ANU astrophysicist and cosmologist Dr Brad Tucker says an Australian company is part of the mission to recycle space junk and help refuel satellites in orbit.
“We’ve talked about how much there is; there’s millions of small pieces; there’s more created all the time, so how do we get rid of it and how do we clean it up,†he told Sky News Australia.
“At the same time, there’s a second problem, that is we have all of these satellites, and quite often they just run out of fuel.â€
Dr Tucker said once a satellite runs out of fuel, it cannot maintain its orbit due to the gravity of Earth, and it is usually destroyed.
He said a “supply chain†has been devised to grab space junk and eventually turn it into fuel, which would “take a few stepsâ€.
“It solves the space junk problem and prevents satellites from becoming space junk,†he said.
ANU astrophysicist and cosmologist Dr Brad Tucker says an Australian company is part of the mission to recycle space junk and help refuel satellites in orbit.
“We’ve talked about how much there is; there’s millions of small pieces; there’s more created all the time, so how do we get rid of it and how do we clean it up,†he told Sky News Australia.
“At the same time, there’s a second problem, that is we have all of these satellites, and quite often they just run out of fuel.â€
Dr Tucker said once a satellite runs out of fuel, it cannot maintain its orbit due to the gravity of Earth, and it is usually destroyed.
He said a “supply chain†has been devised to grab space junk and eventually turn it into fuel, which would “take a few stepsâ€.
“It solves the space junk problem and prevents satellites from becoming space junk,†he said.
