Russia built a shield capable of crushing cosmic waste

Russian Space Agency Roscosmos has invented a shield system to protect satellites from attacks from space objects.

Rosmoscos has filed a patent with the Rospaten Intellectual Property Office. According to Sputnik, the device is a double-layer shield made of aluminum plates, the outer surface covered with staggered hard alloy conical spikes. The gaps between the cones are filled with carbon alloy with added carbon fiber. This is a synthetic material used to make spacecraft and rockets.

New shield helps protect satellites from space junk.(Photo: CCO)

The mechanism of action of this device is to destroy flying objects in space when a collision occurs. The debris will disperse in different directions, touching the cone base of the protective shield. According to the researchers, the system will be designed to be 10% lighter than conventional flat shields.

Currently satellites and spacecraft are using many different shield systems to defend against 'cosmic waste'. Even the International Space Station (ISS) also changes the orbit when the risk of explosion of dense objects flying in space.

Earlier, Roscosmos invented a self-destructive satellite to limit the increase in the amount of artificial objects floating in space. Accordingly, the satellite will self-destruct under the influence of outer space factors, mainly the heating. The invention of the new satellite requires the use of materials with sublimation properties, that is, bypassing the liquefaction stage, directly transforming from solid state to gaseous state without turning into liquid when heated.

According to Roscosmos, in the space near the Earth there are from 600 to 700,000 floating debris objects. In 2016, Roscosmos experts concluded that if the problem of space waste is not solved, the space exploration may become stagnant because all orbits near the Earth are trapped in waste equipment. waste.