Five Ways To Orbit, 100% All World!

This issue of Popular Mechanics Aug 2010 in an article called "Cluttered Space" discusses the problem of space junk and five possible ways to clean up above to higher;

The five methods are;

Lasers, to deorbit the trash even from the ground by changing its motion;

Solar Sails, to gradually push stuff to deorbit from the middle of the sail;

Tethers and Nets, the Tether from the central machine is a wire to power the net attached;

Space Mist, a big jug of mist sprays the CO2 to change the orbit of bolts or other stuff;

Robots and Adhesives like arm throwing machines to grab and launch the leftovers of the satellites now leftunders! This wouldn't be easy to reach, so Adhesives, Great Adhesive Spheres Cheap to make and orbit have been considered....

　The first, Lasers (I mostly or completely discount while in savings celebration mode!) as the author says in PM, this has political controversy because any laser strong enough to remove space trash might also be used for military use tooand other nations would say no. Only the other four thus seem worth consideration;

Improvements to the problems each of the four methods above have been proposed;
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SOLAR SAILS

These have been in use since the mid 1970's but they are of low power so the have to be aimed to just the right altitude and maneuvered with real skill not yet here in 2010.

POSSIBLE SOLUTION, Increase the area for more altitude lift and make them like a fold out tetra box kite (tetrahedral) for more stability, so not so tough to maneuver.　　


TETHERS AND NETS

These have been tested by NASA since 1996. The main problem is that they are a wire miles long to generate the power, and they must be aimed with high resolution precision too so there would be no breakup of the tether machine to save woe from triumph.

SOLUTION; Robot nets without the tethers deployed from a central satellite. No tethers would reduce the risk of breakup. Another possible way to solve this may be by using the centrifugal force of a wheel except by using a slice of the wheel in oscillation as in the IP to direct the centrifugal force. This has the advantage over lasers that we could implode the stuff in orbit inward to nets or arms to then throw the stuff toward the earth out of orbit. Others have thought of the throwing machines, but these would have to make a lot more effort to first reach this realm and move around a lot more than an implosive field.　


SPACE MIST

A 220 pound cloud of frozen mist like Co2 sprayed from a tank to nozzle might deorbit stuff like steel bolts though a larger mist would be needed for less dense stuff like insulation. It was first proposed by aerospace engineer George Sarver of Ames Research Center in 1990. This too requires high resolution of placing it in orbit so as conceded it can only be used once;

POSSIBLE IMPROVEMENT This might be improved by reusing the mist; one nozzle and a large fold out pyramidal cone on the other side would catch most of the mist and repressurize it in a tank like the first and then respray it to the where the first cone and nozzle is to collect the spray for reuse many more times.　　


ROBOTS AND ADHESIVES

Large aero spheres ("robots") with adhesive shells like aerogels, could attach themselves to the stuff and both deorbit and burn up as they reenter. Problem; The Adhesive Globes can't be compressed, so packing them in a rocket for launch would be a real challenge. Even so spheres are easier to control than sails or tethers and can remove multiple pieces of debris. Adhesives are cheap.　


POSSIBLE SOLUTION TO ORBIT ADHESIVES;

Make them into lighter than air ships to launch them above the atmosphere, then a small rocket would pull them to orbit. 　　

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Even with these tricks and improvements (even if they don't deorbit to the Biz Station a bit!) one inventor says a better solution may be about magnetic bubbles, large magnetic fields from a machine we could fill with air or other deorbiting mist. This is like the Orbital Mist above except there is only one machine because the mist is held much longer inside the giant bubble, the bubble could be any great size, its field would also be a way to slow the orbits of the stuff moving through both the air and the bubble, and like a solar sail it uses the light pressure for motive power except the magnetic bubble sail would have larger size than a solar sail cheap or the same cost for much more. The magnetic bubble machine would be cheap and easy to launch, and in much larger influence for cost than the adhesive globes. Because it's small, lightweight and maneuverable it may be better than tethers that have risk of breakup and more stuff in orbit. This method has all the advantages of the other four..

... Magnetic bubbles filled with air may be better to shield visitors to Mars from both the radiation and smaller space junk in NEO. Researchers this month discovered that a huge shield or magnet won't be needed to go to Mars as was believed because experiments with a field of just 25 feet have been found to be enough to stop the radiation and save the star sailors from cosmic damage. When filled with air the shield might be improved to shield from both radiation and small space junk in orbit or for business use. Another use might be to hold air in above cities on Mars or the moon so people could go outdoors.. Though mirrors and shades might be needed for cities on the moon to cool the moon city in the heat and heat it (in the night all hours all month!) to heat the air in the shield not both heating and cooling would be the problem for a Mars base more than on the moon. There the orbiting mirror and shade with optimum light shielding would needed to make the bubble not too hot or cool. Bubble cities filled with "great hot dish more atmosphere" might help solve one of the problems travel on the ship to distant worlds, not enough time alone unlike in evolution for millions of years so research shows on a trip of months or years they may try to ditch and run for the outer memory banks of WC! For these uses of magnetic bubbles with atmosphere the air would be heated and for the distant bases the air could be sealed at the ground by a ring of strong or permanent magnets to generate the field. The field would go into the land below the ring and above so no air leaks. No doubt the field would have to be reliable so perhaps something simple like geothermal heat on Mars or the moon would be used. There have been simulations of Mars stations in the N and S and if the cold was with a magnetic shield to stay cozy, this could also be good to colonize the S and N on Earth with cities inside the bubbles. These bases or cities in the N would be used to see if bubbles would be used with air for the moon or Mars. And it could be first used in an outfit for outdoors use where the bubble is from head to toe and the air inside is so cozy starship messengers like our lady of special memos here at Christmas would be able to have the cheer she deserves like all of us and both be cool in the summer and not have to wear heavy clothes in winter. According to the inventor there are special ways to make the bubble shield from the heat.

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