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Lets keep all general discussion and news about Space here please.
Half a MILLION man-made items of rubbish in space
A mission that will test different methods to clean up space junk is getting ready for launch.
The RemoveDebris spacecraft will attempt to snare a small satellite with a net and test whether a harpoon is an effective garbage grabber.
The probe has been assembled in Surrey and will soon be packed up ready for blast off early next year.
Well, we've littered up our own planet, so why not space too? But I admit, I didn't realise the problem was so severe as this.
The article talks about using a harpoon to try and grab large objects of space junk, but this seems very hit and miss to me. There is the obvious factor that if a harpoon misses its target and knocks it out of its orbit, this could plough straight into one of our satellites or the space station.
Just to add to the space junk, we have this story today.
The issue is becoming critical because if key satellites such as weather or commutation satellites become damaged, it could set mankind back decades. Could we live in a world without accurate weather forecasts, or satellite tv?