Foam ‘spider webs’ from tiny satellites
could help clean up space junk
NASA’S SPACE JUNK BROOM
A little foam-spewing spacecraft could make a big dent in the space-junk problem in the coming years.
The Russian startup StartRocket is developing a “Foam Debris Catcher,” a small, autonomous satellite that would snag and de-orbit space debris using sticky polymer foam.
“It’s like a spider web,” StartRocket founder Vlad Sitnikov told Space.com.
NASA’S SPACE JUNK BROOM
Earth orbit is cluttered with about 129 million pieces of debris, 34,000 of which are at least 4 inches (10 centimeters) wide, according to European Space Agency estimates.
These objects are hurtling through space at tremendous speeds — 17,500 mph (28,200 km/h) in low-Earth orbit.
So even the tiny shards could seriously damage a satellite or spacecraft.
And the space-junk threat is rising, experts say, because…….