
How the Kessler Syndrome can end all space exploration and destroy modern life - tacon
https://bigthink.com/paul-ratner/how-the-kessler-syndrome-can-end-all-space-exploration-and-destroy-modern-life
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woodandsteel
This is why we really need a system to collect orbital junk and take it down
out of orbit.

And you know, if the BFR performs as promised, it will make putting the junk
collectors into orbit so cheap that the whole project could be practical.

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woodandsteel
I thought this out some more, and came up with an idea for a garbage-
collection satellite.

The most obvious idea is to launch each satellite, have it collect garbage
until it is full, and then fire a retro-rocket to take it out of orbit so it
burns up on re-entry.

The problem with that plan is the large and exspensive garbage collector gets
only one use. I think it would get you a lot more bang for the buck if the
garbage collector has a bunch of folded bags, each with a small solid fuel
rocket attached. It would unfold a bag, fill it up, then release it and order
the attached retro-rocket to fire and take it out of orbit. Then it would
unfold the next bag, and so on. In fact, maybe when it ran out of bags you
could send up a resupply satellite.

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dang
Discussed at
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16271434](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16271434).

