Space Junk /Debris Field around earth

[Gator Monroe]

Coud it be a Blessing and almost like a defense against Alien Invasion

[kazenatsu]

First we got to clean up all that plastic junk floating in the Sargasso Sea.

[Quark]

Coud it be a Blessing and almost like a defense against Alien Invasion

Either that or it's a blessing for the aliens as we can't invade them. Wish we had something like that in the 40's then I wouldn't stuck when my ship broke down.

[MedicineBow]

The amount of debris in space is quite huge. Certain orbits that are beneficial have higher probabilities of a strike.

[Esdraelon]

Eventually there will be sufficient profit incentive that someone will devise a means of cleaning up the problem. My idea for removing the larger bodies is to use a mobile craft like the X-37 to attach tiny propulsion attachments to drive the junk down into the atmosphere. It would be time consuming and expensive but not as expensive as the lost productivity from limiting new satellites or replacing existing satellites that are damaged by a debris strike. At some point we'll either find a way to reduce the debris field or stop sending new satellites into orbit.

[Wildrose]

The amount of debris in space is quite huge. Certain orbits that are beneficial have higher probabilities of a strike.

And the spaces separating it are even more immense.

With all the ships we've put into orbit since the late 60's you'd think at least a few of them would have crashed into that debris by now if it was a significant threat to further launches.

[Quark]

Eventually there will be sufficient profit incentive that someone will devise a means of cleaning up the problem. My idea for removing the larger bodies is to use a mobile craft like the X-37 to attach tiny propulsion attachments to drive the junk down into the atmosphere. It would be time consuming and expensive but not as expensive as the lost productivity from limiting new satellites or replacing existing satellites that are damaged by a debris strike. At some point we'll either find a way to reduce the debris field or stop sending new satellites into orbit.

Most likely we will stop sending new satellites into orbit and all space flights will be cancelled. Probably for a 150 to 200 years is the estimate.

[Quark]

And the spaces separating it are even more immense.

With all the ships we've put into orbit since the late 60's you'd think at least a few of them would have crashed into that debris by now if it was a significant threat to further launches.

The Kessler Effect or Syndrome explains the problem. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kessle...20cascade%20in

[Wildrose]

The Kessler Effect or Syndrome explains the problem. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kessle...20cascade%20in

A theory that while it makes sense has yet to prove out.

We have hundreds maybe thousands of satellites locked in orbit but the space between them all is so great collisions with or between any of them rarely if ever happen.

If they do start occurring we could prove Kessler's theory true because each collision would break up the parent objects producing numerous more pieces of debris.

[Wildrose]

Most likely we will stop sending new satellites into orbit and all space flights will be cancelled. Probably for a 150 to 200 years is the estimate.

What's a whole lot more likely is we'll simply start removing or destroying the dead objects bringing them back to earth or turning them to vapor with space based lasers.

We're certainly not going to cease putting more objects into orbit or continuing exploration beyond our own moon.