London, August 9 (ANI): Housekeeping spacecraft can help tackle the growing problem of space junk, according to a new research.
Marco Castronuovo, the Italian Space Agency researcher who authored the paper has proposed a scheme in which small satellites are deployed on seven-year missions, each with two robotic arms.
While one will intercept a rocket body or failed satellite and hang on, the other will affix an ion-engine thruster that will drive the debris out of orbit.
Castronuovo claims that the scheme could inexpensively remove five to 10 such objects per year of operation.
"In our opinion the problem is very challenging and it's quite urgent as well," the BBC quoted Marco Castronuovo, the Italian Space Agency researcher who authored the paper, as saying.
"The time to act is now; as we go farther in time we will need to remove more and more fragments," he told BBC News.
Space debris presents a risk not only to other man-made satellites in orbit, but occasionally also to the International Space Station and manned space missions. (ANI)
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