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Robots to clear Earth's orbit
Hundreds of satellites orbit our planet today and the number is increasing at an accelerating rate. The geostationary orbit, a fixed distance from earth surface, enables satellites to remain at a fixed location in comparison to earth’s surface, only occurs at somewhere around 22000 miles (around 34000 kilometers) above earth. Due to the evident advantages of putting satellites at such an orbit, this orbitting distance gets more and more crowded as new satellites are added. Currently there are around 200 dead satellites that crowds this orbit and the number is expected to increase many times in the coming years, according to the observer magazine of UK.
To solve this problem, new robots are being considered by German Aerospace Center. These robts, although the design is not clear at the moment, will either push these satellites to outer space or will refuel them. Such robots need to be able to stand extreme temperatures ranging between -170C (-274F) to 200C (392F). To see the original article, visit here.
Reference: guardian.co.uk
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