766
(page 2) 29 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[-] autotldr@lemmings.world 5 points 1 year ago

This is the best summary I could come up with:


The US government has issued its first ever fine to a company for leaving space junk orbiting the Earth.

The Federal Communications Commission fined Dish Network $150,000 (£125,000) for failing to move an old satellite far enough away from others in use.

Space junk is made up bits of tech that are in orbit around the Earth but are no longer in use, and risk collisions.

Officially called space debris, it includes things like old satellites and parts of spacecraft.

"The more things we have in orbit, the more risk there is of collisions, causing high-speed debris," said Dr Megan Argo, senior lecturer in astrophysics at the University of Central Lancashire.

"Even a paint chip… coming in the wrong direction at orbital speed, which is 17,500 miles an hour [could] hit an astronaut doing a spacewalk.


The original article contains 402 words, the summary contains 136 words. Saved 66%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!

[-] cosmicrookie@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

I don't know nt get it. They only moved it half the distance that they needed, because it ran out of fuel. It's a relatively short distance and I'd expect space movement to keep moving, after I initiated, as there is no friction. Why did it stop moving once they were headed away?

[-] IndefiniteBen@leminal.space 3 points 1 year ago

186 miles further from Earth, but at the end of its life in 2022 had moved it only 76 miles after it lost fuel.

My emphasis.
The satellite is orbiting Earth and to move further away from something you're orbiting, you need to raise your orbit. This basically means you need to go faster in the direction of orbit in order to move further from what you're orbiting.

load more comments (3 replies)
load more comments
view more: ‹ prev next ›
this post was submitted on 03 Oct 2023
766 points (100.0% liked)

Technology

59554 readers
2825 users here now

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.


Our Rules


  1. Follow the lemmy.world rules.
  2. Only tech related content.
  3. Be excellent to each another!
  4. Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
  5. Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
  6. Politics threads may be removed.
  7. No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
  8. Only approved bots from the list below, to ask if your bot can be added please contact us.
  9. Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed

Approved Bots


founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS