By Jun Ji-hye
Korea is moving to develop technologies to remove space debris in Earth's orbit, joining international efforts to deal with the potential danger to orbital vehicles with humans aboard.
The need for coping with this threat has drawn attention especially in light of the defunct Tiangong-1 space station, which fell to Earth recently, with concerns areas inhabited by people could be struck by falling debris from the space station.
On Wednesday, the Ministry of Science and ICT held a meeting between industry, universities and institutes in Seoul to discuss technologies to monitor the rising threat of space junk. The meeting also discussed measures of tracking and removing space debris orbiting the Earth.
During the meeting, the first of its kind, participants discussed the global trends of such technologies and Korea's technology capabilities.
Participants suggested the establishment of a space surveillance radar system and the development of a janitor satellite tasked with cleaning up space junk.
The radar system would be used to monitor and track space debris above the Korean Peninsula to accurately predict its falling time and location. Such a system would also help the nation operate its satellites more stably by monitoring any danger of space debris.
The janitor satellite would be equipped with robotic arms or nets to capture space junk.
"The danger of space debris is unavoidable as technology is advancing," said Choi Won-ho, a ministry official. "We will review measures of securing technologies to respond to space danger in order to operate satellites stably and ensure the safety of the people."
According to NASA, all space debris travels at speeds up to 28,000 mph, "fast enough for a relatively small piece of orbital debris to damage a satellite or a spacecraft."
Korea is moving to develop technologies to remove space debris in Earth's orbit, joining international efforts to deal with the potential danger to orbital vehicles with humans aboard.
The need for coping with this threat has drawn attention especially in light of the defunct Tiangong-1 space station, which fell to Earth recently, with concerns areas inhabited by people could be struck by falling debris from the space station.
On Wednesday, the Ministry of Science and ICT held a meeting between industry, universities and institutes in Seoul to discuss technologies to monitor the rising threat of space junk. The meeting also discussed measures of tracking and removing space debris orbiting the Earth.
During the meeting, the first of its kind, participants discussed the global trends of such technologies and Korea's technology capabilities.
Participants suggested the establishment of a space surveillance radar system and the development of a janitor satellite tasked with cleaning up space junk.
The radar system would be used to monitor and track space debris above the Korean Peninsula to accurately predict its falling time and location. Such a system would also help the nation operate its satellites more stably by monitoring any danger of space debris.
The janitor satellite would be equipped with robotic arms or nets to capture space junk.
"The danger of space debris is unavoidable as technology is advancing," said Choi Won-ho, a ministry official. "We will review measures of securing technologies to respond to space danger in order to operate satellites stably and ensure the safety of the people."
According to NASA, all space debris travels at speeds up to 28,000 mph, "fast enough for a relatively small piece of orbital debris to damage a satellite or a spacecraft."
