{"id":404471,"date":"2026-03-04T14:20:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T19:20:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/yfile\/?p=404471"},"modified":"2026-03-05T08:27:57","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T13:27:57","slug":"york-u-engineer-develops-solutions-to-make-space-more-sustainable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/yfile\/2026\/03\/04\/york-u-engineer-develops-solutions-to-make-space-more-sustainable\/","title":{"rendered":"快播视频 engineer develops solutions to make space more sustainable"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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SDG Month feature<\/h4>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
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As Earth\u2019s orbits grow increasingly crowded with satellites and space debris, 快播视频 researcher Zheng Hong (George) Zhu<\/strong> is developing technologies to keep space safe and sustainable.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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In addition to the more than 11,500 operational satellites orbiting Earth, according to the Satellite Industry Association, tens of thousands of pieces of space junk \u2013 including retired satellites, discarded rocket components and metal fragments \u2013 now occupy Earth\u2019s orbital environment.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"George
Zheng Hong (George) Zhu<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Managing orbital debris has become central to the long\u2011term sustainability of space activity, as NASA prepares new crewed missions to the moon, cargo vehicles continue servicing the International Space Station and companies such as SpaceX\u2019s Starlink deploy thousands of satellites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn the past, we thought of Earth\u2019s orbit as having infinite space, but it doesn\u2019t,\u201d says Zhu, professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at York\u2019s Lassonde School of Engineering<\/a> and Tier 1 York Research Chair in Space Technology. \u201cIf you don\u2019t clean up, eventually it becomes very risky.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As waste accumulates, the risk of collisions with satellites and spacecraft rises. This can eventually lead to the so-called Kessler Syndrome, where collisions trigger a chain reaction that produces more and more fragments which, in turn, cause additional collisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even small objects travel at extreme speeds: a fragment no larger than a bolt can disable a satellite that supports services people rely on every day, from global communications and weather monitoring to navigation and emergency response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Without effective strategies to reduce and remove debris, humanity\u2019s ability to safely operate in space may be compromised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zhu has spent more than a decade developing solutions to that challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His interest in space debris mitigation goes back to 2010, when he says few researchers were focused on the issue. Two high\u2011profile events sharpened his attention: China\u2019s 2007 antisatellite missile test \u2013 which destroyed one of its own aging weather satellites and scattered thousands of fragments \u2013 and the 2009 accidental collision between an operational U.S. communications satellite and a defunct Russian satellite, the first known crash between two intact satellites in orbit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was a wake\u2011up call that caught my attention,\u201d says Zhu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He began exploring how a technology he was studying, called electrodynamic tethers \u2013 long, thin conductive wires that interact with Earth\u2019s magnetic field \u2013 could help address the problem. Originally investigated as a way to generate electricity in orbit, Zhu realized the technology could also act as a brake, slowing satellites and objects so they safely re\u2011enter Earth\u2019s atmosphere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This helps address a major contributor to space clutter. Most satellites are not designed to return to Earth at the end of their missions. Once they run out of fuel or stop working, they can drift in orbit for years or decades before gravity and atmospheric drag eventually bring them down. By slowing these satellites with an electrodynamic tether, Zhu\u2019s system accelerates their orbital decay, helping them re\u2011enter the atmosphere far sooner than they would naturally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since 2010, he has been pursuing this technology as a way for satellites and spacecraft to be pre\u2011emptively equipped with disposal systems, allowing them to safely remove themselves at the end of their missions without adding new refuse or relying on costly clean up efforts. This approach could make sustainable orbital management the default, rather than the exception.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of his projects, called DESCENT, put this concept into practice as Canada\u2019s first on\u2011orbit test of space debris removal technology. Launched from the International Space Station, the Canadian Space Agency\u2013funded mission consists of two CubeSat satellites connected by a 100\u2011metre electrodynamic tether, which will deploy in orbit to demonstrate how the system can actively lower a satellite\u2019s orbit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n