American scientists have created an aerodynamic sail to collect debris in space
Purdue University has developed a sail for collecting debris in outer space, called the Spinnaker3. This sail is designed for the fastest descent of debris from the Earth's orbit into the upper atmosphere at an altitude of up to 645 km, and at this altitude, space debris will be burned up.
In the near future, the first test of this development is planned on a launch vehicle, which has already completed its service life, at an altitude of about 300 km. You will learn more about this development from this material.
How did the idea to create just such a sail come about?
In the United States, there is such a law: satellites with the American flag, which have already served their time, must be written off or sent to a safe place within 25 years of the end work. And the most common option is recycling.
How does it happen?
This procedure takes place as follows: a spacecraft using its own engines and remnants propellants are directed to the correct trajectory to orbit, where it will subsequently burn in dense layers atmosphere.
But there is one problem here. To direct the spacecraft to the desired point, an accurate calculation and an extra fuel supply are required. All this leads to a heavier and more expensive apparatus as a whole.
And precisely in order to remove unnecessary costs, the engineers decided to create a braking sail that does not require fuel and sophisticated technology. In the process of operation, the sail straightens and on its way catches all the debris and directs it to the upper atmosphere, where the debris is burned.
What are the advantages of such a product
Until now, the Spinnaker3 aerodynamic sail was far from the first of its kind. Previously, similar products were also created, but they were less effective. But Spinnaker3 has several distinct advantages.
For example, he uses a 3-meter boom to deploy a translucent sail made of fluorinated polyimide. And thanks to its large size, it can remove from orbit not only the satellite, but even the upper stage of the launch vehicle from an altitude of almost 650 km.
When is the first test run planned?
They want to launch the new sail in November this year on the Firefly Aerospace Alpha rocket, which will be sent into space from the Vandenberg Space Force Base (California, USA).
According to the plans, after entering orbit, the "garbage sail" will begin its work with the cleaning of the upper stage of the Alpha spacecraft to an altitude of 300-320 km, while such a procedure will take only 15 days instead of 25 and all this will happen without any additional labor costs.
Well, we will wait for the first real test of the device and even then it will be possible to conclude how much the proposed technology will be effective in the "cleaning" of outer space around ours with you planets. Well, if you liked this material, then do not forget to rate it and thank you for your attention!