8 years ago
3
Real life 'Pac-Man' satellite will clean up space junk
Swiss ‘Pac-Man’ eats tiny satellites, not pills.
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http://www.engadget.com
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A giant Pac-Man to gobble up space debris
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The biggest issue regarding a system like this is going to be cost. A lot of people aren't going to see the value in launching a satellite in order to capture another satellite.
I think the concepts for a ground based laser used to deorbit space debris look to be the most promising route towards tackling the issue.
Do you have any links to the project you mentioned for deorbiting space debris from earth? The system that launched to grab the debris in orbit would only need to slow the object down enough to lower its apoapsis enough to get caught by earth. Ideally the system would be able to maintain its orbit while deorbiting multiple objects before running out of delta v and returning itself.
Wikipedia calls it a laser broom. The basic concept is that it pulses a laser at the target nudging it into an eccentric orbit. Thereby significantly shortening it's orbital lifespan. It's best suited to small pieces that are impractical to send a satellite after.
On a related note I came across a decent article from Arstechnica that examines the issue of space debris as well.