A view of the Earth, showing the objects in Earth's orbit that NASA is tracking.
http://www.wftv.com/slideshow/2691965/d ... 8&taf=orlc
There be junk up there!
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Tunnelcat
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Yea, but that's only the stuff they can detect from the ground. There's a lot of really small stuff whipping around they can't detect that's traveling at high velocity, which can really do significant or catastrophic damage to a satellite, the space station or other manned vehicle. Space vacuum cleaner anyone?
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NUMBERZero
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I think that they would have to use a blower then.
If you can get a paint chip going fast enough, it can kill someone. Fear my high speed paint chips of death!
If you can get a paint chip going fast enough, it can kill someone. Fear my high speed paint chips of death!
\"PUT THE BALL INNNNNN!!!!!!\"--What I was screaming on 3/7/09 PD Reunion Monsterball game
Descent 3 Anarchy: \"Just you, your ship, and a whole bunch of weapons to turn your enemies into slag.\"--TopGun
Descent 3 Anarchy: \"Just you, your ship, and a whole bunch of weapons to turn your enemies into slag.\"--TopGun
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Foil
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Re:
Small (low-mass) stuff in orbit travels roughly the same speed as bigger stuff, because gravitational acceleration is independent of mass. If the small stuff is going too much faster, it wouldn't stay in orbit.tunnelcat wrote:There's a lot of really small stuff whipping around they can't detect that's traveling at high velocity.
That said, those orbital speeds are still very fast.
LOL, "a vacuum that works even in the vacuum of space!"tunnelcat wrote:Space vacuum cleaner anyone?
Re:
Space fishing net? Oh! There's no fish in space!Foil wrote:LOL, "a vacuum that works even in the vacuum of space!"tunnelcat wrote:Space vacuum cleaner anyone?
Re:
Especially if you ended up with debris orbiting in the opposite direction as your spacecraft.Foil wrote:Small (low-mass) stuff in orbit travels roughly the same speed as bigger stuff, because gravitational acceleration is independent of mass. If the small stuff is going too much faster, it wouldn't stay in orbit.
That said, those orbital speeds are still very fast.
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Tunnelcat
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Re:
Oops, I meant to say is that all sizes of orbiting debris, even the smallest undetectable stuff, is traveling at high velocity, so even something as small as a paint chip or flake of metal could severely damage anything it hits. The European Retrievable Carrier 'Eureca' from ESTEC specifically studied that one:Foil wrote:Small (low-mass) stuff in orbit travels roughly the same speed as bigger stuff, because gravitational acceleration is independent of mass. If the small stuff is going too much faster, it wouldn't stay in orbit.tunnelcat wrote:There's a lot of really small stuff whipping around they can't detect that's traveling at high velocity.
That said, those orbital speeds are still very fast.
Micrometeoroids and Space Debris
tunnelcat wrote:Space vacuum cleaner anyone?
Just a metaphor, hee, hee! How about 'space sticky traps' or 'particle vaporizing zapper nets'? (I'm thinking along bug catcher lines here)Foil wrote:LOL, "a vacuum that works even in the vacuum of space!"