Slashdot Mirror
Using Lasers and Water Guns To Clean Space Debris
WSJdpatton writes "The collision between two satellites last month has renewed interest in some ideas for cleaning up the cloud of debris circling the earth. Some of the plans being considered: Using aging rockets loaded with water to dislodge the debris from orbit so it will burn up in the atmosphere; junk-zapping lasers; and garbage-collecting rockets."
Damn! Shut up already! The average moron will totally believe your rain concept.
Of course, you'll need real hardware to go with that.
> Sharks can fly to space?
That's what the water is for.
What do you think would happen if you push an old satellite with some type of nuclear fuel into the atmosphere and it doesn't burn up completely the way you want it to and it basically becomes a dirty bomb in high orbit.
ZOMG!!!! You're giving terrorists ideas!! I'm reporting you!!!
We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security. -- Dwight D. Eisenhower
Eventually we will have that solar shield that the repair-global-warming crowd keeps raving about.
More to the point, whoever proposed this idea seems to be completely unaware of the workings of orbital mechanics. Clue: the stuff is already falling. The problem is it keeps missing.
[FUCK BETA]
Actually, it is likely that a lot of the water will come back to earth. In a LARGE number of years. The reason is that it will be used in LEO, and will have a relatively slow speed. IOW, it WILL come back slowly to earth.
Quiet, you. You're bringing logic to this conversation.
Posts not to be taken literally. Almost everything is sarcasm.
Which puts us one step closer to landsharks.
*knockknock* "Plumber!"
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Yeah, someone from Caltech said the same thing, but you can't trust second-rate sources when it comes to space analysts...
Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure everything I just said is completely wrong.
It will never last on Fox.
He's the John Madden of Science.
This Summer, coming to a theater near you, Jaws, in space, WITH A FRIGGIN LASER ON ITS HEAD!!!!
Bah! We already send large quantities of water into orbit - astronauts! How about using the urine they produce to alter the orbits of space junk? Anyone have an idea on how to let an astronaut piss out of their spacesuit without decompressing?
If "disco" means "I learn" in Latin, does "discothèque" mean "I learn technology"?
I wasn't aware that water was flammable. I'll notify the fire department that they need to rethink their strategy.
Copyright 2010. All rights reserved. This comment may not be copied in any way including, but not limited to caching.
The water is actually for the sharks. Space-junk shot by lasers, lasers go onto sharks, sharks go into water, water goes into space. Keep up, this isn't rocket science...
It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
We spent hundreds of hours in front of the Astroids simulator, practicing breaking rocks up into smaller rocks!
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
1999 called and wants its joke back.
1996 called, David Spade wants his joke back.