NASA: Toss Space Junk Out The Door | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

 Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-04.22.24

Airborne-Unlimited-04.16.24

 Airborne-FlightTraining-04.17.24 Airborne-AffordableFlyers-04.18.24

Airborne-Unlimited-04.19.24

Join Us At 0900ET, Friday, 4/10, for the LIVE Morning Brief.
Watch It LIVE at www.airborne-live.net

Tue, Nov 21, 2006

NASA: Toss Space Junk Out The Door

Sometimes, Littering IS The Way To Go

This seems an odd reversal of NASA policy... after years of debate over how to best dispose of unwanted detrius from the International Space Station, the agency has come up with the answer: open the door and throw it out.

If that sounds like a somewhat... inelegant... solution to the problem, you're right. That's why NASA says it only endorses the practice in certain cases.

For example, the agency will now recommend astronauts onboard the ISS toss out ammonia tanks when they've run dry, as they can't be safely brought back to Earth.

"We are only going to be doing it in rare cases under very strict conditions, and doing it because of the safety of the crew and the station," Nicholas Johnson, chief scientist for NASA's orbital debris program, told the London Daily Telegraph.

The hope is the debris will later burn up in the Earth's atmosphere... and not stay in orbit with other assorted debris and "space junk," where it could pose a danger to the station and other spacecraft.

Hmm... would it help if astronauts tossed their garbage towards the planet?

FMI: www.nasa.gov

Advertisement

More News

Airborne 04.16.24: RV Update, Affordable Flying Expo, Diamond Lil

Also: B-29 Superfortress Reunion, FAA Wants Controllers, Spirit Airlines Pulls Back, Gogo Galileo Van's Aircraft posted a short video recapping the goings-on around their reorganiz>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (04.20.24): Light Gun

Light Gun A handheld directional light signaling device which emits a brilliant narrow beam of white, green, or red light as selected by the tower controller. The color and type of>[...]

Aero-News: Quote of the Day (04.20.24)

"The journey to this achievement started nearly a decade ago when a freshly commissioned Gentry, driven by a fascination with new technologies and a desire to contribute significan>[...]

Aero-News: Quote of the Day (04.21.24)

"Our driven and innovative team of military and civilian Airmen delivers combat power daily, ensuring our nation is ready today and tomorrow." Source: General Duke Richardson, AFMC>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (04.21.24): Aircraft Conflict

Aircraft Conflict Predicted conflict, within EDST of two aircraft, or between aircraft and airspace. A Red alert is used for conflicts when the predicted minimum separation is 5 na>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Change Display

Headlines Only | Headlines w/ Teasers | View Everything

Advertisement

Top Videos

Airborne-NextGen 04.23.24: UAVOS UVH 170, magni650 Engines, World eVTOL Directory

Airborne 04.22.24: Rotor X Worsens, Airport Fees 4 FNB?, USMC Drone Pilot

Airborne 04.19.24: Boom Supersonic, Aviation Alliance, BRM Electric

See All

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2024 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC