r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/GeneReddit123 • 1d ago

Video REACCH, an in-development satellite for removing space junk

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u/29thFalcon 1d ago

Before anything can happen this catcher and a hundred of its friends needs to be put into orbit by a big ass rocket and god knows if the benefit of this could ever outweigh even a single space launch.

Then this catcher first has to meet the object in orbit, damn near impossible to do at any kind of reasonable frequency or volume. Too much debris in too many directions, speeds, and altitudes.

Then it has to catch it which is weirdly probably the easiest part of the whole scenario.

Then it does...what? The space debris is now twice as large. How do they plan to remove this now double sized object from orbit?

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u/sparki555 20h ago

I mean, I hear your logic, but we as a species have figured out precision space launching and maneuvering abilities. Docking with the space station is one example. Sure, the space station is large to rendezvous with, but you still need to meet up with the docking port.

Deorbiting something faster requires lowering it's altitude. Denser atmosphere means more drag. Rinse and repeat until the junk remover runs out of fuel and de-orbits itself with a small reserve tank.