Gridhype.id- The existence of trash is not only found on earth, but also in outer space.
Who would have thought that human trash has also been scattered in outer space, a place that is difficult to reach.
If this happens, then how do you clean up the trash in outer space?
At least, space junk has been around since the start of the space age in 1950. Since then, more than 13,630 satellites have been placed in orbit, about 8850 of which remain in space.
While only a small portion, around 6700 are still operating.
Therefore, thousands of dead satellites are still orbiting planet Earth with debris from all the rockets that have been launched over the years. These were then collectively known as space debris or space junk.
Quoted from Science ABCTuesday (14/2/2023) Sending a satellite to Earth orbit requires high speeds of up to several kilometers per second.
If something moving that fast were to hit an object in orbit, it would be like tens of thousands of pieces of debris floating there and could be catastrophic.
According to NASA, hundreds of thousands of untraceable objects in orbit around the planet can harm working satellites and even astronauts. The more objects such as space junk collide with each other, the more difficult it will be for Earth’s orbit to navigate.
Before looking for ways to clean up that space junk, the better way is to understand how to minimize what is carried and then figure out ways to generate less debris.
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This is not an easy feat as it requires extensive planning and implementation in the early stages of mission planning.
The United Nations itself has said that all organizations are required to remove a satellite from orbit within 25 years of its mission ending.
Reducing the amount of time a satellite remains in space can drastically reduce the chance of a collision with satellite debris or space debris.
How to Clean Out Space Trash
So what should be done to clean up space junk?
Space trash recycling
Graveyard orbits are satellite dumps, where satellites are left to drift after they become defunct. This orbit is located at a much higher altitude and is further away from the functional orbit.
But by repairing, reusing, and recycling satellites at a facility in Earth orbit, we can use them out there again, for example to build spacecraft or outpost future missions.
Clean Up Space Trash with Giant Lases
High-powered lasers can be used to shoot plasma jets at debris or space debris from Earth to slow it down and allow it to re-enter where it burns up in the atmosphere or falls into the ocean.
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Space electric vehicle
Another way to clean up space debris is to use the Electrodynamic Debris Eliminator (EDDE), an electric space vehicle with 200 light giant nets to pick up space trash.
Some of the ways to clean up space trash that are currently being developed might be one of the solutions in the era of space exploration that will continue.
This article has been published on kompas.com by title How to clean up space junk?
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