http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/technology/technovel_tether_041117.html Describes is great detail a possible answer to the problem of the enormous amounts of litter in earth orbit.
Personally I think what a waste of all that specially purified and dope silicon and carbon fibre and alloys, cant it be gathered up and recycled?
There should be a full time astrodustman. Probably will be as soon as the reusable spece vehicle is invented. I mean "really reusable" like as in futuristic.
I have written a short story set in about 20 years in which theres an orbital services company that makes money in part from gathering up old satellites, repairing broken ones and generally keeping earths orbit clear of debris. Its already pretty damned crowded, and 20 years of orbital activity will make it worse.
