How LeoLabs Is Using New Tech to Target Space Junk

As the skies fill with more rockets, satellites and debris, a startup called LeoLabs is trying to bring order to the chaos. Hello World's Ashlee Vance visits to find out how their technology might keep low Earth orbit from turning into an absolute mess.
#Helloworld #space #bloombergquicktake
--------
Like this video? Subscribe: www.youtube.com...
Become a Quicktake Member for exclusive perks: www.youtube.com...
Subscribe to Quicktake Explained: bit.ly/3iERrup
QuickTake Originals is Bloomberg's official premium video channel. We bring you insights and analysis from business, science, and technology experts who are shaping our future. We’re home to Hello World, Giant Leap, Storylines, and the series powering CityLab, Bloomberg Businessweek, Bloomberg Green, and much more.
Subscribe for business news, but not as you've known it: exclusive interviews, fascinating profiles, data-driven analysis, and the latest in tech innovation from around the world.
Visit our partner channel QuickTake News for breaking global news and insight in an instant.

[@business]

Missed Ashlee's recent travels through Seattle, Vancouver and the PNW? Watch here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y6jSeHSlib2XoKc

[@antoniomax]

Ashlee Vance is SO the right sauce for these videos, what a guy, really love his narrative and pace

[@AshleeVanceHelloWorld]

thx, mate!

[@jasonosunkoya]

If we don't solve this it may well end up being the great filter issue we have been trying to solve

[@nikitaelizarov7444]

Have you watched Planetes?

[@intellectualcat4000]

I think We can build ring around the Earth from space debris and live on this ring.

[@bunnatang2081]

i found this idea is funny. it is like you try to remove mosquitoes from your country.

[@electrikoptik]

We can’t even cleanup the ocean. Now imagine cleaning up debris in space.

[@stevves4647]

Yup, we need our priorities straight

[@georgeb.3292]

We can and we do clean the oceans, thank you very much..

[@Adrian53058]

Oceans? We can't clean up land waste lol. Most of it goes to landfills.

[@Adityayadav-bd8ui]

where lies money the problem lies

[@amalxavier5102]

If we move the debris close to the atmosphere,it will burn up quickly.

[@cirusMEDIA]

The US and China also shot down stuff from space. I think the US was actually first. Its funny how he only mentions Russia.

[@Levitiy]

India as well.

[@Adyen11234]

You know what's ironic? LeoLabs would profit more the more trash there is in space, and the more trash in space the more likely we'll become trapped on Earth forever.

[@k1dicarus]

The USA did that too. Also China. The US took the courtesy to shot down a very low flying one so the debris decayed quickly but still. Kinda sus to not mention the others. 1:00 added time.

[@anodominate]

Wow!! Great to see ASHLEE VANCE is here in Bloomberg. Thanks Vance for writing the biography of ELON and presenting it in front of us.

[@kaaaah2003]

Space janitor? Space junks removal. Great job.

[@westrim]

The crew of the Toy Box didn't think so. It's rough being a minimally funded expense on the corporate ledger.

[@Justwantahover]

10:51 Similar story with the asteroids. In reality they say the asteroids are so spread out that if you were near one, all the others would not be readily apparent and too far away from each other to even be seen as big chunks in the sky (as depicted in books etc. for illustrative purposes).

[@alien9279]

Debris removal is also crucial, and difficult as heck

[@markbosky]

I love this series. Keep em coming!

[@VRtechman]

BRAINSTORM: A Satellite Accessory that sprays different types glue to force Space Junk to slow down on impact. Depending on the size of the Target Satellite and junk that may hit a satellite. Different typed glue could be assigned to be sprayed between the two possible objects scheduled to crash in between each other.

[@alien9279]

That glue in itself would be space junk. Keep in mind everything in orbit is going 20,000 kilometers and hour.

[@zuutlmna]

This is awesome!! The inklings of the beginning of Space Industry! An independent co. jumping into a big (essential service) economic demand niche, which, in turn, can evolve into other related niche revenue areas. Getting things done correctly, responsibly, in space, by private sector operations, will, in my opinion, seriously help economic situation on Earth in the not too distant future. -Depends on how quickly space industry begins to kick-in. Economic situation will, in my opinion, boost quality middle and professional level income segment of overall economy, which has been gradually declining. Although I'm being overly optimistic here(?), but my hope is that industry in space will add huge numbers of well paying high-tech./engineering, and other science R&D, manufacturing jobs on Earth which will directly and indirectly support what happens, profitably, in space. And who knows?! Maybe in time, with enough service subscribership, they may be able to expand their in-space regions of operations to include the Moon, the Lagrange region, Mars and so on. -A lot of room for growth.

[@willienelsongonzalez4609]

Without a doubt, tracking all the debris and predicting likely collisions is extremely valuable for governments, companies and us as the end user. I hope there is a realistic attempt to collect or at least reduce the debris that’s out there as well. How? Well that’s for this and the next generation of scientists to figure out.

[@deforged]

curious, why did you call it "Elon Musk's SpaceX" but not "Daniel Ceperley's LeoLabs" ?

[@Rob-sf4xy]

Well leo labs has 2 founders and musk has 2/3 companies

[@georgeb.3292]

Cause Musk's name is clickbait.

[@3l237]

sadly we're obssesed with celebrities

[@audience2]

Who is Daniel Ceperley?

[@The145Club]

Anyone considered how to control the ones who may at some time intentionally hit other objects and more up there??!

[@babylebron6119]

5:40

[@TeddyKrimsony]

ESA is working on satellite catchers and deorbiters, all new satellites have a small deorbiting rocket.

[@SHAUNAQNARINDRA]

Hope Sandra Bullock comes back safely

[@okgoodgame]

oh please

[@LoanwordEggcorn]

That's really cool. Thanks Ashlee.

[@mrki731]

should someone clean this mess???

[@TheIncomparableGolfer]

We need some Space Pirates to mine all that reusable metal 😉

[@Melki]

@@TheIncomparableGolfer some cowboy bebop stuff there

[@SoCalFreelance]

@@TheIncomparableGolfer That's what I was thinking. Gather up all this unused aerospace grade material and send it to the moon or mars to be recycled. Makes no sense to let it burn up in the atmosphere. Considerable resources were used to get it into space in the first place!

[@kedrednael]

@@SoCalFreelance It does make sense to let it burn up in the atmosphere because you need tons of fuel and expensive spacecraft to bring it to the moon or mars. Kinda a sunk cost fallacy.

[@SoCalFreelance]

@@kedrednael No. The biggest fuel expenditure is exerted escaping Earth's gravity. Ever notice how those big booster engines are only used within the Earth's atmosphere?

[@vblaas246]

As a species, we really don't deserve being among the planets yet. Clearly. Shouldn't stop us from trying ofcourse.

[@binaryruffian7538]

Very interesting, humanity is going to start visiting and living in low earth orbit pretty soon

[@thomasciarlariello3228]

Instead of a brute force mentality of vertical flight into orbit one should consider spaceplanes modified from hypersonic missile technologies. Of March 2019 for an engineering conference held inside MIT's Electrical Engineering Dept. on Vassar Street of Cambridge, MA. by invite only I gave a presentation on nuclear fusion aerospace propulsion based on my peer viewed articles published during the 1990s by Dr. Mitchell Swartz who is affiliated with MIT.

[@verenami]

super interesting & great editing!

[@millen_basquiat]

There is already one in Switzerland doing the same thing for years but hey, the more the merrier.

[@AlwaGordon]

Lol dude looks like he just left the club after being at the beach all day

[@garogaryvoskorian577]

Instead of these countries who are battling for nuclear weapon will clean ocean and space that'd be better

[@xsto01]

Wow i just ha an idea. maybe you can use the snowplow method to get rid of space debrie. Big heavydutie Metal sheet angeld so the space debrie gets knocked into the atmosphere.???

[@aquariussoda007]

Thats over 6000 alerts a min , and increasing. Bring order to chaos would be to clean up space.

[@rishabhpandey3264]

is there any way to clean up this mess? could we used some sort of nets to catch the debris? is there any way to push that debris out into deep space? would that be safer?

[@stevves4647]

A net?

[@nabayanchakma2419]

You plan to catch a frikin chunk of metal whizzing past at kms per second with a net...ok

[@babylebron6119]

Everything in low orbit will come back to earth in a few years ... 15-20 years something like this

[@k1dicarus]

What Lebron said. The lower the orbit, the higher the drag from the atmosphere. So if you push the debris anywhere, you push it into the atmosphere. Only GEO synch sattelites are pushed away from earth, to keep the GEO synch orbit clean.

[@kedrednael]

The problem is things move really fast. That's why they stay in space. If you try to randomly catch some debris with a net it just explodes violently from the collision. Just putting a big net in orbit is like those bad debris creating anti-satellite weapon tests. So you need to match the orbit to catch each piece of debris gently. This costs fuel. That means more cost and more mass, which means you need a bigger rocket to launch the debris collecting satellite. Bigger rocket is more expensive too. It's still expensive to launch stuff into space, so it's just not worth the money doing the clean-up that way at the moment. One way to get rid of the need to match orbits is: shoot at the debris with a laser. A laser can ablate some of the surface of the target, acting like a thruster. If you fire at it from the right direction you can slow the debris down which makes it go lower. But putting lasers like that in space is a political problem (and also expensive of course). If for example the US did it, Russia, India and China could see it as a threat. Those lasers could easily destroy optics of spy satellites for example, or perhaps damage solar panels too. Satellites launched now should have the capability to reenter the atmosphere after their mission stops. Pushing the low-earth orbit debris into deep space costs more fuel than pushing it into the atmosphere where it burns up.

[@Mottbox]

This strikes me so odd. Satellites are what will track all satellites and junk.

[@rude1992]

Have to make something to get the old satalites to the moon. Make a satalite graveyard. Then you have building materials for moonbase

[@loathsomecomics2736]

An excellent idea! 👽🤙

[@bizsmartworld6137]

Will be useful to clean space junk and debris.

[@slevinshafel9395]

if have so muc debries why dont happen the domino event? I mean the stage where cant even get the head up because have samll debries come at 27.000km/h. x27 times more speed than averege bullet.

[@wizardmilk6270]

Project Kuiper might as well be called Project Kessler, TBH.

[@chatvendertechnology]

Our life is risky

[@Rkcuddles]

Wish you explained why we need to keep observing the same junk. Can’t wee calculate the trajectories as far into the future as we want? After all, the startup is selling a subscription for detecting close calls 6 days in advance. So surely, “only seeing it twice a day” is actually enough? What am I missing?

[@yourmommashouse]

@4:25 Say what now? Bring it where? Lol

[@Dr.Kraig_Ren]

They didn't 'invented' tracking for debris. People already track pieces upto a centimetre on orbit and calculate the trajectory. They might have improved it to track smaller ones.

[@KazenoniKakuremi]

as a private company - is the difference us mil, nasa, eu, germany track and share debris less a cm now -but no private company does this

[@davidwalterhughes2258]

Hello from David Hughes. Bonney lake WA 2022

[@letteralex]

13:33 Kiwi Space radar, hah.

[@nareshthakuri2777]

I just love the host❤️

[@dennisroland5654]

Fascinating! Thank you.

[@TheIncomparableGolfer]

The Issac Asimov talk was interesting on this topic

[@evdm7482]

Pay per nudge, can’t imagine how that would be…

[@davidwalterhughes2258]

Thanks for the video

[@positivejamesuk]

Russia - you're joking me, how many LEO objects are flying round from the western world ?

[@patriciablue2739]

What’s the Tesla up to?

[@enviromental2565]

Want to learn if any companies are working on ways to actually clear up debris.

[@MikeBalk]

wow mind blown

[@nesiansides7133]

and when it rains cable all day...

[@SGliderGuy]

Why point fingers only at Russia for targeting satellites in space when China, India, and the US have done the same?

[@justicexkxm]

I read the title and i thought mhmm this feels like paid advertisement but I watched the first 5 minutes and i thought wow this feels like paid advertisement. Im glad I watched the entire vidoa because now it feels like paid advertisement.

[@lifealchemist11]

Just like in the movie terminator. Skynet with AI, machines take over. Da da da da dum!

[@arnavsadhu]

Funny how at 1:03 bloomberg says "Russia, we're looking at you" as if only russia is doing anti sat missile tests and US, China and India didn't do anything

[@kedrednael]

It suits them to blame only the one that executed the latest sat missile test, which got quite some attention because the ISS really had to do some evasive maneuver.

[@karlkelly9005]

What about cleaning up the debris

[@bluehugh2]

So we can finally track the UFOs?

[@joecazana3969]

What is the average distance between objects that might hit and damage the ISS.?

[@LostAnFound]

Get their way? Um, I want those highly regulated, useful, and controlled satellites.

[@MauroRincon]

Colombian engineer!

[@TheMooStashe]

Not sure if that's really a solution... Feels more like something that's delaying the problem

[@sterlingmarshel6299]

Leave it to people smarter than you to solve these issues

[@phil20_20]

Off with negative vibes, Baby!

[@ilijatrbogazov4579]

Really ? The best you got is to just monitor the space junk , so that you can put more satellites/junk up there

[@ilijatrbogazov4579]

@@Power_to_the_people567 you are right, this is a complimentary technology towards the solution, but not the solution as the video title suggests and that is what triggers me the most

[@angadsingh9314]

Satellites are not junk if they're maneuverable.

[@angadsingh9314]

@@Power_to_the_people567 Oh yeah those should be deorbited.

[@boeingpameesha9550]

Nice!

[@nesseihtgnay9419]

Let's go leolabs

[@SunlitEnglish]

This is amazing video.

[@johngordon1175]

America has been launching objects up there for a long time also non registered objects have been sent up for years

[@andytran1623]

There was only one incident of satellites colliding so far :v

[@RyanSmith-dy7fk]

Awesome story

[@ryansmithc]

This startup paid for an ad*

[@angadsingh9314]

Ad for whom??? Their potential customer pool already knows of their existence. Their services are is not a large scale consumer product.

[@aaronc1018]

Space broom with lasers?

[@JasonB808]

When the guy mention he was a like a real estate agent. It got me worried about the true objective of this company. I hope space is kept for scientific purposes only and have no real estate value. Once large companies can start buying and owning regions of space and altitudes so that only their satellites or other companies that pay to rent those regions can occupy those regions, will be the end of space for exploration but space for exploitation for money.

[@alien9279]

Thats not how it works at all. It was just an example using ideas we are familiar with:)

[@ShhhHhhhz]

unfortunately there wont be rules and regulations until something bad happens, got to write them up with blood first

[@brucedickie9394]

My solution for space junk is a vacuum cleaner

[@edm5166]

That's why they show CGI earth pictures 🙄🙄

[@Justwantahover]

11:30 R&P not R&B. Radar and Physics!

[@creeib]

The Americans filled space with needles.

[@sumthinfresh]

Those balloons will pop and come down problem solved

[@davidwalterhughes2258]

Advanced computer chips. I want to invent and engeneer some futuristic micro chips for AI humanoid bots

[@aowen2471]

Strange no mention of China blowing up stuff in space!!!

[@w1d3r75]

Costa Rica 🌎

[@Solo.Oddity]

Satellites

[@johngordon1175]

And?

[@ekbergiw]

5:22

[@bobsthea]

thanks to elon musk we have electric car size junk in orbit

[@mukonank783]

Starlink is definitely not worth it.

[@user-cv1jb9xv2p]

🙏🏼👍🏼

[@bungasuzy8422]

why country like china and russia doing something weird like exploding a sattelite

[@shivashankar2477]

It’s because USA did it earlier and they probably wanted to remind them that they can do it as well.? I don’t know.. just saying

[@falcon127]

I'M GOING TO START A ORBITAL SPACE GARBAGE COMPANY (GARBAGE COLLECTION AND DISPOSAL)

[@b1ackmilk]

Is there a human body debris in there?

[@davidb6576]

No, just Grays...

[@nadeemchaudhry6585]

Seems impossible to view a video these days, without Russia getting the blame for one thing or another.....

[@slevinshafel9395]

15:12 With a bit of organization. That is why we need GLOBALIZATION. To mak elaw for everyone. So need remove frontiers, so much presidents. Where is law for all humans, a medicine for all human, and protection for all humans. Imagine going in space mision like some kind of labs or telescop to the moon and come back and ship have some issue and you land on North Korea. What happen is bad luck? We cant leve our live to the luck.

[@rudyvaldez]

🤔

[@najib568]

يا كذابين الارض مسطحة وليس هناك اقمار صناعية الا في مخيلتكم.

[@dumitrulangham1721]

Can’t wait to down rocket tracker 24app 😂😂😂

[@zacmodirapula9771]

do you actually have real proof and real images of these satellites than all this animation. please share video of crowded space with all these satellites please.

[@followerofjesuschrist.]

"From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Matthew 4:17.,.

[@sam-fc9ky]

Dont believe a word- nothing can remain in the air: Satellites are on the ground- ask every commercial pilot!

[@kedrednael]

Have you actually asked a commercial pilot though? They know better than most that the air gets thinner and thinner when you get higher. If you get high enough there is barely any air resistance anymore. (much higher than airplane) There, if you go fast enough sideways you'll be able to fall around the earth since it's round. You have to go crazy fast: 20x speed of sound, 8 km/s. That's why large rockets have to be used to make satellites stay in space.

[@thx1138sixnine]

Your report lacks context and and root cause analysis. We can't afford snark -- Yes I'm looking at you Bloomberg -- instead of objective factual analysis. Question: Which nation made the ability to destroy military assets in space (satellites) a strategic military necessity? ==> Fact: Our nation made satellites (GPS) a critical military asset and has used them to devastating military effect for generations. We , not Russia, enjoyed first mover advantage and exploited it. That had consequences. Be honest -- Do you really think that if Russia weaponized GPS satellites, we would sit by idly for generations without developing and testing technologies to defend against them using GPS satellites to target us?