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A comment on New Calculation Finds we are close to the Kessler Syndrome [video]. Parent comment

Re:New Calculation Finds we are close to the Kessler Syndrom... by lupusreal on Thursday November 21, 2024 @05:34AM (#42202884)
A large mass of Whipple shields.

The "clearing a path" idea is inane, but we do know how to absorb hypervelocity debris impacts while generating a net negative amount of debris.

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Re:New Calculation Finds we are close to the Kessler Syndrom... by ben_w on Thursday November 21, 2024 @06:20AM (#42203147)
Whipple shields fragment, don't they? They slow stuff down enough to not be a hazard to the thing being shielded, but if the goal is mess-reduction I don't see how that will help?

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Whipple-shield-concept_f...

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Re:New Calculation Finds we are close to the Kessler Syndrom... by lupusreal on Thursday November 21, 2024 @09:33AM (#42204655)
The force of the impact effectively vaporizes part of the shield and the debris. Eventually the shield will be structurally unstable swiss cheese, but that can be modeled and the shield deorbited before it starts to fall apart.
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