US Space Force's 'Orbital Prime' project aims to attack space debris by recycling or removing junk

[Admin]

A new U.S. Space Force video "demands action" on space debris and asks the private sector for their help cleaning up the growing space mess.

US Space Force's 'Orbital Prime' project aims to attack space debris by recycling or removing junk : Read more

 

[billslugg]

Actual interception and capture of space debris would require enormous amounts of fuel. A more fuel efficient method would be to ablade the surface of the debris with a laser to alter its orbit enough to make it re-enter on its own. This could even be done from the ground with no need for a satellite.

 

[Aplu]

I think one thing that should be done first is to adapt the already existing and working international maritime salvage legal regime to the problem of space debris. The problem with having the military involved, I'm afraid, is that it makes salvage and removal of space debris into a first-class National Security problem, and when that happens, accusations fly and nothing gets done. I can tolerate the military getting involved in the development of the technology, provided they are held accountable for cost overruns and the like, but having them running the whole show, even from a distance, violates my understanding of the constitutional role of the military in a democracy. Besides, the hugely profitable and generally successful international maritime salvage system works because the private companies involved are answerable to their shareholders, not to crazed McCarthyesque National Security types.