Scientists from China have developed a facility to deal with dangerous space debris

Researchers from the People's Republic of China (PRC) have developed a launcher to remove dangerous space debris that orbits the Earth. This was reported on August 11 by the South China Morning Post (SCMP) newspaper.

"Chinese scientists have presented <...> a device designed to remove dangerous debris from Earth's orbit, which can also be used as a weapon. The compact and inconspicuous device is based on the principle of a powder engine dating back to China in the 9th century, but takes it into a new space age," the article says.

As noted in the publication, aerospace engineers from three Chinese cities — Shanghai, Shenyang and Nanjing - worked on the creation of this mechanism. Specialists, using a closed gas that absorbs the energy of the installation, managed to make it so that, while doing its job, it does not create smoke, does not emit light and does not vibrate when fired. This means that the space debris removal process can be started without any harmful impact to the launch platform.

The device, as specified, differs from electromagnetic railguns (mass accelerators that accelerate a conductive projectile along two metal rails using Ampere force) — it operates on an unnamed proven technology that makes it more durable and practical for orbital deployment.

"The launch vehicle was designed to solve the growing problem of orbital debris, such as thousands of idle satellites and spent rocket stages circling the Earth," one of the researchers who worked on the creation of the device is quoted as saying.

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