Moscow: Scientists from the Russian Siberian Aerospace University have invented engines for spacecraft that burn as soon as they leave their orbit and enter the atmosphere.
According to Qatar News Agency, the scientists noted that the service life of small spacecraft is 3-5 years, and most of them are not equipped with special devices to remove them from orbit and get rid of them permanently, so they remain in space for several years, posing a real danger to operating spacecraft, including the International Space Station.
Professor Vladimir Nazarov from the Department of Aircraft Engines said solving the problem of space debris is of great importance for space navigation, adding that they started inventing small-sized braking systems of a special type that would reduce the speed of small spacecraft, and transfer them to low orbits, where they enter the dense layers of the atmosphere under the influence of gravity and burn.
According to the university’s data, these systems use environmentally friendly fuel, oxygen and methane, and the displayed engine was made using 3D printing technology from a heat-resistant alloy.