How Do We Clean Up SPACE JUNK?

Alfonso Cuarón's film "Gravity" brings up a very interesting question - what do we do with all the debris flying above the Earth? Space junk is a huge headache for scientists, engineers, and astronauts. It makes space exploration incredibly dangerous when the tiniest object traveling at incredible speeds can cause catastrophic damage. Jonathan explores some really cool proposals companies have come up with to clear out space junk, from tractor beams to grappling hooks!

How would YOU solve the space junk problem? Share your craziest and most creative ideas in the comments!

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[TRANSCRIPT]:
How much harm could a paint chip do? Plenty if it's traveling at eight kilometers per second!

Welcome to Fw:Thinking everyone, I'm Jonathan Strickland and you are getting a behind the scenes look at my audio podcast studio. Lucky you!

Now I want to talk to you about the film "Gravity." I got to see it recently and it was amazing. It gave me a real sense of vulnerability and isolation as I watched this movie, and also a deeper appreciation for one of the biggest challenges facing space exploration today. I'm talking about space junk.

Now this is all the stuff that's flying around 2,000 kilometers above the surface of the Earth, traveling at incredible speeds, and it's a huge headache for scientists, for engineers, and for astronauts because it makes it very dangerous to go out into orbit. So how do we get around this space junk problem, where even the tiniest object could cause catastrophic damage?

NASA suggests as a first step we build better spacecraft, so that they have heavier shielding, and in case something does collide with the spacecraft, they don't create more space junk, making the problem even worse. I think that's a good idea, it's a great first start. But there's a team in Switzerland that's come up with a really cool idea. The CleanSpace One spacecraft. Now this is a little guy that can go into low-Earth orbit, chase down space junk, and capture it with a claw. Already makes for the coolest spacecraft in my book.

It then can redirect its path back toward Earth and burn up in the reentry. Another approach is the GLiDeR - the Geostationary Large Debris Reorbiter. The GLiDeR fires an electron beam at space junk, building up a negative electrostatic charge. Fly a positively charged probe near it, and those opposite charges attract, and then you can just tow that space junk away - maybe back to Earth, or out of orbit entirely.

Here's the cool thing guys. Human beings have this habit. We're told something's impossible, and then we make everyone redefine the word "impossible." I expect that's going to be the same with space junk, and I can't wait to see what the solution is.

[jrnandreassen]

We could send up a mat that works more or less like a bulletproof vest. Kevlar (or better) on the back and a viscous material in front that can encapsulate the objects. The mat will work as a giant shock absorber while the objects can't bounce off. This is necessary when objects move faster than a bullet. The viscous material needs to be fixed. We have self-repairing materials today, so the technology and the concept is feasible.
Edit: It would be great to make them ball-shaped, if possible. Then, if some objecs should penetrate, it could be contained in the centre. (But this would call for some stiff origami exercises at best.)

[MichaelSHartman]

PS most spacecraft parts are made from nonferrous material so magnets would not work.

[BasketballSam]

Can we get a video on Thorium nuclear power please? Interested on your thoughts.

[asimanshu]

A cubesat may be used with shape memory alloys(elastomers) which open to act as octopus tentacles and grapple the trash. Propulsion can be implemented through ion thrusters.

[GlowyGlowStaff]

A cluster of tiny robots, that are essentially a RCS rocket/other engine and claw/magnet attachment. Programmed to swam large pieces of space junk, or tackle small ones individually. Depending on the nature of the junk (mass, composition etc) it can either be redirected into the atmosphere (using the robots engine - either sacrificing the robot, or they robot detaches to take on other tasks) or it's redirected to an orbital junk recovery orbit...

[cyril.ca.a]

A huge magnet! After we got all the pieces, we burn it in the atmosphere or out of orbit!

[GlowyGlowStaff]

A single bubble would have a larger mass and thus have a higher chance of some part of it surviving entry into the Earth's Atmosphere and making land/seafall.
Even getting a large single bubble then launching it elsewhere (you'd have to predict the orbit or send it to the Sun) would be quite a risk and we'd only have to do it again periodically.

[GlowyGlowStaff]

...From this orbit it is collected when it passes close to a specially designed sat which is effectively a localised junk field. Some robots locally would dissassemble some sats, while others would just be held in orbit near it. If problems occur, then these sats/components could be used as a "second hand store" to 'MacGyver' a solution to whatever the problem is.
Not applicable to Mil sats as owners would probably prefer them destroyed instead of captured and potentially dissected/studied!

[bobbyd]

Giant robot satellite with a tractor beam, or several smaller robot satellites with tractor beams. Collect space junk and recycle it in space which would be cheaper than getting similar material into space from Earth. We can start a space junkyard that would basically be a giant bubble to house it until it is used.

[mivapusa]

Solar-powered laser canon.
Would probably never work, but I like the thought of burning away the trash without wasting fuel doing so.

[danielwatkins]

Similar to theory #2, create an electromagnetic field around a "space net". Attach the net to a craft that will go faster than the projected speed of the space junk. Add A.I. And algorithms to the flight plan and vooom! Space junk will analyzed for its charge, the net will act accordingly magnetically attracting all metal and whatnot, and the physical aspect of the net will capture non-charged particles of junk. Sweeping the every orbit like Alaskian fisherman it will run 24/7 on solar power.

[omkarpatil]

FW Thinking can you please help me ? I am doing a project on space settlement and need your guide.

[Invinc]

The giant space magnet idea seems to be the most popular.

[MrHohum]

leave the junk there. it keeps the aliens away :P

[MessiHair]

Wow Sewds doing pretty good. Not that I have a problem against them, but is there the possibility of bringing the junk back to earth and scraping it for parts thst can be repaired and reused for something saving them some cash?

[stickmananon]

Place something as powerful as the Large Hedron Collider directed into space and start shooting those junk out of orbit like some kinda game :D

[karrineenberg]

There's a lot of junk and in space, without an atmosphere, explosions don't really create much of a shock wave I think...

[oblark]

satellites with retractable magnetic rods that can be switched on/off that attract debris. when it's full, retract the rod and turn off the magnet and it can dump it into some internal trash area.

[telperionsr]

Throw a giant magnet up to gather all the junk and then tow it down into an ocean or something with a giant grappling hook.

[Bronze_Age_Sea_Person]

have a satellite that fires a UV Laser to induce photoelectric effect, then use a collector with the opposite chage of the junk to collect it