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Space is full of crap

gizmodo.com — The European Space Agency has just released images showing all the satellites and human-made debris now orbiting space as a result of 51 years of launching stuff to space since Sputnik launched in 1957.

Who dugg this? Made popular Apr 11, 2008

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  • plkadotsmandy, on 04/11/2008, -2/+44Interesting, maybe we'll build a dump on Mars and make a mess of another planet.
  • austynhawkins, on 04/11/2008, -1/+37I'm sure we will do something about it after the first space shuttle destroyed from adrift debris
  • inactive, on 04/11/2008, -0/+28Why Mars? The moon is closer to us...
  • MookiBlaylock, on 04/11/2008, -3/+26That is disturbing to say the least
  • yokozuka, on 04/11/2008, -0/+21One thing, which I said in the comments at Giz: the sats and debris are not to scale, but the density is high now and it will be extremely high in the future, enough to seriously jeopardize future missions.

    NASA or ESA are not saying there's going to be a collision between a satellite and the shuttle (although it's not entirely out of the question) anytime soon, but the micro-debris is a real danger that affect current space missions and will affect future ones even more.
  • wonderchemist, on 04/11/2008, -2/+22Of course it is, when an astronaut goes doo-doo on the ISS do you think they just keep it on board for 6 months?
  • AlxRymnd914, on 04/11/2008, -0/+19Looks like a job for Wall-E
  • nahsrocketeer75, on 04/11/2008, -2/+21Dugg for the headline alone.
  • TheWindBlows, on 04/11/2008, -0/+19Well we had to fill the vacuum with something.
  • whyufail, on 04/11/2008, -0/+15Or rather, space flight will just be deemed "unfeasible" anymore after that point and all NASA funding will be diverted to Hanna Montana movies.
  • StolenLamp, on 04/11/2008, -0/+14We are so badass that we managed to make a ***** spanning the perimeter of our planet...
  • vehxFX, on 04/11/2008, -0/+12no.... its brilliant. Don't you see? We are going to stop global warming by blocking out the sun!
  • robbh66, on 04/11/2008, -2/+13And evil scientists should mount lasers on shark's heads- but some things just aren't practical.
  • tiggerthedigger, on 09/05/2008, -2/+11Mars is the next landfill?
  • inactive, on 04/11/2008, -1/+10NASA should mount lasers on the space shuttle and go out and shoot down all the ones that are no longer in use.
  • cybervike, on 04/11/2008, -0/+9This sounds like a job for Mega Maid.
  • inactive, on 04/11/2008, -0/+9you should see my next door neighbor's backyard
  • pritchypritch, on 04/11/2008, -0/+8with space-filler that's how.
  • Woecip, on 04/11/2008, -0/+8No..."its full of stars."
  • WolverineBlue, on 04/11/2008, -1/+9I can just see the neocon take on this: "Really there isn't any evidence to support the claim that space debris is a man made phenomenon, not all the science is in. Space debris could be a naturally occurring cycle for Earth, and it would be far to bothersome to take even the slightest effort to mitigate this problem."

    (Also, has anyone else seen the anime "Planetes?")
  • archlich, on 04/11/2008, -0/+8I recognize your jovial comment, but for anyone else that are interested in what really happens: They [astronauts] poop in bags, compressed, and taken back down to earth for disposal.
  • Quick2822, on 04/11/2008, -0/+7Not only have we trashed our planet below the atmosphere, we've trashed it outside of it as well.

    On the bright side, maybe we'll start seeing cool explosions in the night sky when they collide more and more? Maybe not. I'm just a dreamer.
  • SpectreFire, on 04/11/2008, -0/+7Where's Waldo....'s satellite?
  • inactive, on 04/11/2008, -0/+72212: Astronaut Lt. Jeff Vader, coming from mission on the solar system outer rim, shouts "that's no Earth! That's a space station!" Then proceeds to serve his hot penne all'arrabbiata on a wet tray.
  • TomPhoolery, on 04/11/2008, -0/+7Why use a good planet like Mars when you can just launch the trash to Venus and get it burned up in the atmosphere?
  • whyufail, on 04/11/2008, -0/+7Space isn't like a big truck, its a series of tubes, and those tubes can be filled.
  • breadfred, on 04/11/2008, -1/+8Yeah I just hope that is sarcasm as otherwise you just create more junk in smaller entities
  • yokozuka, on 04/11/2008, -0/+6The problem is not with the stuff that falls back. The problem is with the debris that stays. Those computer simulations take into account the pull of the Earth, moon and other planets. They are accurate and the models don't lie.

    There have been incidents before and NASA takes this problem very seriously, so does the ESA. The article is no more "alarmist" than the reports issued by those agencies, which are backed with real data and computer models. The known debris is taken into consideration for missions, but the problem is all the micro-debris which is not accounted for and which will affect future missions.

    It's not alarmist. It's very real.
  • Quick2822, on 04/11/2008, -1/+6Though, I guess I should have added, those graphics are somewhat misleading. If the graphics were to scale, it would be significant. But those dots are being shown at thousands of times their actual size relative to the Earth.
  • inactive, on 04/11/2008, -0/+5 Other guy: What? Jeff Vader runs the Death Star?
    Darth Vader: No, Jeff … no, I run the Death Star.
    Other guy: You Jeff Vader?
    Darth Vader: No, I’m Darth Vader.
    Other guy: Are you his brother? Could you get his autograph?
    Darth Vader: I can’t get his … no, I’m Jeff … all right, I’m Jeff Vader! I’m Jeff Vader!
    Other guy: Could I have your autograph?
    Darth Vader: No, ***** off or I’ll kill you with a tray! Give me penne all’arrabiata or you shall die! And you and everyone in this canteen! Death by tray it shall be!
  • andrew1210, on 04/11/2008, -0/+5I think there's a good reason to be worried
  • inactive, on 04/11/2008, -1/+6Obviously lasers would leave no debris since the targets would be disintegrated, unless it's a giant bag of popcorn.
  • robbh66, on 04/11/2008, -0/+5We could always launch britney, paris, and lindsey into orbit- they suck just about as much....and one of them probably has a luggage combination of 1 2 3 4 5.
  • renatoc8, on 04/11/2008, -1/+6I was gona say "burning all that stuff in the sun would be terrible for the atmosphere"... but then i thought about it.. lol
  • lolology, on 04/11/2008, -0/+5This will give scientists more insight as to how our Earth and its population evolved, perhaps from the debris and feces of previous civilizations in space?
  • RogerStrong, on 04/11/2008, -0/+5You see a dump, I see a resource.

    Once we get a serious presence in space, that "junk" is worth more than it's weight in gold. It's metals and componants that you don't have to expensively launch.

    Satellites in geosynchronous orbit get boosted to a slightly higher orbit at the end of their life. Often the satellite is still working just fine, but it's run low on station-keeping fuel, and must use the rest to get to the retirement orbit. The retirement orbit is a true junkyard - and some day it'll be a great resource.
  • blackjack75, on 04/11/2008, -0/+5DISPOSAL? Come on "Compressed Russian astronaut's poop" would sell like hot-cakes on e-bay. And then they dare to complain about their budget?
  • DavidTTT, on 04/11/2008, -0/+5Thats not trash, thats our earth wall to keep the illegal aliens out,they want on our earth they should sign up at the U.N first.
  • inactive, on 04/11/2008, -1/+6Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist, but that's just peanuts to space.
  • tnvwboy, on 04/11/2008, -0/+5Anyone else think that last picture looked like something from a FPS?

    PEW PEW!
  • Radan, on 04/11/2008, -0/+4My God, it's full of stars!
  • ArkAngel06, on 04/11/2008, -1/+5He is an idiot, but not for that reason.....He's trying to sound like a know it all, by saying the title is misleading.....It's a figure of speech.

    Get a life.
  • crazyhorse13, on 04/11/2008, -0/+4You, umm put stuff in it.
  • Shaman760, on 04/11/2008, -1/+5Filthy ***** humans.
  • robbh66, on 04/12/2008, -0/+4Apparently you think the vaporization point of the alloys they use in spacecraft is quite low...
  • maskedm564, on 04/11/2008, -0/+4I clicked on the satelites list. We have satelites in space call SKYNET!?!? Not good! Not good!!!
  • Lazdude, on 04/11/2008, -0/+4We havn't even cleaned up the Earth's junk yet, now we gotta worry about space too...
  • loneBoat, on 04/11/2008, -0/+4http://science.nasa.gov/Realtime/jtrack/3d/JTrack3 ...
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