Space Junk: Building materials in outer space?

in #news2 years ago

"There are about 22,000 large objects orbiting the Earth, including working and broken satellites and bits of old rocket from past space expeditions. If you include all the equipment dropped by astronauts while floating in space and the debris from colliding satellites down to around 1cm in size, there are about one million bits of space junk in Earth’s orbit."
https://theconversation.com/space-junk-a-recycling-station-could-be-cleaning-up-in-earth-orbit-by-2050-119787

"A long-term solution is needed to clean up space. The Gateway Earth Development Group is a collection of academics from universities around the world who propose turning this potential catastrophe into a resource. By 2050, Gateway Earth – a fully operational space station with a facility to recycle old satellites and other junk – could be up and running."
https://news.yahoo.com/space-junk-recycling-station-could-110317157.html

"LEO is an orbital space junk yard. There are millions of pieces of space junk flying in LEO. Most orbital debris comprises human-generated objects, such as pieces of space craft, tiny flecks of paint from a spacecraft, parts of rockets, satellites that are no longer working, or explosions of objects in orbit flying around in space at high speeds.

Most “space junk” is moving very fast and can reach speeds of 18,000 miles per hour, almost seven times faster than a bullet. Due to the rate of speed and volume of debris in LEO, current and future space-based services, explorations, and operations pose a safety risk to people and property in space and on Earth"
https://www.nasa.gov/centers/hq/library/find/bibliographies/space_debris/

"Today, the space above Earth is the world’s “largest garbage dump,” according to NASA. It’s littered with 8,000 tons of human-made junk, called space debris, left by space agencies over the past six decades."
https://www.freethink.com/space/space-debris-solutions