VASIMR Orbital Sweeper for Space Debris Removal

[rstevewarmorycom]

Keep it in orbit for later use at a well-known orbit, then add more stuff to it and put everything we want to keep there using magnets and clamps.

[piranha]

"put the debris inside it" means "alter the debris orbits until they can rendez-vous with the container and be put inside".
Which will usually mean "perform massive inclination changes to the debris orbits".
Which is VERY expensive in terms of fuel.

[AndreasDewatmoko]

Set-up an Ad Astra's space junk yard division providing cheap refurbish components to the future space travel private service companies :)

[wingsley]

If this rocket segment is salvageable in some way (if the rocket faring or other components can be recycled, such as using it as part of a new space station), then, by all means, deposit this space debris in a known orbit (perhaps attached with a solar-panel-equipped beacon to make it easier to see an eye on its location) and put the debris to good use. It's already up there, apparently in a stable orbit. If it can be used/repurposed, that will be a considerable savings since it won't have to be launched again from Earth. Instead of just allowing random-orbit debris fields, the larger artifacts should be collected and recycled.

[trollmaster]

This is too complex to work. Just 1 thing goes wrong and we have a load of new debris in orbit...

[xiniks]

it was once considered a possibility to use the external tank of the space shuttle as a orbital habitat. that could still be done with the bigger spent stages in orbit.

[rigelkent]

Soft landing the Zenith on the moon would provide a large empty tank which would be real useful when ever man returns to the moon .Plus if a rotating tether was used to land the upper stage you could lift up mass and use the tether to build more tethers so that a small suborbital craft like space ship 2 could make it all the way to the moon .

[manuelbertelotti]

The service vehicle could include a parachute and enough fuel to fire its engine in retrograde decreasing its velocity enough so it would fall to earth. The parachutes would automaticaly open so the debris can be recicled in earth.

[piranha]

That is exactly what option 1 is. And no, the cost isn't none, since you anyway need a rocket engine to perform a retrograde burn to bring it on a re-entry trajectory.

If you were thinking of mechanically throwing it towards earth (or, retrograde in that case), assuming you manage to give it enough DeltaV that way (which seems hardly possible) Newton's third law shows that it will massively alter the trajectory of the spacecraft that "threw" it, and it will require an orbit correction anyway.

[xerrn]

i wonder how hard it would be to construct in space ...ie why not make a module out of it or something other its really expensive to send things into orbit

[josty]

Wont the debris form a danger to other satelite

[draconexmusic]

Haul and reuse the debris if the total cost and effort to keep it in orbit is considerably lower than what was spent to craft it and to get it into space the first time.

[Lukos]

And how much does a new ISS cost? Or any number of other pricey things we stick up there?

[phillipja]

The orbital sweeper should also be used to Terraform Mars as Mars is currently only 30% complete ! It could go to the asteroid belt and capture asteroids and comets, then redirect them to mars. Doing this will enlarge and stabilise Mars molten iron core(magneto sphere) and also increase the water in its oceans to 80% until the planet geology is identical to earths. Terraforming Mars is a basic simple task, like taking a walk in the park.

[piranha]

I'd say back to the pacific for regular space junk, and high graveyard orbit for satellites with historical value (Hubble, other space telescopes, Vanguard 1, etc...)

[luisalberto]

Really impressive. Do you have this in spanish?

[sprucecox]

Everything humans sent to low Earth orbit was put there by rocket or whatever that accelerated it to roughly 17, 500 mph. Therefore everything to be brought down has to be slowed down some amount: by smaller amounts for things whose orbit will then eventually catch the edge of our atmosphere and burn up on reentry, or by 17, 500 mph for things like shuttle and Soyuz capsule.

For things to be thrown into the sun, enough energy has to be added to achieve earth orbit escape velocity (25, 000 mph), or for things to be thrown into deep space, enough energy has to be added to achieve solar system escape velocity (94, 000 mph). As a result, everything humans put up is either still out there or has reentered, because no one wants to pay the price to do anything else.

As far as the Zenit second stage, make it reenter. Temperatures reach >1000°F on shuttle, so everything always burns up except for small, heavy objects like propellant tanks for thrusters, control moment gyros, so you try to aim for an ocean. By the way, the concept in the video is not practical because the mini-sat has to rendezvous with a piece of junk that may be tumbling, and because it can only grab something like a rather delicate engine bell (unless it can grab other). In addition, Zenit second stages always reenter by themselves because they are never at orbital velocity.

[cristianacosta]

Excuse me. What is the name of this song? I really like it.

[ngonigriffith]

A controlled de-orbit to a remote section in the Pacific. Or rather to sinkholes in the earth.

[woodlanditguy]

Maybe make a "junkyard" in a high earth orbit for future use. Junkyards on earth are valuable when you need spare parts or want to recycle old parts to make something new. the company that runs this Magnetoplasma Rocket ship could sell the space junk to future space projects. Kinda reminds me of the companies that salvage old sunken ships. seems a waste to spend billions of dollars to send all that "junk" up there just to throw it away.