European Space Agency seems to be gearing up to get rid of the space junk problem. The agency has announced its plans to launch a debris removal mission by 2025. The mission will be launched in collaboration with a Swiss startup called ClearSpace.
The mission will be called ClearSpace-1 and will comprise a four-armed robot that will capture a Vega Secondary Payload Adapter (Vespa) left behind by the Vega launcher from ESA in 2013. The launcher is 100 kg heavy and is currently 800 km above Earth.
“Think of all of the orbital captures that have occurred up until this point and they have all taken place with cooperative, fully-controlled target objects,” Jan Wörner, ESA Director General at the time, said in a statement. “With space debris, by definition no such control is possible: instead the objects are adrift, often tumbling randomly.”
Mission to create history
The space agency and ClearSpace recently made a $104 million contract to accomplish this mission. The ClearSpace-1 robot will be used to capture Vespa from low Earth orbit and will pull it down to the atmosphere, where both will turn to ash. If things go as planned, it will mark the first mission to remove a previously generated piece of debris.
“This first capture and disposal of an uncooperative space object represents an extremely challenging achievement,” Wörner added. “With overall satellite numbers set to grow rapidly in the coming decade, regular removals are becoming essential to keep debris levels under control, to prevent a cascade of collisions that threaten to make the debris problem much worse.”
Debris is a threat to active spacecraft
Low Earth orbit is currently flooded with debris including inactive satellites, upper stages of rockets, and modules left behind after separation. This junk travels at very high speeds and poses a high risk of colliding with active satellites and the International Space Station.
“At orbital velocities, even a screw can hit with explosive force, which cannot be shielded against by mission designers; instead the threat needs to be managed through the active removal of debris items,” said Luc Piguet, CEO of ClearSpace.
