Xref: utzoo sci.space:8161 sci.space.shuttle:1898
Newsgroups: sci.space,sci.space.shuttle
Path: utzoo!henry
From: henry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer)
Subject: Re: Stopping Space and Light Pollution.
Message-ID: <1988Nov11.213348.27877@utzoo.uucp>
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
References: <809@cmx.npac.syr.edu> <1068@esunix.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 11 Nov 88 21:33:48 GMT

In article <1068@esunix.UUCP> bpendlet@esunix.UUCP (Bob Pendleton) writes:
>Question: Liquid water released in orbit tends to convert into a cloud
>of water vapor and ice cristals. The ice crystals later sublime to
>water vapor. Could large clouds of ice crystals be used to "sweep"
>orbits of small debris particles? 

Unfortunately, you need to sweep a spherical shell, not just a single orbit,
since anything at the same altitude will intersect your orbit.  (Ignoring
non-circular orbits for the moment...)  That's a lot of volume.

You also have to be careful about the possibility of making the problem
worse.  Hypervelocity impacts can behave in peculiar ways.  It's quite
possible for an impact to break both objects into pieces without doing
much to decelerate or vaporize either one.  Breaking the existing
debris up into smaller bits is the *last* thing we want to do.
-- 
Sendmail is a bug,             |     Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
not a feature.                 | uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry henry@zoo.toronto.edu