Tagged: space debris

Iodine Thruster Could Help Clear Space Junk

For the first time ever, a telecommunications satellite has used an iodine propellant to change its orbit around Earth. The small innovation could help to clear the skies of space junk, by enabling tiny satellites to self-destruct cheaply and easily at the end of their...

Lucky Strike: Space Debris Smacked ISS Robotic Arm

Lucky strike The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) confirmed on May 28, 2021 that a piece of space debris smacked into the robotic arm on the International Space Station (ISS), creating a noticeable hole in the arm. CSA provided the arm – called Canadarm2 – to...

A solution to space junk: Satellites made of mushrooms?

According to the latest numbers from the ESA’s Space Debris Office (SDO), there are roughly 6,900 artificial satellites in orbit. The situation is going to become exponentially crowded in the coming years, thanks to the many telecommunications, internet, and small satellites that are expected to...

Crashing Chinese rocket highlights growing dangers of space debris

This weekend, a Chinese rocket booster, weighing nearly 23 tons, came rushing back to Earth after spending more than a week in space—the result of what some critics, including NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, have attributed to poor planning by China. Pieces of the rocket, dubbed...

Back-to-Back Space Junk Buzzes Space Station

Two pieces of space junk whizzed by the International Space Station this week but posed no threat to the orbiting laboratory or its three-person crew, NASA officials say. The space debris —a chunk of an old Russian Cosmos satellite and leftover chunk of an Indian...

Gecko-inspired robot could snag space junk

Robotic pincers inspired by geckos could help collect garbage in space, a new study finds. In experiments, the device was able to glom on to objects in the lab and even floating items within the International Space Station. Someday, such grippers could be used in...