Monday, September 5, 2011

Waste of Space Junk

"Space may need to be cleaned of junk" September 02, 2011|Associated Press

WASHINGTON - Space junk has made such a mess of Earth’s orbit that specialists say we may need to finally think about cleaning it up.

That may mean vacuuming up debris with space technology - cosmic versions of nets, magnets, and giant umbrellas, according to the chairman of a panel that issued a new report on the problem yesterday....

The International Space Station has to move out of the way of debris from time to time....

Since the space age began, civilization has littered the area just above Earth’s atmosphere with leftover boosters and other parts that come off during launches, and with old satellites.

NASA officials said they are examining the study.

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