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FSYigg t1_j6m80em wrote

There are no neighborhoods in space, not even in quotation marks.

This is the direct result of corporations and governments not cleaning up after themselves, which is now just normal and depressing. They've all known what would happen if they didn't take action but they all made the decision to kick that can down the road multiple times and now here we are.

How long do we have before they start offloading the blame for orbital debris on rank and file citizens like they've done with carbon emissions?

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robertojh_200 t1_j6n8gbb wrote

SpaceX implements suicide burn routines into all of their satellites so they can deorbit themselves if/when they go defunct.

This problem is highly sensationalized. Numerous companies are trying to solve the problem.

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FSYigg t1_j6nr622 wrote

Space X isn't the only entity that's been delivering payloads to orbit for the last 60 years or so, is it?

This problem isn't over-sensationalized, if anything it's been ignored.

Most of the stuff that was put up there remains up there even though it died years ago. That's the nature of putting things in orbit - They tend to stay there.

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robertojh_200 t1_j6nrc9u wrote

Which is why there are now regulations that all sats in orbit must have deorbit or maneuvering capability and several companies are investing in cleanup procedures for objects that can’t be deorbited

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FSYigg t1_j6ns8vu wrote

New regulations don't get rid of old equipment that's been stuck in orbit and is drifting around causing problems.

There are no solutions to this problem right now, and it's a big problem.

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ClearlyCylindrical t1_j6mjqu7 wrote

>This is the direct result of corporations and governments not cleaning up after themselves

Corporations? Did you even read the article?

It was a soviet spy satellite and a soviet rocket body.

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FSYigg t1_j6nqqwe wrote

Oh yeah. That must be the only thing that's up there in what they referred to as "a bad neighborhood," huh?

What happens to decommissioned satellites? Most of them are just abandoned in place and then they just slowly drift out of orbit.

I read the article. You should look past it. This isn't just the result of a handful of recent launches. This stuff has been building up in orbit for decades.

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RhesusFactor t1_j6oqfms wrote

There is the LEO sun synchronous 'neighbourhood' which has a high amount of traffic crossing near the poles that is a concern.

GEO could be considered a neighbourhood.

There is 'terrain' in space, just not what people typically think of.

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