Space junk has been a major problem when it comes to space travel in the recent past and it has been the main reason behind spacecraft sustaining considerable damage.
According to an estimate, around 9000 satellites have been launched in the orbit till now with 5000 among them not functional anymore.
As a result, they have been stranded in orbit where they have become a problem for the operational ones. However, the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology seems to have found a solution to the problem that they announced was successful in removing space junk.
The Chinese scientists said that they have successfully used a ‘drag sail’ to push a recently launched Long March 2 rocket out of orbit.
This was the first time that they tried this technique and they said that the kite-like structure was effective in completing the mission of removing space junk.
This will be a low-cost solution when it comes to space junks as the technology can be easily created and it will be effective on almost all kinds of satellites.
As the material used is lightweight and flexible, it can also be placed inside a spacecraft easily for future use during space travel.
Earlier this year, a piece of a Chinese space rocket from 2014 crashed into the moon and this gave rise to a lot of criticism from various countries when it comes to China’s handling of space junk.
A similar incident happened with the International Space Station, but It was able to avoid any collision.
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