![CleanSpace One - Leave it to the Swiss to be first in launching an actual mission with the goal of cleaning space. There has been a lot of discussion on the growing problem of space-junk, and it is great to see somebody take the lead in doing something about it.
CleanSpace One is, as far as we know, the first purpose-built spacecraft designed from the ground up to tackle the space junk problem directly. Costing just under $11 million, it’s simple, cheap, and hopefully, it’ll be effective. […] Once it’s got hold, CleanSpace One will fire up its engine and drag the junk down into the atmosphere with it, burning them both to dust.
I do think they could do better than reentering debris as trash however. It costs tens of thousands of dollars per pound to place material in orbit - even if the gizmo has outlived its usefulness, it has significant value based on the mass/energy inherent to it being in orbit. Whoever cracks the challenge of “space-recycling” will be living very well indeed. Nonetheless, I applaud the Swiss for pathfinding ways of keeping space clean/safe for all of us!](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lzi9cfc8IJ1qiiz3qo1_500.jpg)
CleanSpace One - Leave it to the Swiss to be first in launching an actual mission with the goal of cleaning space. There has been a lot of discussion on the growing problem of space-junk, and it is great to see somebody take the lead in doing something about it.
CleanSpace One is, as far as we know, the first purpose-built spacecraft designed from the ground up to tackle the space junk problem directly. Costing just under $11 million, it’s simple, cheap, and hopefully, it’ll be effective. […] Once it’s got hold, CleanSpace One will fire up its engine and drag the junk down into the atmosphere with it, burning them both to dust.
I do think they could do better than reentering debris as trash however. It costs tens of thousands of dollars per pound to place material in orbit - even if the gizmo has outlived its usefulness, it has significant value based on the mass/energy inherent to it being in orbit. Whoever cracks the challenge of “space-recycling” will be living very well indeed. Nonetheless, I applaud the Swiss for pathfinding ways of keeping space clean/safe for all of us!
space engineer, scifi author, technology maven, and addicted to beauty in all forms - the best is always yet to come ...
