5 Strange Ways to Clean Up Our Space Junk - The Countdown #42

According to NASA, more than 500,000 pieces of debris are tracked as they orbit the earth. Individual pieces can travel at speeds of up to 28,000 kilometers per hour, creating a potentially dangerous situation for both satellites and astronauts alike. In this episode of The Coundown, we look at some of the strangest proposals to combat the ever-growing cloud of space junk. One of them, an electrified tether created by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, will launch on February 28th, 2014. -- More to explore: Japan to Test Space Junk Cleanup Tether Soon: Report (Space.com) http://www.space.com/24325-japan-space-junk-tether.html -- SUBSCRIBE, future astronauts: ‪http://goo.gl/bRbj4‬ Watch more of The Countdown: ‪http://goo.gl/JnNep‬Visit Scientific American's website for more space news and information: ‪http://goo.gl/qXeIq‬ -- Credits: Host/writer: Sophie Bushwick Production Assistants: Kathryn Free & William Herkewitz Producer/Editor: Eric R. Olson