Dr Alice Gorman is on a mission (pdf) to preserve our heritage items in space. Plans to clean space junk orbiting Earth could result in the loss of irreplaceable historical artefacts, Gorman warns. Among the items that should recognised for their heritage value are the Vanguard One satellite, launched in 1958 and the oldest human object in space. Preserving items like these could provide evidence of a nation's presence in space or help reconstruct a history of space exploration.
posted by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese on Jan 4, 2007 - 6 comments

Discovery-Alpha dodge astronaut's space junk. Do we as a people know how to pollute, or what? A 1999 study estimated there are some 4 million pounds of space junk in low-Earth orbit. I just watched a program on The Learning Channel that also showed how the Cosmonaunts on Mir would simply jettison their waste into space...traveling 18,000 MPH!!! And I thought flipping a cigarette butt out the car window was bad....
posted by Sal Amander on Mar 14, 2001 - 11 comments