The world’s first satellite that uses magnets to collect space debris will launch tomorrow morning.
The vessel, called ELSA-d and manufactured by the Japanese firm Astroscale, will blow off Kazakhstan aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket on Saturday (March 20) at 06:07 GMT.
The 200 kg vessel consists of two components that will perform a series of tests in space to test the ability to detect debris with a magnetic mechanism.
Once the tests are complete, ELSA-d will burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere – but the satellite will be crucial to inform future cleanup space.
The mission, licensed by the UK Space Agency, is acting as a test case for the licensing of more missions to remove dilapidated spacecraft and debris from debris.
According to the European Space Agency (ESA), there is about 9,200 tons of space debris – defined as man-made objects that have splintered from the spacecraft and are now floating aimlessly above the earth.
The challenge of avoiding collisions between satellites and debris in space has been recognized by the UN, and satellites are now being diverted off course to prevent a detrimental impact during flight.
The launch of Saturday Morning – which according to Astroscale is the world’s first commercial mission to ‘demonstrate the core technologies needed for the removal and removal of space debris’, will be broadcast live.
Japanese entrepreneur Nobu Okada founded Astroscale in 2013 with the sole purpose of launching ‘space warriors’.
“The pre-launch activities have been successfully completed and ELSA-d is now integrated on the rocket and ready to prove our technical capabilities to the world,” said Okada, who is also the current CEO.
‘This distinctive mission will also enable better informed policy developments and drive business opportunities for services on the job, such as the end of life and the removal of active debris.
“This is an incredible moment, not only for our team, but also for the entire satellite service industry, as we work to age the waste disposal market and ensure the responsible use of our orbits.”
The world’s first mission to demonstrate how space debris can be removed from Earth’s lower orbit begins tomorrow. ELSA-d consists of two spacecraft that will perform a series of tests in space to test the ability to pick up debris with its magnetic mechanism.
Astroscale’s founder had earlier told AFP that the density of space debris had reached a ‘critical level’ where collisions could occur at any time.
“If we do nothing, space is no longer sustainable,” he said. “So, someone needs to clean up the space.”
‘The future debris mostly comes from constellations.
‘A certain percentage of the satellites will decay into space. And they need to be supplemented with new satellites to maintain coverage.
“To do that, they have to remove the oldest satellites to make sure their orbital plane is clean.”
As part of the upcoming demonstration, two components will be blown into space together – a 180 kg control satellite to capture the debris, and a 20 kg ‘client satellite’.
The smaller satellite is a piece of replica waste equipped with a plate that allows the coupling to the magnetic mechanism of the service when it comes close.
Close-up of the 180 kg control satellite, equipped with a magnetic capture mechanism, which repeatedly releases and climbs the ‘client’ spacecraft
Astroscale aims to demonstrate the capabilities needed to remove clutter, including customer search, inspection and meeting, as well as non-tumbling and tumbling dock
During the mission, the service will be repeatedly released in a series of technical demonstrations and noted with the client, as a dummy run for how it will find and plant with decomposed satellites and other debris.
Demonstrations include searching for the customer, inspecting and meeting them, and ‘tumble’ docking – where the customer’s satellite is lost and tumbles, the service must catch up.
The main demonstration phases of the mission will be completed by the end of the year, and then the dismantling process will begin.
“At the end of the mission, the ELSA-d spacecraft will begin a slow de-orbit phase and use up the last of its propellant to avoid collision with other debris in space and eventually burn up again,” said John Auburn said. , managing director of Astroscale UK, told MailOnline.
“We are already working hard on the next phase of the program to pick up multiple pieces of junk in a single mission, and we expect to launch this service by the end of 2023.”
ELSA-d, which stands for End-of-Life Services at Astroscale Demonstration, is operated from the National Facility at the Satellite Applications Catapult (SAC) on the Harwell Campus in Oxfordshire.
“We will perform complex maneuvers to demonstrate the release and capture of this debris,” Auburn said.
The UN acknowledges that the challenge of avoiding collisions between satellites and debris in space
“This mission will pave the way for Astroscale to sharpen our commercial debris removal services for satellite providers and government partners.”
Auburn said it would be the first semi-autonomous robotic magnetic capture of a piece of debris tumbling through space.
The mission will use advanced software and autonomous control technology, rather than being completely under human control.
“This kind of demonstration has never been done in space before – it’s very different from, for example, an astronaut controlling a robotic arm on the International Space Station,” Jason Forshaw of Astroscale UK told New Scientist.
With up to tens of thousands of satellites being launched in the coming years, space debris is endangering a thriving ecosystem in space, says Astroscale.
According to ESA, there are 34,000 pieces of space debris that are longer than 4 inches long, and another 130,000 pieces of space debris smaller than that.
A space crash could have a major impact on satellite services that people rely on every day
It is estimated that there were more than 560 fractures, explosions, collisions or deviant events that resulted in fragmentation.
ESA is carrying out about two ‘collision avoidance maneuvers’ with each of its spacecraft orbiting the earth.
While rocket launches have placed about 10,680 satellites in Earth’s orbit since 1957, about 6,250 of these are still in space, but only 3,700 are still in operation.
‘A space crash could have a major impact on the many satellite services we rely on on Earth every day, from mobile phones to online banking,’ said Dr Alice Bunn, international director at the UK Space Agency, which approved the license. has. for launch earlier this month.
“The United Kingdom is taking a leading role in international efforts to clean up space debris as the largest investor in the European Space Agency’s space security,” said Dr Bunn.
“Astroscale’s exciting ELSA-d mission is the world’s first mission to remove commercial debris from rubble and will show how we can make space safer for everyone.”
WHAT IS SPACE JUNK? MORE THAN 170 MILLION PIECES OF DEAD SATELLITES, ROCKETS AND LEVELS OF PAINT ARE ‘THREAT’ TO SPACE OPERATIONS
There are an estimated 170 million pieces of so-called ‘space junk’ – left behind on missions that could be as large as the used rocket stages or as small as paint flakes – in an orbit along about $ 700 billion (£ 555 billion) in space infrastructure. . .
But only 22,000 are detected, and with the fragments moving at speeds of more than 27,000 km / h, even small pieces of satellite can be severely damaged or destroyed.
However, traditional gripping methods do not work in space, as suction cups do not function in air pressure and the temperature is too cold for substances such as adhesive tape and glue.
Magnet-based grippers are useless because most debris in the orbit around the earth is not magnetic.
About 500,000 pieces of man-made debris (artist’s impression) are currently orbiting our planet, consisting of unused satellites, pieces of spacecraft and used rockets
Most solutions proposed, including debris harpoons, require or cause powerful interaction with the debris, which can push the objects in unintentional, unpredictable directions.
Scientists point to two events that have exacerbated the problem of space debris.
The first was in February 2009, when an Iridium telecommunications satellite and Kosmos-2251, a Russian military satellite, accidentally collided.
The second was in January 2007, when China tested an anti-satellite weapon on an old Fengyun weather satellite.
Experts have also pointed to two websites that have become alarmingly cluttered.
One of these is a low orbit around the earth used by satnav satellites, the ISS, China’s manned missions and the Hubble Telescope, among others.
The other one is in a geostationary orbit and is used by satellites for communication, weather and observation that must maintain a fixed position with respect to the earth.