UK Company to Clean up Space

A project to clean up space garbage is underway.

18:20 06 April 2018

A UK-led experiment, called the RemoveDebris mission, is now underway. Using the RemoveDebris system, a small satellite designed to track and capture debris on space, the mission’s goal is to remove more than 7,500 tonnes of redundant hardware now thought to be circling the Earth. The 100kg demonstrator left Earth on Monday onboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and is expected to arrive at the International Space Station on Wednesday.

 

The project, which draws on expertise from across Europe, is led from the University of Surrey’s Space Centre. Prof Guglielmo Aglietti, the project’s principal investigator, said that groups involved in the project are still debating on the best way to capture and remove space junk.

 

He said: "As you know, there are other people who are going with the idea of a robotic arm. All these different technologies have their advantages and disadvantages," he told BBC News.

 

"For example, the ones we are testing - the net and the harpoon - are simple and low cost, but could be considered more risky in certain circumstances than a robotic arm.

 

"On the other hand, if your piece of debris is spinning very fast, it becomes very difficult to capture it with a robotic arm and an approach with a net could work better."

 

He added: "The reason we are doing this mission this way is because it is low cost. In my opinion, whether or not there are going to be real missions to remove debris will depend on cost. And I worry that if they are extremely expensive, people will think about other priorities."