Space Junk Jeopardizes Earth’s Space Environment
Scientists estimate that there are some 750,000 pieces of space junk circling Earth, millions more if you count fragments smaller than 1 centimeter. Think about it: Mankind has sent thousands of rockets into space since the launch of the first satellite, Sputnik 1, in 1957. While a number of space vehicles are still in active […]
Close Call for ISS; Threat to Polar Bears; Binary System Cannibal
ISS Crewmembers Back to Work after Close Call with Space Junk Fear that a floating piece of space junk could impact the ISS sent astronauts the station’s crew scrambling onto a docked Soyuz TMA-16M spacecraft on Friday (07/17). Luckily, the debris passed the station harmlessly, and the crew was back at work. Houston’s Mission Control […]
Fishing in Outer Space for Bigger Junk
Going back in time to tackle 21st century problems, the European Space Agency (ESA) has been testing the effectiveness of some old fishing net technology as a way to grab and retrieve larger pieces of debris in space such as inactive satellites or spent rocket boosters. The space agency tested the old fishing net technology, […]
Robotic Arm Has Split-Second Timing
Swiss scientists have developed a robotic arm that can catch items thrown at it with split-second accuracy. Researchers say the new invention, described in IEEE Transactions on Robotics, catches various sized objects within 5/100 of a second. The mechanized arm has three joints, a complex and sophisticated hand with four fingers, and measures about 1.5 […]
Speeding Space Junk Poses Risks for Spacecraft
The amount of space junk floating around the Earth grows every year, and increasingly can pose risks to spacecraft orbiting the planet. In the United States, NASA’s Orbital Debris Program (ODP) at the Johnson Space Center in Texas, keeps an eye on the ever-expanding junkyard of space. “We define orbital debris as any man-made object […]