japan building giant net for space junk: planetes cast files for redundancy

As the scientifically accurate anime, PLANETES, predicted, we’re soon going to have to do something about space junk.  Japan’s space agency is getting work under way by using an orbital version of one simple tool – the fishing net.

While the heroes of PLANETES live on a permanent space station, and like galactic janitors, collect junk and debris that threatens to damage orbital settlements.  After all, a tiny nut or bolt hitting a space installation could totally screw things up!

Right now, we haven’t colonised space, and picking out pieces from our floating homes’ flight paths isn’t needed, so the proposal to create a giant net, several kilometres in size, seems like it will do the job.

As reported by ABC News, the thin metal net would be attached to a satellite, then detached to orbit Earth, collecting junk as it goes. The net would then be drawn back towards Earth, burning up while entering the atmosphere.

We’re sure nothing could go wrong with this plan!  The space net is being developed with a 100 year old Japanese fishing net company, and will be capable of catching small particles all the way up to large objects, like rocket attachments.

It seems the first job in space will be of the orbital fisherman.  We hope they are given more respect than the poor downtrodden space janitors of PLANETES!