#removedebris

Satellite net developed in the UK collects space junk for the first time !

Debris orbiting the Earth at more than 17,000 mph has been snared by a prototype "junk hunting" satellite for the first time.

The experimental RemoveDebris satellite first released the metal object and then fired a five metre wide net to capture it from a distance of six metres.

The weight of the net will drag the toaster-sized object into the atmosphere over the next few months, where it will burn up.

Welcome to KSP Weekly! Since the start of the Space Race, Earth has gradually been surrounded by a cloud of space debris. This material ranges from dead satellites to rocket stages and accidentally dropped astronaut tools. The fear is that if we do not soon start taking this litter out of the sky, it will become a significant threat to active satellites, astronauts, and even the International Space Station (ISS). The issue of space junk is particularly pressing because a number of companies are in the planning stages of launching thousands of new satellites in the coming years.

Additionally, it has been hypothesized that a runaway chain reaction of collisions can exponentially increase the amount of debris and as a result, the likelihood of further collisions. This is known as the Kessler syndrome. Whether Kessler syndrome is already underway is under debate. Nonetheless, the measurement, mitigation, and potential removal of debris is something that some participants in the space industry are starting to take into their own hands, and several proposals have risen to tackle this growing matter.

For instance, a UK-led satellite has recently performed a successful test of a net designed to capture space debris, and there’s stunning footage to show this feat.

Called RemoveDebris, the $17-million satellite was  built by the University of Surrey in the UK. It was launched to the ISS on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in April 2018, and later in June, NASA released the small satellite – weighing 100 kilograms – from the ISS with the help of the CanadaArm robotic arm.

The event took place more than 300km above the Earth and it is part of a series of trials that will showcase different technologies to remove the redundant hardware now circling the Earth.

Aside from the net test, the satellite will also try firing a harpoon in early 2019 at a target at the end of an extendable arm – another way that debris could be de-orbited. At the end of its mission, it will also deploy a sail that will increase its atmospheric drag and bring it back into the atmosphere. Aside from the technical aspects, the challenge is to deploy this sort of mission at a low cost and at a larger scale. This is most definitely a step in the right direction and we are very excited to follow the progress of the RemoveDebris satellite and similar missions in the future.

[Development news start here]

The team is working tirelessly on Update 1.5 and at this stage, progress is quite evident. For instance, the revamped part catalog continues to grow and this week was the turn of another classic: the Probodobodyne QBE Command Module. As you can see in the image below, the art team worked on completely new texture maps using diffuse, normal and specular maps for this part. The geometry was also reworked, and as with the other command modules we’ve shown, we added a new shader to give the QBE a metallic look that shines and interacts with light. Check this gif to see the new QBE Command Module in motion to see what we’re talking about.

Click here to see the high-res image

The art team also revisited the SP-R, S and T Structural Panels. For starters, the team created a brand new texture variant for these panels, but all of them got their diffuse, normal, and specular texture maps redone. Both the silver and golden panels include the new shaders that makes them interact with light as a bright metallic part would, while the striped panels now have some cool indentations at their edges, as well as some cool erosion effects. Check these gifs to see the new silver SP-S and gold SP-R Structural Panel variants in motion.

Click here to see the high-res images

The developers have been busy fixing various known issues on both the base game and the expansion, too. For example, you’ll be glad to hear that you won’t be able to see the Sun shine through Jool anymore when it’s your active target and you’ve zoomed out the camera. The aura of the Green Giant has also been adjusted to look like it did before.

Other bugs that have been fixed include blurring for flags, icons, tutorial images at different texture settings, and a very annoying bug with decouplers in symmetry that staged them separately. The team fixed another issue that duplicated Steam Workshop items when trying to update them. These are only a few examples, and work continues each week.

[KSP Vault]

This week in the KSP Vault…

Fans of Kerbal Space Program in New York City can head to the Space & Science Festival this weekend at the Intrepid Museum to see KSP in action! Attendees can check out exhibits by NASA and meet astronauts and scientists, as well as meet DasValdez from Kerbal Space Academy, who is showcasing KSP at the festival! And if you can’t attend, he’ll be livestreaming at times on his Twitch channel as well.

Watch the Ultimate Fighter Jet Showdown by TAPE Gaming. Out of all of the winners the Fighter Jet Showdown series, who will win this King of Kings match?

How to build a SPACE SHUTTLE in Kerbal Space Program 1.4 - ShadowZone teaches us to build one of the most iconic spacecraft in history in the current version of KSP. 

PC Gamer recently published an article about ShadowZone’s impressive expertise in KSP, so we want to give Daniel a shoutout and invite you to read this article too.

Have you seen cool KSP-related content that you consider worth highlighting? Share it with us and help us give content creators more exposure. :)

Remember that you can also share and download missions on Curse, KerbalX, the KSP Forum and the KSP Steam Workshop.

That’s it for this week. Be sure to join us on our official forums, and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and Facebook. Stay tuned for more exciting and upcoming news and development updates!

Happy launchings!

*Information Source:

Amos, J. (2018, September 19). RemoveDebris: UK satellite nets 'space junk'. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-45565815

Amos, J. (2018, September 19). RemoveDebris: UK satellite nets 'space junk'. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-45565815

Dealing with space debris. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.esa.int/spaceinvideos/Videos/2017/04/Dealing_with_space_debris

O`Callaghan, J. (2018, September 19). Watch The Stunning Moment A Spacecraft Fired A Net At A Piece Of Space Junk. Retrieved from https://www.iflscience.com/space/watch-the-stunning-moment-a-spacecraft-fired-a-net-at-a-piece-of-space-junk/

Como seguramente sepáis, hay miles de objetos considerados basura espacial orbitando cerca de la tierra. El proyecto removeDEBRIS pretende llevar un microsatélite cargado de varios cubesats a la ISS para liberarlo desde ahí y que realicen varios experimentos de monitorización captura (por red y arpón) y finalmente desplegar una especie de vela para hundírse en la atmósfera para desintegrarse sin dejar rastro cuando haya temrinado los experimentos.

RemoveDebris mission tests junk-piercing harpoon in space for first time | Science & Tech News

A harpoon designed to clear harmful space junk has been tested for the first time.

The British-led RemoveDebris mission aims to tackle the problem of waste material in space left by rockets and other deployments.

Scientists say between 16,000 and 20,000 pieces of junk have been tracked orbiting the Earth.

The test was carried out by Airbus and involved a harpoon piercing through sample pieces…