r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/Moooses20 • Mar 06 '25

GIF RemoveDEBRIS satellite harpoons space junk in a plan to clean Earth's orbit

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u/-Yeanaa Mar 06 '25

I'm assuming the force created by the harpoon gun is counteracted with a similar opposite propulsion on the other side of the satellite

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u/PhysicsGamer Mar 06 '25

I work at the company which designed, built and operated this spacecraft.

No propulsion was used during the experiment, the harpoon and target were located close to inline to the centre of gravity of the craft so torques were low.

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u/SmashRobertson Mar 06 '25

Very cool to have a response directly from the source!

Does that mean the entire spacecraft must rotate to aim the harpoon vs aiming just the harpoon?

And presumably the mass of the spacecraft vs the harpoon prevents the acceleration of the harpoon from pushing it in the opposite direction by any notable amount?

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u/PhysicsGamer Mar 06 '25

Yes that is correct!