ST Alpha - "With all this talk about space debris and crap hitting the shuttle/ISS, why can't they just send up a big satellite with a kind of plate in the front" (Reading a Post)

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With all this talk about space debris and crap hitting the shuttle/ISS, why can't they just send up a big satellite with a kind of plate in the front

Posted by oblique (aka kkuphal) Sep 8 '09, 06:49

and just move it around and have it smash into all the crap up there obliterating it or jamming it into earth?

Responses:

or put the plate on the ISS to begin with??? -- nm - Danedukenuuk Sep 8, 08:09
well, technically, if you placed a couple of small but powerfull magents in a corrected orbit, they would eventually increase in mass and become - tRuMaN Sep 8, 07:28 6
- Katamari Damancy. -- nm - Reagen Sep 8, 07:30 5
  - umm, sure. -- nm - tRuMaN Sep 8, 07:32 4
    - I spelled it wrong, but is this game really that obscure? -- (link) - Reagen Sep 8, 07:35 3
      - no. i just dont how we are gonna find a silly spacesuit small enough for mel. -- nm - tRuMaN Sep 8, 07:39
      - *Great* game. One of the more original games from this decade. -- nm - Don Homer Sep 8, 07:36 1
        
        Speaking of PS3 exclusives, Katamari Forever comes out in a few weeks. I'm excited. -- nm - Ender Sep 8, 08:00
you'll run the risk of creating collision chain reactions, potentially endangering everything that's up there. -- nm - znufrii Sep 8, 07:07
They need to send up Quincy, Rocket, and his Drum Thumper. -- nm - TFox Sep 8, 07:05
Space is big & satellites are only about the size of a bus. The debris isn't just lined up in one big lane, it's scattered across all kinds of longitudes, latitudes, and altitudes. -- nm - Ender Sep 8, 07:00 1
- Thrusters -- nm - oblique Sep 8, 07:01
Several things: Larger debris is easier to track. Any "plate" heavy or dense enough to stop, catch, or destroy debris would likely be too heavy to put - TWuG Sep 8, 06:56 23
- How about a giant fan to just blow it down to earth? -- nm - oblique Sep 8, 06:59 22
  - Fans only work in an atmosphere. A fan in open space would generate no thrust. -- nm - TWuG Sep 8, 07:05 14
    - What about a giant firehose? -- nm - oblique Sep 8, 07:07 13
      - Unfortunately, all those water droplets would freeze and themselves become dangerous projectiles. -- nm - TWuG Sep 8, 07:10 5
        
        I know you're going to say "space *is* a vacuum", but what about a vacuum? -- nm - oblique Sep 8, 07:11 3
        
        or maybe a giant burlap sack. -- nm - Reagen Sep 8, 07:17
        
        Well, the problem is that a vacuum won't work in a vacuum. It operates through pressure differentials which you couldn't achieve in space. -- nm - TWuG Sep 8, 07:17
        
        "He's switched her from suck to blow." -- nm - TFox Sep 8, 07:16
        
        Or bring about a Piers Anthony-style apocalypse. -- nm - Reagen Sep 8, 07:11
      - They should just laser it. With lasers. -- nm - Loyola Sep 8, 07:09 5
        
        I don't think sharks will work in space -- nm - oblique Sep 8, 07:09 4
        
        Monkeys thrive in space, I believe. -- nm - Loyola Sep 8, 07:11 3
        
        I'm going to nominate you to my board of directors for ideas like that -- nm - oblique Sep 8, 07:12 2
        
        Cool. Can I come to meetings barefoot? -- nm - Loyola Sep 8, 07:15 1
        
        That might be kind of tricky, since the meetings are in space. - BB Sep 8, 07:54
      - I think it's time to cut you off from Looney Tunes. -- nm - Reagen Sep 8, 07:08
  - How would a fan work with no air to push? -- nm - Reagen Sep 8, 07:04 6
    - I, for one, applaud oblique's new quest to clean up space. -- nm - Loyola Sep 8, 07:06 5
      - I'm kind of troubled that he thinks it's okay to dump the stuff back on Earth. We have enough problems dealing with trash and waste already. -- nm - TWuG Sep 8, 07:11 4
        
        No dumping, it will all burn up, see? -- nm - oblique Sep 8, 07:12 3
        
        and if it doesn't, there's still plenty of room in New Jersey -- nm - decline Sep 8, 07:12 2
        
        If New Jersey suddenly was redubbed "The US Space Debris National Conservatory", the planet would sing as one in gleeful harmonies. -- nm - TFox Sep 8, 07:15
        
        Besides, who wouldn't want to make a playground out of recycled space junk? -- nm - oblique Sep 8, 07:14
or maybe a giant magnet. It could spin around the earth grabbing all that debris right up. -- nm - decline Sep 8, 06:50 2
- A lot of it is stuff like paint chips. -- nm - Reagen Sep 8, 06:54 1
  - Ok, a giant lint roller type thingy then. -- nm - decline Sep 8, 06:55

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With all this talk about space debris and crap hitting the shuttle/ISS, why can't they just send up a big satellite with a kind of plate in the front

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