Sure, satellites have been used for many important projects that have pushed humankind forward, the least of them being satellite television. But now, they've finally fulfilled their true destinies: counting penguins.

Space junk is getting to be more and more of a problem, but while there have been plenty of serious talks on the subject, the first country to actually go and do something about it may be the Swiss. By 2016, Switzerland plans to launch a "janitor satellite" to start fighting the the space junk problem directly while the rest of us keep twiddling our thumbs.

I can't help but look at this latest device as yet another thinly veiled attempt to hedge our bets against the inevitable zombie apocalypse. Believe or not, a company has reportedly started selling GPS satellite tracking devices for the dead.

DARPA's out hunting for a way to launch satellites fast and on the cheap, and they're thinking that a souped-up commercial jet is the way to go to get most of (or at least some of) the way to orbit without having to rely on a ground-based launch system.