Bob Cringely proposes launching a space garbage scow to clean up the 18,000 pieces of space junk that have collected in Earth orbit.

Cringely thinks that a single garbage scow could clean up all of it – provided no more junk is added – in four decades. Because time to completion is important (and we will continue to add junk), two or three of these robo-collectors would be a good idea.

I’m afraid that, like adding gates at a dangerous rail crossing or a control light at an intersection, this might be the sort of project that gets launched only after a disaster. That would be a shame. Orbital space junk is so obviously dangerous that being proactive with this problem seems like a no-brainer.

Especially if we are predicting a near future with more humans in space.

UPDATE:

I agree with Cringely that the problem is important and needs attention. I disagree with his proposed solution. Instead of moving a very heavy vehicle around trying to intercept each individual piece of debris, why not use a shotgun approach? We should engineer tiny spacebots that can be programmed to intercept junk, and then push it into the atmosphere.

The downside, of course, is that you are literally put more stuff out into space. The best failsafe – if the bot misses its intended target, it throws itself into the atmosphere.