The longstanding problem of space debris is finally being tackled by the Japanese company Astroscale. They launched a special test mission, sending a pair of satellites into space to remove dangerous debris orbiting our planet.
The technology is called “ELSA-d ‘meaning end-of-life services by astral scale demonstration. The rocket carrying the satellites took off on March 22 from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Experts have long warned that the estimated 9,200 tonnes of space debris circulating the planet pose a threat to the satellites on which we depend for weather reports, air travel and global communications.
The problem could get worse as private companies like SpaceX, Google and OneWeb prepare to send a flood of new satellites into space.
What will happen during the test mission?
The mission is to launch two spacecraft in orbit – a service satellite to collect debris and a client satellite to pass through debris.
The servicer satellite was developed to safely remove debris from orbit, using proximity technologies and a magnetic coupling mechanism. The customer’s satellite is a replica of space debris equipped with a plate that allows it to fit.
Over the summer, ELSA-d will repeatedly release and dock the customer in a series of technical demos, showing how it can find and dock extinct satellites and other debris.
“What ELSA-d uses is a rigid robotic arm, so to speak, that locks magnetically and you can do all six degrees of freedom. So, up, down, left, right, back and forth, and all rotations, “explains Chris Walker, chief spacecraft operations engineer.
“Therefore, by equipping a prepared customer with a very light magnetic coupling plate, this allows ELSA-d to capture, glue and control it.”
The demonstrations will include looking for the customer, inspecting and finding him, and coupling with or without a fall, something Walker and his colleagues call “dance mode”.
Click on the video above for the full story.
Every day of the week at 15:30 CET, Euronews Living brings you a cutting-edge environmental story from somewhere in the world. Download the Euronews app to get an alert for this and other breaking news. It is available on Apple and Android devices.