Indian Robot Will Capture Space Debris

CowboyRobot writes "India is set to launch the 'Space Robot', which, controlled from Earth, will capture damaged satellites and space debris. This seems a less ambitious, and more immediately practical venture than the current Mars missions."

Comments

Short on details, long on possibilities

[RobertB-DC]

The 'Space Robot' (SR), with an in-built 'RUDAC' communication signal processor, will be used to capture damaged satellites and space debris from crashing to Earth, CSRDC-CSRL and ISRDO Director Dr M Sreedhar Dayal told UNI.

Putting aside the poor translation, it's clear that the article's writer doesn't have much of a scientific background. Unless you're talking about a mass comparable to the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory or perhaps the Hubble, there's not much need to prevent debris from "crashing into the earth". 100,000 feet of atmosphere does a fine job by itself, and puts on a great light show to boot.

The obvious benefit of this space scoop is to clear NEO of the sort of debris that occasionally causes the ISS and the Shuttle to take evasive maneuvers from time to time.

But I know what I'd be interested in, if I were a developing nation with orbital capability. The space around Earth is turning into the next big salvage yard, especially if the costs of this mission are comparable to a high-profile terrestrial salvage operation. What better way to find out what other nations have been doing in the space above your country, than to grab a few samples of their equipment?

It's even better than a earthbound salvage operation, because there's no weathering beyond radiation and collisions with other pieces of debris. A defunct spy satellite would be in as good a condition now as it was the day it entered orbit, especially in terms of reverse-engineering. The chips may have a few bits shorted out, but the circuit boards, wiring harnesses, optics, propulsion systems, and so on could hold a trove of information.

And there's one thing I'm dying to do -- buy space knicknacks. NASA and the Russians could probably fund a significant space program by simply selling off that ton or so of "trash" brought back by each shuttle mission or burnt up in the used Progress craft. If India can bring back space nuts, old thruster bells, and the like, they could make a killing on eBay!

Re:Short on details, long on possibilities

[ivan256]

Last I checked, India's population was roughly eight times that of Russia... Makes that 2x GDP figure a little less impressive, huh?

From the pages you linked, per-capita GDP:

India: $2,540
Russia: $9,300

Sorry to rain on your parade.

There's no shame in being called "developing". It means that progress is being made.

Re:Short on details, long on possibilities

[RobertB-DC]

There's probably a few other options, but for everbodys sake, we should avoid the truth at all costs!

Isn't that the American Way? :)

I myself won the "Most Improved Player" award more than once, and it was indeed because I thoroughly sucked before.

Back in my original posting, many generations ago now, I called India a "Developing" nation. I was taken to task (lightly) for it, but further replies seem to bear out the description. And my flippant reply aside, it's not really such a bad thing to be "Developing".

In a hundred years or so, historians may look back and decry not the poverty of the "Developing" nations, but the excesses of the "Developed" nations -- just before they became the "Declining" nations.

Re:Battlebots

[Midnight Thunder]

Its probably that the US lacked the incentive. Anyhow we can't tarnish our reputation of not cleaning up behind ourselves.