Foam News: Space Clean-ups

At eFoam, we keep track of the many innovations in the foam sector, in the UK and across the globe. One that caught our attention was the Russian space start-up StartRocket, whose proposed invention – sticky foam "spiderwebs" – sought to address the problem of space junk.

The problem of space debris

Over the decades, space exploration has left kit and many years' worth of redundant satellites orbiting Earth. This may not seem an immediate problem to those of us on land, but the debris poses an increasing risk to future astronauts, and with consumer space travel developing through companies like Virgin Galactic, it needs clearing. Experts estimate around half a million man-made objects orbit our planet, from retired equipment and satellites to tiny specks of paint, and even the smallest can pose a catastrophic risk to spacecraft moving at incredible speeds. This is where StartRocket's foam-based concept – a closely guarded, sticky foam material – would be used to collect and de-orbit the junk.

How the foam concept would work

"ScoopSat", the company's planned rocket-powered satellite, was to be connected to a foam 3D printer. Officially termed the Test Foam Sat, its printer would quickly create a polymeric foam to spray a junk object at close range. To de-orbit the junk, StartRocket counted on the foam to increase the debris's surface area and so its aerodynamic drag, making it easier to re-enter the atmosphere and burn up faster.

The Test Foam Sat was intended as the first step in StartRocket's journey. If all went to plan, the company hoped to develop a larger satellite up to 50 metres in diameter, able to spray strings of foam into a "web" of sticky spheres up to 150 metres across, essentially a spider web for space junk. At the time, StartRocket was working on the polymeric foam itself, with the aim of making it widely available for other organisations to run similar projects if initial tests succeeded. Its early development was backed by Kaspersky, a Russian IT security company, with the remainder privately crowdfunded. With no international agreement to tackle space junk, it was hoped the work would prove successful and again demonstrate foam's versatility and research credentials.

For more on foam's frontier applications, see our guides to the latest innovations in polyurethane foam and foam in aircraft innovation. To suggest a foam innovation or news story you've seen, please contact us.

Frequently asked questions

How could foam clean up space junk?

Russian start-up StartRocket proposed a satellite-mounted 3D printer that sprays a sticky polymeric foam onto a debris object at close range. The foam increases the object's surface area and so its aerodynamic drag, making it easier to re-enter the atmosphere and burn up faster.

Why is space junk a problem?

Experts estimate around half a million man-made objects orbit Earth, from retired satellites to tiny paint specks, and even the smallest can pose a catastrophic risk to fast-moving spacecraft – a growing concern as consumer space travel develops.

What was StartRocket's foam satellite?

A planned rocket-powered satellite, nicknamed "ScoopSat" and officially the Test Foam Sat, connected to a foam 3D printer. The company envisaged a larger satellite, up to 50 metres across, able to spray strings of foam into a sticky "web" up to 150 metres in diameter.