University of Glasgow set to put brakes on space junk problem

Scientists at the University of Glasgow have developed a practical solution to the increasing problem of space debris. Millions of pieces of 'space junk' are orbiting the Earth as a side-effect of human exploration and exploitation of space. The pieces range from tiny fragments of bigger objects such as rocket boosters to full-sized pieces of now-defunct equipment. Working satellites and spacecraft can be damaged by collisions with debris, which can travel at velocities of several kilometres per second. http://itunes.gla.ac.uk/web/news/video/AEOLDOS720p24fps.mp4 The problem is compounded by every collision which creates more debris in turn; in 2009, the collision of a non-operational Russian satellite and a working US satellite created more than 700 pieces of debris. Patrick Harkness of the University's School of Engineering has led the development of the Aerodynamic End Of Life Deorbit System, or AEOLDOS, to help ensure that objects sent into space in future can be removed from orbit at the end of their operational cycle. AEOLDOS is lightweight, foldable 'aerobrake' which can be added to small satellites known as CubeSats before they are launched into low Earth orbit.