One the greatest representations of mankind’s presence in space over the last 50+ years might be the half-million pieces of space debris or space junk that we’ve left floating in low-earth orbit. Of these, about 20,000 range in size from a softball to a bus and could do some pretty severe damage to space vehicles, astronauts, and satellites as they travel at about 17,000 mph.
However, a new design that just garnered its second round of funding from NASA could help provide a clearer path for these billion-dollar expeditions. The proposed design uses a nine square-foot, flexible panel that’s not even as thick as a human hair. It would utilize microelectronics and a uniquely designed propellant system that would be used for targeting these larger pieces of debris.
Once the Brane Craft, as it is being called, draws close, it will, in theory, wrap itself around the targeted object and direct it in a controlled descent where both the Craft and trash would burn up upon contact with Earth’s outer atmosphere. The concept belongs to California-based Aerospace Corporation. These panels are designed to be stackable for easier transport and would be deployed in groups that could work either in tandem or separately to clear orbiting debris.
The Brane Craft appears to be more viable than other solutions which lean heavily on the use of claws or nets to snag these objects. The challenge that awaits NASA, other space agencies around the globe, and Aerospace Corp. is that millions of dollars will be needed for testing before such a system can even be deployed and tested in space.
The positive and negative of this dynamic is that the time and money required to pull this concept together will be significant. However, in validating the Brane Craft, a great deal of new research will be done in the area of miniaturized electronics and materials. So, while the focus remains on the primary goal, researchers are excited about the prospects for uncovering supplemental benefits on the miniaturization front.