The Magnetosphere is about to become very polluted/cluttered place due to the wastes released from the Space stations/habitats, inactive satellites, space vehicles-rocket ships, possible Moon/Mars/space colonies, and space wars of the future. Junk in space of Earths orbit in present times is becoming more and more troubling at an alarming rate.
The US Air Force and Space Force is aware to battle against space debris/waste.
There are thousands of small pieces space junk left out and growing.
These small pieces of space debris/wastes are made of metals, plastics, aluminum, titanium, which can cause a serious trouble if hit on impact, We need to cooperate with other nations to achieve this feat since space trash is traveling around 18,000 miles an hour. Tracking and identifying space Junk is very difficult. At least 70+ countries now have their own space agency and more will have increased their space traveling budgets. Currently it is very costly to remove debris and technically challenging. The chances of having a collision is increasing as space materials/junk is increasing.
Blue Origin, SpaceX, and Virgin Galactic are investing in Suborbital tourist flights for space exploration and tourism. More private space companies of the future are coming in the next decade as the infrastructure in space is growing and becoming affordable to the mass public.
A project is underway by the U.S. Air Force who tracks the space junk from Low Earth Orbit. Space Force is finding solutions to take care of this problem by removing the debris. An international regulation is being enforced to mitigate space debris. We need help from multiple nations to remove clutter and debris from Low Earth Orbit and Medium Earth Orbit.
The most effective way is to let the object in space burn upon re-entry in to the atmosphere once its work is done. Creating reusable rockets and maneuverable satellites (easily assembling and disassembling space objects before retiring them is the goal for the long-term for NASA and other space agency).
- Space Tugs: A spacecraft that approaches a piece of debris, attaches to it, and slowly maneuvers it into a lower orbit to re-enter the atmosphere. (burn in atmosphere)
- Harpoon systems: A spacecraft equipped with a harpoon to capture larger debris objects.
- Nets: Deploying large nets to capture and contain debris.
- Laser ablation: Using high-powered lasers to slowly decelerate debris, causing it to re-enter the atmosphere. (burn in atmosphere)
In the future, asteroid mining will cause lots of waste being left behind (from thrusters, and pieces of asteroid chunks being left behind and satellites to abandoned shuttle ships.)
We would have adopted better ways of renewable/sustainable energies in the coming decades.
Nanotechnology will play a vital role of the future shaping/reshaping materials we no longer need by assembling and disassembling materials for infrastructure in space; such as space hotels (Von Braun station, O’Neill colonies, and other space habitats)
We are waiting on Fusion technology to catchup since its power will revolutionize the space industries by creating sustainable energy rocket ships that will last longer than traditional space shuttles. However, more rocket ships in orbit = more junk in space, being left behind.
-Lutkevich, Ben. “What Is Kessler Syndrome?” WhatIs, TechTarget, 18 Mar. 2020, What is Kessler Syndrome?.
-“What Is Space Junk?” McKinsey & Company, McKinsey & Company, 28 July 2023, What is space junk?.
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