The Way of Space Junk
As Debris Threatens ISS, NASA Releases Top-Ten List of Space Junk Culprits
Building an Electronic Fence to Track Space Junk
Tags
Technology, Clay Dillow, epfl, Space, space debris, space junk, Video
Each one is a disaster waiting to happen; orbital debris threatens satellites, spacecraft, and astronauts moving within and through its orbit, potentially costing lots of money or even human lives. All kinds of proposals for dealing with the problem--everything from trash collecting satellites to ground based lasers that would zap orbital debris from the sky--have been put forward, but so far nothing has gained traction. EPFL (that’s the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) hopes to change that.
CleanSpace One would not be a massive trash-collecting satellite, but a tiny trash-chaser designed to destroy exactly one piece of debris. The first target will be one of two small Swiss picosatellites launched in 2009 and 2010 that are still in orbit up there though their scientific missions are done. CleanSpace One would track down one of the satellites in its orbit, latch onto it with some kind of gripper, and drag it back into Earth’s atmosphere where both would burn up on re-entry.
Simply doing so would require some key technology pieces, both of which EPFL is working to develop in-house, possibly employing a new brand of super-compact space motor currently in the lab there. It will also require some kind of gripping mechanism that can secure the targeted piece of debris and drag it downward.
Of course, at 10 million Swiss francs (that’s about $10.8 million) it seems like an expensive way to capture small pieces of orbital trash. But the idea is to develop a suite of technologies and then a family of satellites designed purely to clean up orbit. Economies of scale and putting many of these small debris chaser on a single launch could drastically drive the cost of deployment down. Get a full rundown of the problem and the EPFL program below.

arabstoday
arabstoday

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

\janitor satellite\ to clear space junk orbitng earth \janitor satellite\ to clear space junk orbitng earth

 



Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

\janitor satellite\ to clear space junk orbitng earth \janitor satellite\ to clear space junk orbitng earth

 



GMT 05:03 2017 Saturday ,21 October

EMPC denies transfer to new administrative capital

GMT 10:50 2014 Friday ,07 November

UAE Fables and Folklore

GMT 12:10 2017 Tuesday ,07 March

Poachers kill rare giant elephant in Kenya

GMT 00:31 2016 Thursday ,08 December

Kuwaiti-European group considers investing $1bn

GMT 12:31 2017 Thursday ,06 April

At 73, Barry Manilow comes out of closet

GMT 18:34 2017 Friday ,10 February

Malabar Gold to open 11th Saudi showroom in Jubail

GMT 16:18 2017 Monday ,02 October

Saudi university to open driving school for women

GMT 16:20 2017 Wednesday ,18 October

French parliament adopts tough anti-terror bill

GMT 02:18 2017 Tuesday ,03 October

Egypt's Sisi says spoke to Donald Trump by telephone
Arab Today, arab today
 
 Arab Today Facebook,arab today facebook  Arab Today Twitter,arab today twitter Arab Today Rss,arab today rss  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
arabstoday, Arabstoday, Arabstoday