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A Minefield in Earth Orbit: How Space Debris Is Spinning Out of Control [Interactive]

Our planet's littered orbital environs urgently need a concerted cleanup effort



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  1. 1. omarbog4 08:36 AM 2/1/12

    I couldn't get the graph of conjunctions. would any one explain it to me please?

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  2. 2. timbo555 09:56 AM 2/1/12

    I know! Debris credit swaps! Smells like Total Win to me!

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  3. 3. Nag nostic 12:08 PM 2/1/12

    A major problem concerning space junk educational efforts is the lack of poster Tribbles and trilling, cute-as-a-button robots useful for generating sympathy and outrage.

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  4. 4. Nag nostic 12:15 PM 2/1/12

    timbo555, I believe you meant "credit debris swaps".
    However, your attempt at cleverness falls flat, since the subject of this article has absolutely nothing to do with the existence of the OWS camp in which you reside.

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  5. 5. lee088 03:48 PM 2/1/12

    We need to make a new mandate in the world court that states if you have to have a recovery plane before you can send anything in orbit. That may help in the long run of things, we have to start somewhere.

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  6. 6. rock johny 02:19 AM 2/2/12

    easy solution: space sharks...equipped with lasers

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  7. 7. AtlantaTerry 04:26 PM 2/2/12

    All we need to do is launch a big broom and dust pan! Problem solved.

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  8. 8. ma4cma4c 12:05 PM 2/3/12

    We will approach this problem as we have approached all other such ones.
    Our golden rule is "Carry on until too late"
    We will carry on wringing our hands, making half-hearted attempts to alleviate the problem.
    We will solicit scientific and technical recommendations and then water them down (saving money)
    to the point of being ineffective.
    Then the cry will be "Near-Earth space is un-usable. I said this would happen"
    That's how we deal with limited resources, be it the Newfoundland cod banks, the near-Earth environment or any one of many more.

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  9. 9. Daniel35 04:21 PM 2/4/12

    As well as dodging debris, why can't the ISS and maybe other satellites have a Kevlar net to catch at least the bigger stuff for recycling, or redirect it into a degrading orbit, maybe with robotic solar sails or rockets to guide it?

    Concerning the 3D film, why do we need advanced technology for 3D? We could have a lesser version with split screens on computers and TVs, or whole screens on pairs of either, to be viewed either cross-eyed or with a viewer using mirrors. Hasn't anyone tried this sort of thing?

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  10. 10. cookchh 11:16 PM 2/4/12

    I dont think that final trend line on the last page is right, the end appears to be a "hockey stick". I think an exponential curve would have been better.

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  11. 11. OnePumpChump 05:05 AM 2/5/12

    If you haven't watched "Planetes," do.

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  12. 12. zaytrix 01:13 AM 7/26/12

    PLEASE listen to my words. Do not scrap the debris instead collect them in space. Their are companies going to go up there soon for mining and exploration. What needs to happen with the debris is it needs to be used to make the space stations and colonies in space. There solar panels can be reused. The alum can be constructed by sending engineers to construct and add to the space station and creating a colony. This makes sense because you don't have to haul everything to space because it is already there. No more wasting money 300 billion dollars worth of debris of the highest tech that can be used and rebuilt. Please someone with a brain take my solution and use it. There is no reason why we should not already have colonies in space.

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