February 21, 2014
Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAm5 Strange Methods to Combat Space Junk - The Countdown #42
According to NASA, more than 500,000 pieces of debris are tracked as they orbit the earth. Individual pieces can travel at speeds of up to 28,000 kilometers per hour, creating a potentially dangerous situation for both satellites and astronauts alike. In this episode of The Coundown, we look at some of the strangest proposals to combat the ever-growing cloud of space junk. One of them, an electrified tether created by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, will launch on February 28th, 2014.
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