Russia's huge Phobos-Grunt Mars probe is the latest dead satellite to become space junk — the kind of trash clogging the orbital corridors around Earth that is the subject of a new 3D film soon to hit the big screen.
"Space Junk 3D" is set to open Jan. 13, an IMAX 3D movie crafted to spotlight the threat from human-made orbital rubbish. The film hopes to raise awareness of the increasingly worrisome debris dilemma — an educational step to help ensure the future of space exploration and satellite communications.
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Blending scientific information with state-of-the-art, 3D visualizations, "Space Junk 3D" takes the viewer from the depths of Meteor Crater in Arizona to the growing spread of Earth-orbiting debris — a troubling legacy of more than five decades of multiple nations lofting space hardware.
"After half a century of space exploration we're now suddenly faced with what has long been a staple of science fiction ... an orbiting junkyard of cast-off space debris," notes popular British character actor Tom Wilkinson, who narrates the film.
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"Space Junk 3D" is to be shown in science centers around the globe, with the movie's premiere scheduled for Jan. 13th at the Omnimax Dome in St. Louis.
De-cluttering ideas
In the film, a number of ideas for ridding space of leftover debris are showcased.
One idea is to use an electrodynamic tether that would de-orbit a spacecraft by generating drag through interactions between currents in the tether and the Earth's magnetic field. This increased drag would lower the spacecraft out of orbit until it re-enters the Earth's atmosphere.
Another scheme involves capturing debris with a space net, which, like the tether, could be powered using the Earth's magnetosphere. Also, lasers are highlighted that could one day sweep space, slowing down smaller objects and causing them to tumble into the atmosphere.
In addition, solar sails could someday be a part of newly launched satellites, a resource held in reserve and ready to help spacecraft de-orbit once their work above Earth is completed.
As for spacecraft tumbling out of orbit, they burn up in the atmosphere regularly. However, not all spacecraft-related pieces perish upon re-entry and can reach the Earth's surface at very high speeds. Luckily, 70 percent of the Earth's surface is water, greatly reducing the chances that a piece of space junk will descend into a populated area.
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