The British company Skyrora is one step closer to launching a space tug that could tow satellites in different orbits, replace old satellites and even clean up space debris.
The top stage of the Skyrora XL rocket successfully completed a crucial static fire test at the engine development complex in Fife, Scotland just before Christmas.
This upper stage of the rocket becomes a “mission-ready orbital transfer vehicle (OTV)” that can perform several missions in space after delivering its payload.
Edinburgh-based Skyrora hopes that by the end of next year or early 2023 they will be able to launch the OTV, along with small satellites that it can carry inside, over the XL rocket from one of the spaceports of ‘Scotland.
They say this is a big step for the UK space sector as it will allow them to provide space services as well as launch satellites from British territory.
The top stage of the Skyrora XL rocket successfully completed a crucial static fire test at the engine development complex in Fife Scotland just before Christmas
On December 23, Skyrora’s flight testing and operations team conducted one of its most important test campaigns to date, a full static fire test.
The engine burned for 450 seconds over three shots and involved a fully integrated engine configuration, power systems, avionics and flight software.
The vehicle will be able to deliver payloads into orbit and, once in space, can carry out various missions, including replacing redundant satellites or removing debris.
Skyrora CEO Volodymyr Levykin said; “Our goal was always to be prepared for the mission once all the regulations and permits have been established, and this development not only brings us closer to this point, but also takes us beyond preparation for launch.
“We have been deliberately silent on this aspect of our Skyrora XL launch vehicle, as we had technical challenges to reach this stage and we wanted to ensure that all tests had a satisfactory result, which they now have.”
The engine burned for 450 seconds over three shots and involved a fully integrated engine configuration, power systems, avionics and flight software.
He said in the current climate there was a real lack of good news, so they wanted to make sure it worked properly before sharing it. with the world.
“It’s important to show that even in difficult times, we are still a nation that continues to innovate and take the lead in some high ambitions,” Levykin said.
With OneWeb looking to launch more than 600 small chats and SpaceX looking to build a 42,000-satellite Starlink constellation, there will be as much demand for space operations as launch services, according to Skyrora.
“Skyrora’s third OTV stage will meet that demand while performing inaugural launch flights” of new satellites, the firm says.
So far the company has conducted a rigorous series of engine tests, but this last exercise has led to a fully integrated configuration.
This included the engine, structure and flight weight feeding systems, flight level avionics and full flight computer software to be used on the first flight of Skyrora XL, sometime in the next year or early 2023.
The test consisted of the flight software and the structure of the vehicle, as the vehicle performed a complete set of burns and engine maneuvers that simulate the flight of the upper stage in orbit over the Earth.
Passing this test makes Skyrora one step closer to the completion of its XL vehicle.
The OTV has the ability to restart the engine several times, allowing it to perform multiple missions in a single trip, making it very configurable.
Skyrora’s upper stage is a first historical story not only for the company, but for the UK space industry, as it is the first such ‘mission-ready’ vehicle to be developed in the UK. country, ”said Skyrora’s head of engineering, Dr. Jack James Marlow.
In the mid-1980s, several studies were conducted on the development of an orbital maneuvering vehicle (OMV), at some point called a “space tug.”
With OneWeb looking to launch more than 600 small chats and SpaceX looking to build a 42,000-satellite Starlink constellation, there will be as much demand for space operations as launch services, according to Skyrora.
The idea gained little strength due to the limited number of launches at the time, but the appetite for this vehicle has been gaining strength in recent times.
This is due, in part, to the privatization of the space launch sector, which makes it cheaper and easier to get objects into orbit.
In 2018 Spaceflight Inc. launched the Sherpa OMV aboard a Falcon 9 rocket, and in October 2019, a U.S. consortium led by Northrop Grumman launched its “Mission Extension Vehicle” into orbit from Kazakhstan.
The spacecraft was used to reposition an existing satellite into a new orbit, allowing it to extend its mission duration four more years, reducing the number of launches needed to replace it.
The upper stage of Skyrora, once in orbit, can navigate to a wide variety of orbits and make several stops, performing various functions during its journey.
The vehicle will be able to supply payloads into orbit and, once in space, can perform various missions, including replacing redundant satellites or removing debris.
Skyrora assumed that this represents a paradigm shift in orbiting operations.
“Having a last mile orbital delivery service, which can leave numerous satellites in various orbits, move satellites from one orbit to another or perform various maintenance tasks, is revolutionary for the Kingdom space industry. United Nations / EU “.
It would give the UK the ability to remove space debris, launch control satellites from Earth, and even keep existing satellites in orbit without multiple launches.
“With multiple missions accomplished by a single rocket launch, Skyrora optimizes each launch while minimizing any impact on the local environment,” they wrote.
“This is combined with the use of green fuel, Ecosene, which fuels the vehicle to ensure the UK has the most environmentally friendly space industry in the world.”
WHAT IS JUNK SPACE? MORE THAN 170 MILLION PIECES OF DEAD SATELLITE, SPENT ROCKETS AND PAINT FLAKES POWER “THREAT” TO THE SPACE INDUSTRY
It is estimated that there are 170 million pieces of so-called “space junk” left behind after missions that can be as large as worn-out rocket stages or as small as paint flakes, orbiting about 700,000. million US dollars (555 billion pounds) of space infrastructure. .
But only 22,000 are tracked, and with fragments capable of traveling at speeds in excess of 27,000 km / h, even small pieces could damage or destroy satellites.
However, traditional methods of adhesion do not work in space, as suction cups do not work in a vacuum and temperatures are too cold for substances such as tape and glue.
Tweezers based around magnets are useless because most debris orbiting the Earth is not magnetic.
Currently, around 500,000 pieces of human waste (artist’s impression) orbit around our planet, made up of disused satellites, pieces of spacecraft and worn-out rockets.
Most of the proposed solutions, including debris harpoons, require or cause a forceful interaction with the debris, which could push these objects in unforeseen and unforeseen directions.
Scientists point to two events that have greatly worsened the problem of space debris.
The first was in February 2009, when a telecommunications satellite Iridium 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 also pointed to two sites that have been disturbingly messy.
One is low Earth orbit, which is used by Satnav satellites, the ISS, China’s manned missions, and the Hubble Telescope, among others.
The other is in geostationary orbit and is used by communications, meteorological and surveillance satellites that must maintain a fixed position with respect to the Earth.