Eatmeingreek
Gentard
join:2001-06-29
San Francisco, CA
| reply to rchandra
Re: Interesting...but do we have the space?
There are only two zones in Earth orbit where space junk is a concern. LEO (Low Earth Orbit) which is at about 100 miles up, and Geosynchronous
orbit.
Lingus is right in that there is a whole lot of room up there, even in Earth orbit. Also, the vast majority of space junk would burn up in the atmosphere if it were ever to re-enter, so it doesn't really pose a hazard (there are exceptions) to humans on the ground.
The problem is that LEO and Geosynchronous are getting kind crowded after 50-odd years of space launches. A collision in Geosynchronous means an expensive satellite bites the dust. A collision in LEO can mean dead astronauts.
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Honey, the fairies are going to drive me to drink - My brother. |
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rchandra
Stargate S G-1 And Atlantis Fan
Premium
join:2000-11-09
14225-2105
clubs:
| reply to KrK
one little note I'd like to add to this discussion: space may be expansive, but there are practical limits too. Signal strength varies inversely with the square of distance, if I recall my physics correctly. Sure, you can orbit a satellite at a distance greater than the moon, but what kind of power are you going to need to reach it? And what kind of power will be needed to get back, which will affect the size/bulk of this satellite? And what kind of RTT delays are you willing to tolerate?
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English is a difficult enough language to interpret correctly when its rules are followed, let alone when a writer doesn't follow those rules. |
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