Futureproof: Angel's Lace Clears Space Debris
Future Narrative
Since the dawn of the space age, humans have polluted the space surrounding Earth. Decades ago, international space agencies recognized the importance of clearing space debris from Earth’s orbit. Today, Weyland Aerospace Group’s space debris capture mesh, or “Angel’s Lace,” is slowly clearing the planet of space debris. Thankfully, progress is being made in concert with other collection systems, clearing the way for future human exploration.
Weyland’s Angel’s Lace system includes an array of microsatellites called Spoolers. These microsatellites are nuclear-powered with six-way maneuvering thrusters and a mechanical means of spooling out and latching onto the system’s fine carbon metallic capture mesh. Upon reaching a set orbit, the capture mesh deploys over a 16-square-mile area. Spoolers keep the mesh in relative tension as space debris is captured. The fine mesh is magnetized to increase the efficiency of collecting small metallic objects.
The capture mesh slowly collapses with the collection of more space debris. Upon capturing a significant amount of space debris, the capture mesh is maneuvered into an Earth-facing orientation and brought back into tension by Spoolers positioned along the periphery of the mesh. Debris ejects into a retrograde orbit destined to burn safely in the Earth’s atmosphere. Spooler craft then reposition the capture mesh in tension, and the process of capturing more space debris begins again.
Weyland Aerospace Group’s “Angel’s Lace” system collects space debris across a 16-square-mile area. Once captured, the debris is directed toward and ejected into a retrograde orbit, where it burns up in the Earth’s atmosphere.
Weyland “Spooler” microsatellites deploy and maintain the system’s capture mesh positioning. Spoolers comprise multidirectional nuclear thrusters, optical and positional sensors, and capture mesh management hardware.
Implications
Without systems like Angel’s Lace in operation, the human race was on a path toward being imprisoned on Earth by its ingenuity and desire to explore the universe. With each year's improvements in spacecraft design, combined with the operation of Angel’s Lace and other large space debris systems, the amount of space debris orbiting Earth is declining significantly, ensuring safe access to space for the next generation of explorers.
Signs and Signals
Astroscale: Cleaning up Space Junk for a More Sustainable Future
Futureproof is a series of occasional provocations illustrating possible future paths for technology and culture. Think postcards from the future.