What to do with Space debris

[Hoggorm]

Hi, I was wondering what to do with the space debris that is left after a rocket launch?

 

If I remove it in the tracking station, does it actually disappear or is it just that I am unable to track it anymore?

Edited June 27, 2017 by Hoggorm

[Cpt Kerbalkrunch]

It disappears. You could also just stop tracking it if you want. You can disable the tracking of any type of craft with the small tabs at the top of the tracking station screen.

[Human Person]

I only allow myself to terminate debris with a periapsis inside of the atmosphere and debris that is left behind from rescue missions (not my fault). All the other debris is my personal eyesore, I have to live with it or clean it up properly. I usually live with it. 

After a while, so much debris has built up that I stop caring and then things get really messy. 

Btw, there's an option in the game settings for how much debris is being tracked before the game auto terminates it. I'm not sure, but I think it's set to 500 by default.

Edited June 27, 2017 by Physics Student

[Kryxal]

Pretty much the same here, but I also allow termination of junk that I can eventually plow into something, like a boost stage towards something interplanetary that still has 2-300 m/s delta-v but won't hit a useful encounter for years.

[Hoggorm]

Thank you, guys.

 

As an additional question I have this three fuel tank plus one engine stage that I used to place a space station in orbit. The station is now perfectly where I want it, but I do not want the nearly empty fuel tanks and engine there. I forgot to place a docking port on this part, but I can decouple it from the space station. Is there a way to deorbit it?

 

There is enough fuel left to deorbit it, but of course I have no mean to control it either...

 

[MiffedStarfish]

Klaw a probe onto it when you next deliver a module to the station? thats all I can think of.

Edited June 27, 2017 by MiffedStarfish

[Weywot8]

Yup, it automagically disappears. Some advantages - 

• less clutter in your screen, although Cpt Kerbalkrunch makes a good point about having them just not show up in the tracking and map view
• less clutter in your save files (it all adds up and bogs down the loading of saves)
• better frame rates - KSP has to draw orbits and simulate stuff when they get close enough
• less chance of actual collision - I had a rescue mission explode from collision with a Mk1 cockpit that a previously rescued kerbal showed up in.
• if you are unlucky and have too much debris, contracts requiring you to rescue a Kerbal and retrieve their 'hulk' (trashed ship) can automatically fail when KSP auto-deletes the 'hulk' upon entering physics range

But it can be nostalgic to come across your debris in solar orbit, 'commemorating' that interplanetary mission or have some float about the Kerbin-Minimus orbit only to get an unexpected notification that 'X' debris has just collided with the Mun. Quite realistic.

I deorbit (crash) my big stuff where possible and only terminate very small debris in orbit and the leftover debris landed on planets/moons from the crashes.

 

With regards to your tanks + engine : Orient your station so that the decoupled part will thrust retrograde. Fire it up ever so slightly and quickly decouple. Assuming the decoupled part is symmetrical, it will gently deorbit itself.  

Edit: If your station gets in the way, you could also try "swinging" it from retrograde position if your station has enough SAS power (decouple as you swing it 'down' towards Kerbin) if that make any sense

Edited June 27, 2017 by Weywot8

[Cpt Kerbalkrunch]

I agree with @Weywot8 about the engine and fuel tanks. Just turn your station to radial out (meaning the engines are now facing radial in) and decouple them. If the orbit is low enough, it'll go sub-orbital and eventually disappear on Kerbin. And if it doesn't, once decoupled, just delete the debris in the tracking station and be rid of it. I would only try to recover it if you really need the cash (or just because you want to).

[Hoggorm]

Ah, thank you!

Never used the claw, so that will be a first.

The station will be in the way when I decouple the engine and fuel tanks. I do not think I have enough SAS power to do anything about that...

It is no way I can ignite the engine after I've decoupled the stage?

[bewing]

Spacetugs are often the best answer for deorbiting things. The spacetug has a klaw on the nose, and grabs your piece of debris, and changes its orbit so that it reenters -- then lets go and flies off to do something else.

 

[Spricigo]

11 hours ago, Physics Student said:

All the other debris is my personal eyesore, I have to live with it or clean it up properly. I usually live with it. 

After a while, so much debris has built up that I stop caring and then things get really messy. 

Did you realise that it basically means turning the self-imposed limitation meaninglessness?  

 

Anyways,  not arguing you should change.  You may find a significance I missed (also "make sense to me" is a irrefutable argument for that kind of decision) 

[Weywot8]

8 hours ago, Hoggorm said:

It is no way I can ignite the engine after I've decoupled the stage?

Not unless you've planned ahead and attached a small probe core to your tanks+engine section. (& usually some batteries and SAS) But that's more funds burning up in the atmosphere unless you also use mods like Stage Recovery (then also add lots of parachutes or use the Real Chutes mod & install less chutes.) 

But I agree that space tugs are the way to go in the future - if you use it to mostly de-orbit tanks and engines, the tug could go on forever by transferring leftover fuel from the tanks to the tug first.  If it's only ever going to de-orbit [tanks + engines] sections, you could even do a mini-Control Claw with a bare minimum of Claw, medium SAS wheel, battery, solar panel, probe core, tiny fuel tank and a Terrier engine/3-4 Spiders. Once you Claw on the [tank+engine], you are able to ignite it's engine, adjust Pe to deorbit, top off Mini-Claw ship's fuel tanks, detach, adjust orbit of Mini-Claw. Rinse, repeat.

Quote

 I do not think I have enough SAS power to do anything about that...

Depends, you aren't igniting the engine in this move (doing it with engines on is hard - we aren't that desperate?) If the station's SAS can rapidly turn the station in a few seconds from prograde to retrograde/prograde to radial then if you decouple as the station is turning, you are essentially flinging the tanks+ engine hard enough to change the Pe + taking advantage of decoupling force. Only works if you are in a rather low orbit, strong enough SAS.

[Human Person]

6 hours ago, Spricigo said:

Did you realise that it basically means turning the self-imposed limitation meaninglessness?  

That's exactly what I wanted to say (maybe not if I missunderstood the English language here (happens less and less frequently))

what I wanted to say is that in the beginning of every playthrough, I care a lot about debris but I keep making mistakes. At some point, I stop caring. I think that's called being inconsistent.

Edited June 28, 2017 by Physics Student

[Spricigo]

5 hours ago, Physics Student said:

I think that's called being inconsistent.

Yep, that is the point.  

I suppose it's a cause of frustration (however small) .  And since the rule is self-imposed I think you can save yourself of this frustration just by taking down the rule. At least you are not losing anything if the rule is not enforcing the desired behaviour. 

Just my  0,02