collector etc. for rocket-size debris

An article of www.welt. de yesterday in the evening has listed a few ways to collect rocket-sized debris. According to the article these ways are considered under the aspect of throwing the large debris into the atmosphere. But as far as the requirement to get control over the debris is concerned it may be possible to use them for collection and keep them in a save orbit too.

The article lists

outburning of the fuel/engines
tethers for deceleration of rocket stages (currently under development by technicians)
catching satellites by a net or web (what's the correct english word?)
rising satellites and rocket stages to the so-called cemetery orbit

The fourth point is close to my best choice - keeping them in space - but this point could be improved I think.

The third point may include chances to develop something for catching screw-sized debris - please refer to the according thread to discuss it. I am going to quote the article there too.



Dipl.-Volkswirt (bdvb) Augustin (Political Economist)

What about using a downscaled MagBeam for getting control over such debris? It would be sufficient if the down-scaled MagBeam would be capable of decelerating an approaching debris-object while another working along another of the three spatial dimensions would control the altitude and a third one would control the third dimension.

This would be a system made of the collector and three down-sacled MagBeams which direct the rocket-sized debris to the collector.



Dipl.-Volkswirt (bdvb) Augustin (Political Economist)

Problem being that you have to have the SIX magbeams in the exact right places -- you need six: top, bottom, front, back, right, left. Otherwise, you send it off in a completely different direction, because you're unable to slow it down.

Thanks for the correction, spacecowboy.

I would have no problem with six magbeams - but what about using the tailored force fields we talk(ed) about in the tools-thread? These tailored force fields considered in the NIAC study possibly might be applied to catch rocket-size debris. The idea sounds to me as if they could keep such debris at a constant distance to a vehicle, satellite etc. or - which would be better - as if they could be used to move the rocket-size debris to an orbit where it would be under control by regular hardware supervised by men.

What about it?



Dipl.-Volkswirt (bdvb) Augustin (Political Economist)

On second thought, you might only need two. Six would be ideal, five would be almost as good, but you might be able to get away with just two (assuming you can keep those beamers moving, or that you attach some kind of sail to the object you're trying to manipulate). All I really know at this point is that it's a bit over my head, and although I could probably figure it out in a pinch, I'd really rather hear from someone who knows what they're talking about.

Mounting 2 opposite one another on a rotating ring should work fine.

What about involving the ISS into the collection of rocket-sized debris?

Just a few moments ago I read an article in the newsticker of www.welt.de that at present there is abright debris in a distance of 2.8 kilometers of the ISS.

Such encounters are a good opportunity to photograph such objects, to scan them and to watch their orbits and movements for some time by instruments.

The object I am speaking about is not registered according to that article - which means that the ISS could complete the list and thus reduce unknown risks and dangers.

Alos a collector could wait docked to the ISS and fly to such objects to catch them.

Scanning and phototgraphing could be triggered and automated by automated permanent observations

Is anything known if such debris is photographed and scanned from the ISS?



Dipl.-Volkswirt (bdvb) Augustin (Political Economist)

You need a lot of fuel in order to track down debris:

http://www.astronautix.com/craft/enemover.htm
http://www.astronautix.com/craft/enenator.htm
http://www.astronautix.com/craft/enellite.htm
http://www.astronautix.com/craft/eneposal.htm

What about adding solar sails to future rocket stages, satellites and the like?

Then sunight might push the objects towards higher orbits if the sails are applied so that they catch the sunlight only when they don't be at the dayside of Earth.

Thruster then need to be fired only if the orbit of a close other object will be passed.

If a graveyard orbit is reached the sail would be undeployed again.

The idea includes to attach a solar sail to each rocket-sized object already
orbitng Earth as debris.

It might be possible to time the arrival in the graveyard orbit so that the objects might be mounted together somehow.



What about that?



Dipl.-Volkswirt (bdvb) Augustin (Political Economist)

Lump them together into a Scrapyard of metal and electronics?

I belive we could attach PAMS or Ion propulsion units or even solar sails to some debris and guide them to the moon for recycling. There isen't much steel in that gear you know. Alot of the problem with the little stuff is it's speed. an Ion beam gun could vaporize some particles. We might be able to shoot some plastic goop on some debris and use a laser to cause out gasing of the plastic and use that to provide propulsion. How about a GIANT board with sticky stuff on it that way you only need to dodge one object? how about nuking it all and starting over? maybe we could charge the debris and make them atractive to each other? Build a bigger stronger space station! Or wait for CERN to unravel the mystery of the standard model and develop the technology. You guy's wanna wait? Or get busy?

Monroe

How big is the Debri you're talking about? 1cm small pieces could probably be caught in a net, if they aren't moving to fast relative to it.

Hello, Terraformer,

in this thread the debris talked about is as large as a satellite or a stage of a rocket. About screw-sized debris there is another thread.



Dipl.-Volkswirt (bdvb) Augustin (Political Economist)

Oh, spent rocket stages and Satellites? Well, our computers are advanced enough that a tug could dock and pull it to wherever it needs to go. Magnets could possibly be used to help dock.