China has successfully tested a giant 'sail' that cleans up space junk by dragging it into our atmosphere
In space nothing can keep it clean, with the total mass of all objects in orbit said to be equivalent to about 9,900 tons. To combat this, Chinese scientists have developed large sails, which they say can be used to change the orbits of dead rockets and satellites so that they burn up in Earth’s atmosphere and don’t become space junk. The 269 sq ft (25 sq m) ‘de-orbiting sail’ works by slowly slowing its malfunctioning payload until it is moved out of orbit. The debris would then burn up in Earth’s atmosphere within a few years – a process that could take more than a hundred years. The display has been developed and successfully tested by Institute 805 of the Shanghai Academy of Spacecraft Technology (SAST) in China, according to the English-language China Global Times newspaper. The news comes after the British Government announced last month that it wanted to start tackling the millions of debris in Earth orbit. This includes organizing commercial satellite launches, rewarding compan