Space sail to take out the trash

The space sail for an Ariane 5 launcher (pictured), for example, would is conical with a surface area of about 350 sqm and supported by an inflatable 12-meter mast Picture courtesy of EADS Astrium

Article Summary

We’ve recently examined the danger posed to future space missions by the ever increasing collection of space junk orbiting the Earth. Now a plan by a pair of space engineers to use a sail to take out the trash – or rather, bring it back to Earth – may help to stop future space missions adding to the problem of space junk.

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