With more than 8000 satellites in space, Chinese scientists use 'new technique' to clean up threatening space junk
Chinese space scientists are using an enormous space sail to reduce the orbit of the newly launched Long March 2 rocket, China’s state-owned Global Times reported on July 6. This is the first experiment ever carried out on a rocket. Russia ‘Smokescreens’ $3.7B Kerch Bridge As US Says Ukraine Could Attack Europe’s Longest Bridge This deorbiting screen developed by Institute 805 of the Shanghai Academy of Spacecraft Technology (SAST) allows a malfunctioning or ‘dead’ spacecraft to leave orbit faster to contain the spread of space debris. It was mounted on the payload capsule of the Long March-2D Y64 carrier rocket that was launched into space on June 23 and put into orbit on June 26, according to SAST. The sails are kite-like sheets that stretch up to 25 square meters and are one-tenth the diameter of a hair, according to developer SAST. Once opened, the sail increases the drag acting on the spacecraft, which is why it is also called a ‘drag’ sail, thus slowing the spacecraft out of its