The test took place on July 2: a specially designed 78-kilogram bag was simply dropped from the ISS like this
“Disposal of garbage in space has long beena problem that is usually not talked about much,” explains Cooper Reid, Bishop Program Manager at Nanoracks. For the first time, they tested the Bishop air hatch for this purpose, which is precisely responsible for “spitting out” the garbage at the place of its disposal.
So far, the astronauts aboard the station are neatdeposited their debris aboard Cygnus Freighter supply vehicles, which, once filled, were dumped back to Earth to burn up in the atmosphere. The Nanoracks system consists of a Bishop container mounted on the hatch, which can hold up to 270 kg of debris. Nanoracks ensures that their method does not produce small pieces of space debris.
The company's next step is to integrate its system into vehicles that circulate in lower orbits.
This seems like a trivial question, but sinceAs we plan new expeditions farther from our planet, having a fast and cheap way to take debris into space will be key to ensuring the viability of missions,” the company concludes.
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