# Japan is fishing for junk in space



## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Dec 9, 2016)

A rocket bound for the International Space Station carrying the vessel blasted off from the southern island of Tanegashima at around 10:30 pm local time (13:30 GMT).









Scientists at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) are now experimenting with a tether to pull junk out of orbit around Earth.

This will clear up tonnes of space clutter including cast-off equipment from old satellites and pieces of rocket.

The vessel uses a so-called electrodynamic tether, which is made from thin wires of stainless steel and aluminium.

One end of the strip will be attached to debris big enough to damage working equipment.

The electricity generated by the tether as it swings through the Earth's magnetic field is expected to have a slowing effect on the space junk. This should, scientists say, pull it into a lower and lower orbit.








'The tether uses our fishnet plaiting technology, but it was really tough to intertwine the very thin materials,' company engineer Katsuya Suzuki told AFP.

'The length of the tether this time is 700 metre (2,300 feet), but eventually it's going to need to be 5,000 to 10,000 metre-long to slow down the targeted space junk,' he added.
A 106-year-old Japanese fishing net maker, Nitto Seimo Co, collaborated with Japan's space agency to develop the mesh material, Bloomberg reported last month.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-38265676


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## dont whant to set it"' (Dec 9, 2016)

If all goes to plan(matter burning uppon reentry in the atmosphere) there would be no point for a space junk colecting(for recycling purpose) automaton.
It is a very quick and efective way... ,cant take away.


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## DeathtoGnomes (Dec 9, 2016)

space junk needs clearing anyway. Besides, I cant imagine how much of it is precious metals floating around. Maybe the ISS needs a sanitation worker, that goes out and collect space junk for a living....


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## silentbogo (Dec 9, 2016)

DeathtoGnomes said:


> space junk needs clearing anyway. Besides, I cant imagine how much of it is precious metals floating around. Maybe the ISS needs a sanitation worker, that goes out and collect space junk for a living....


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Dec 9, 2016)

DeathtoGnomes said:


> Maybe the ISS needs a sanitation worker, that goes out and collect space junk for a living....



That was one of the purposes of The Space Shuttle, retrieval of satellites.


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## dorsetknob (Dec 9, 2016)

DeathtoGnomes said:


> space junk needs clearing anyway. Besides, I cant imagine how much of it is precious metals floating around. Maybe the ISS needs a sanitation worker, that goes out and collect space junk for a living....


ISS Space Station is in LEO. what is needed is A Reprocessing Station in HEO Then such materials as Recovered can be Reprocessed for further HEO projects
Your "Junk Collector" would need to get that junk to a higher orbit before it Could be Re-Processed for Further use
This Tech is all about Clearing near space/low earth Orbit otherwise Low Earth Orbit will become a non accessible no mans Space


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## erocker (Dec 9, 2016)

Hopefully they'll get around to the garbage ocean and all of that radiation they dumped in there as well.

Heh, I wonder how many operational satellites would fit in that net?


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## theonedub (Dec 9, 2016)

erocker said:


> Hopefully they'll get around to the garbage ocean and all of that radiation they dumped in there as well.
> 
> Heh, I wonder how many operational satellites would fit in that net?



 DAAAAMMMMN! 

The radiation leak and contamination has faded from headline news, but that is a serious problem that they should absolutely be primarily focused on.


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## Jetster (Dec 9, 2016)

It's a young Skywalker collecting space junk to trade


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Dec 9, 2016)

they should send all the scrap off into orbit around the moon. we could make use of it there.


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## erocker (Dec 9, 2016)

theonedub said:


> DAAAAMMMMN!
> 
> The radiation leak and contamination has faded from headline news, but that is a serious problem that they should absolutely be primarily focused on.


Yeah, I just read yesterday that the radiation is all over the west coast of the US now.


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## dorsetknob (Dec 9, 2016)

CAPSLOCKSTUCK said:


> they should send all the scrap off into orbit around the moon. we could make use of it there.


To make use of it in " Lunar Orbit"  they need to have a Lunar orbiting Facility to "Use IT"
lets START WITH HIGH EARTH ORBITAL FACILITIES FIRST

Baby's got to crawl before they walk


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Dec 9, 2016)

Start sending it there now ready for when we need it........we have time.

You know it makes sense.


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## dorsetknob (Dec 9, 2016)

CAPSLOCKSTUCK said:


> You know it makes sense.



Sounds like a Plan to build a lunar orbital scrap wall to stop man/robotic probes getting to the moon


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## Jetster (Dec 9, 2016)

we definitely don't need to be adding to the junk in space


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Dec 9, 2016)

The moon is pretty big, park it in orbit and grab it when we need it. The stuff we consider to be junk in our orbit would be of use to us on the moon.


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## dorsetknob (Dec 9, 2016)

We as a Species need to use "that Space junk" as a resource IN SPACE.
it cost a Fortune to get it there and its all ready Refined and Processed material


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## DeathtoGnomes (Dec 10, 2016)

The Junk man cometh...


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## Divide Overflow (Dec 10, 2016)

The "net" doesn't catch any space junk.  It's attached to a single BIG piece to slow it down and let it burn up in reentry. We really need a cheap, vastly reproduceable solution that can catch the hundreds of thousands of space junk objects from a BB on up.  You know, the "debris big enough to damage working equipment".


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Dec 10, 2016)

Divide Overflow said:


> The "net" doesn't catch any space junk.  It's attached to a single BIG piece to slow it down and let it burn up in reentry. We really need a cheap, vastly reproduceable solution that can catch the hundreds of thousands of space junk objects from a BB on up.  You know, the "debris big enough to damage working equipment".




Scientific models estimate the total number of space debris objects in Earth orbit to be in the order of:


29 000 - for sizes larger than 10 cm
670 000 - for sizes larger than 1 cm
More than 170 million - for sizes larger than 1 mm


Any of these objects can cause harm to an operational spacecraft. For example, a collision with a 10-cm object would entail a catastrophic fragmentation of a typical satellite, a 1-cm object will most likely disable a spacecraft and penetrate the ISS shields, and a 1-mm object could destroy sub-systems on board a spacecraft. Scientists generally agree that, for typical satellites, a collision with an energy-to-mass ratio exceeding 40 J/g will be catastrophic.


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## R-T-B (Dec 10, 2016)

erocker said:


> Yeah, I just read yesterday that the radiation is all over the west coast of the US now.



It is.  My dad was collecting chunks of what appeared to be melted metal on a Westport Washington beach shortly after the Tsunami.  He brought them up to us, all proud and wondering what they could be.  I said "reactor parts" only half kidding.  His smile went away after that and I saw him throwing the weird chunks back into the ocean later.

He's kinda dense like that...  It's no wonder he got cancer at a young age, only mirracle is he survived.  He plays with just about everything toxic he can find (he also brags he and his friends use to draw with Asbestos shingles as "sidewalk chalk," he also used to polish dimes with the "mercury out of old thermometers")


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Dec 10, 2016)

Many years ago the standard test for asbestos was licking it, as it tastes very sweet.

As told to me by my neighbour who died recently from asbestos related emphysema while on the list for a double lung transplant.


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## R-T-B (Dec 10, 2016)

CAPSLOCKSTUCK said:


> Many years ago the standard test for asbestos was licking it, as it tastes very sweet.
> 
> As told to me by my neighbour who died recently from asbestos related emphysema while on the list for a double lung transplant.



They used to do that for Galena, or lead ore, too.

I'm sensing a trend.



			
				CAVEMAN said:
			
		

> Ugh.  Me tasted and did not die!  Is safe!


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Dec 10, 2016)

Blue Billy (cyanide) was a child killer. a by-product of coalgas production it was often ingested after skin contact. Even small towns in the UK had gasworks and of course kiddies played on the contaminated ground.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal_gasification


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## R-T-B (Dec 10, 2016)

I can't help but think Trump will have all this popping back up.

Sorry, couldn't help it.  I'm sure he'll eat it all personally as to avoid children ingesting such things, since the EPA will be gone or at least neutered.  He's a good guy like that.  Maybe his skin will even turn a normal color.

Ok, I'm done.  Sorry.  I really don't want the FBI visiting me telling me I told the president to eat toxic waste.

...Cause I didn't.  I'm a good froggie, officer.


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## dorsetknob (Dec 10, 2016)

R-T-B said:


> Ok, I'm done. Sorry.


Its not over untill the Fat lady makes him Swear the oath of Allegiance Jan 10th


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Dec 10, 2016)

dorsetknob said:


> Jan 10th



20th

Any Americans who are unhappy about it can celebrate my birthday with me instead.....


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## R-T-B (Dec 10, 2016)

Technically it's over when the electoral college votes are counted on  January 6th.  Trump will then be President-elect (ironically, he isn't yet despite the media liking to do early predictions), which is basically president.  The rest is just paperwork and swearing in crap.

There was talk of an upset against Trump in the college, but it's died down.  It is worth noting he is the first candidate in our history (at least to my knowledge) where some of the electors posted for him are actually refusing to vote for him (albeit, not nearly enough, only like 6 or something, and nearly all of them on conservative christian grounds).

anyhow, way OT now.


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## FreedomEclipse (Dec 10, 2016)

They gonna melt all that junk down to create a strong alloy and start building Gundam's


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Dec 10, 2016)

R-T-B said:


> anyhow, way OT now.




not really, Trump has big decisions to make over US space missions. He hasnt said anything specific about space junk but i have an inkling he will overturn some of Obamas decisions especially concerning manned missions to mars.

http://arstechnica.com/science/2016...nsiders-alternatives-to-its-orion-spacecraft/


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## R-T-B (Dec 10, 2016)

CAPSLOCKSTUCK said:


> not really, Trump has big decisions to make over US space missions. He hasnt said anything specific about space junk but i have an inkling he will overturn some of Obamas decisions especially concerning manned missions to mars.
> 
> http://arstechnica.com/science/2016...nsiders-alternatives-to-its-orion-spacecraft/



That may be, but I was going into full on electoral processes.  I doubt that matters much to space junk.

But now I'm OT about being OT.


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Dec 12, 2016)

More details












http://www.ard.jaxa.jp/eng/research/kite/kite.html


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Feb 1, 2017)

An experimental 'space junk' collector designed to pull rubbish from the Earth's orbit has run into trouble, Japanese scientists said on Tuesday







JAXA says it is not sure if the tether, made from thin wires of stainless steel and aluminium, successfully deployed or not.

JAXA will continue trying to remedy the situation before the cargo ship is expected to reenter the atmosphere on Saturday, the agency added.
https://phys.org/news/2017-01-japan-space-junk-collector.html

The trouble comes just two weeks after JAXA had to abort a mission intended to use a mini-rocket to send a satellite into orbit after the spacecraft stopped sending data to ground control shortly after liftoff.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/20...llest-satellite-carrying-rocket/#.WJJwHxmLSUk

A pricey ultra-high-tech satellite launched in February last year to search for X-rays emanating from black holes and galaxy clusters but was ultimately abandoned after researchers said contact with it had been lost.
http://www.ibtimes.com/japans-jaxa-abandons-hitomi-its-x-ray-satellite-went-incommunicado-2361557




*HOW THE 'SPACE JUNK' COLLECTOR WORKS*
The vessel uses a so-called electrodynamic tether, which is made from thin wires of stainless steel and aluminium.

One end of the strip will be attached to debris big enough to damage working equipment.

The electricity generated by the tether as it swings through the Earth's magnetic field is expected to have a slowing effect on the space junk.

This should, scientists say, pull it into a lower and lower orbit.


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## AsRock (Feb 1, 2017)

There is a load of crap up there and some ones gotta start getting it back even more so if the human race wants to travel to other places.

I look at that and it looks like it should say Pepsi on the side of it .


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## DeathtoGnomes (Feb 2, 2017)

AsRock said:


> There is a load of crap up there and some ones gotta start getting it back even more so if the human race wants to travel to other places.
> 
> I look at that and it looks like it should say Pepsi on the side of it .


You cant see that little blue dot on it?


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## AsRock (Feb 2, 2017)

Errm no, terrible advertising that is .


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Feb 2, 2017)

As the new administration keeps reminding us, aliens prefer coke.......


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## AsRock (Feb 2, 2017)

So much for progression then.


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Feb 2, 2017)

Microsoft is among a string of brands set to take their advertising into space.


http://spacebillboard.com/

http://www.thedrum.com/news/2015/03/11/microsoft-set-advertise-space-satellite-billboard


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## AsRock (Feb 2, 2017)

Dam, another sign that MS has to much money,  i would say i hate to have to be the person to go take it down but that be kinda cool .

Seriously  surly it be electronic so .


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## DeathtoGnomes (Feb 2, 2017)

CAPSLOCKSTUCK said:


> Microsoft is among a string of brands set to take their advertising into space.
> 
> 
> http://spacebillboard.com/
> ...


I read this as a string of beads...


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Feb 6, 2017)

Japan’s HTV supply ship fell to Earth on Sunday more than a week after leaving the International Space Station, burning up in the atmosphere after officials gave up on an experiment looking into ways to remove space junk from orbit.

The barrel-shaped spacecraft, measuring 30 feet (9.2 meters) long and 14 feet (4.4 meters) wide, departed the space station Jan. 27 after delivering more than 9,000 pounds (about 4.1 metric tons) of supplies, experiments and six lithium-ion batteries to begin a refresh of the research lab’s electrical system.

Astronauts replaced the cargo with trash inside the HTV’s pressurized cabin, and the station’s robotics system placed nine no-longer-needed batteries into the logistics craft’s external cargo bay before the departure.

The mission was Japan’s sixth HTV resupply mission — nicknamed Kounotori 6, using the Japanese word for “white stork.”

Shortly after leaving the space station, the HTV was supposed to release an electrodynamic tether measuring nearly a half-mile (700 meters) long for a research experiment to gauge such a device’s effectiveness at helping clear low Earth orbit of space junk.

But the experiment encountered problems, Japanese scientists said, and the tether was never unreeled.








One of four bolts holding the end mass — a structure fixed to the end of the tether — to the HTV’s main body apparently did not release as planned Jan. 28, according to a statement by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.

JAXA said telemetry data from the spacecraft indicated one of the bolts did not disengage after an initial release command, but data showed the bolt disconnected a few minutes later after further commands.

A couple of hours later, an attempt to extend the tether did not work. JAXA said ground controllers tried to unfurl it multiple times without success.







Electrodynamic tethers like the one carried on Kounotori 6, which had a thin coating of lubricant to encourage electric conductivity, could offer a way to de-orbit derelict rocket stages and aging satellites without expending precious propellants.

The interaction between an electrodynamic tether and the Earth’s magnetic field should generate enough energy to change an object’s orbit, eventually allowing it to burn up in the atmosphere.

Electrodynamic tethers have been tested in space before on two space shuttle missions in the 1990s. The tethers extended from the shuttle’s payload bay never reached their intended length — one tether jammed and another broke — but engineers gathered useful data to apply to future missions.

Once the tether aboard Kounotori 6 fully deployed, the rendezvous sensors and a camera on the HTV were designed to track the motion of the tether and its end mass. A field emission cathode was supposed to generate an electrical current to run through the tether to check its interaction with Earth’s magnetic field.

Despite the tether snag, JAXA said the cathode released electrons as designed, allowing experimenters to verify the performance of that piece of the tether demonstration.

Ground controllers only had about a week to conduct the tether experiment before the HTV’s scheduled re-entry Sunday.

JAXA confirmed the spacecraft plunged back into the atmosphere and burned up over the ocean around 1506 GMT (10:06 a.m. EST) Sunday.


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