Hours of research by our editors, distilled into minutes of clarity.
An unsavory byproduct of humanity's brilliant exploration of space, the Moon, and more, is the rapid production of space debris floating around in orbit. Its estimated over 25,000 objects are in orbit, a number that grows everyday as satellites are decommissioned, rockets enter orbit, and more. Now, you can visualize what this debris looks like from a zoomed-out perspective with this brief video.
One of the often neglected aspects of the space industry is its thousands of metric tons of waste, all just stuck in orbit around Earth. Each object, even tiny ones, pose threats to functioning craft, necessitating a change in approach before orbit fills up with too much trash. Enter the skyhook, a long-theorized launch device effectively catapulting objects into space via a cable. One scientist proposes utilizing space debris as the fulcrum of this skyhook as a more efficient launch method that also preserves outdated space objects for posterity.
You've reached the end