The world’s first satellite to use magnets to pick up space debris will be launched tomorrow morning.
The vessel, called ELSA-d and manufactured by Japanese firm Astroscale, will leave Kazakhstan aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket at 6.07 GMT on Saturday (March 20).
The 200 kg boat consists of two components that will perform a series of tests in space to test the ability to recover debris with a magnetic mechanism.
Once the tests are completed, ELSA-d will burn into the Earth’s atmosphere, but the satellite will be crucial in reporting on future space clearances.
The mission, licensed by the UK Space Agency, acts as a test case to license more missions to remove spacecraft and fragments of missing debris.
According to the European Space Agency (ESA), there are approximately 9,200 tonnes of space debris, defined as objects of human creation that have fragmented 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 now satellites must be diverted to course to avoid a harmful impact during flight.
The launch on Saturday morning, which Astroscale says will mark the world’s first trade mission to “demonstrate the basic technologies needed for space debris assembly and disposal,” will be broadcast live.
Japanese businessman Nobu Okada founded Astroscale in 2013 with the sole aim of launching ‘space sweepers’.
“Pre-launch activities have been successfully completed and ELSA-d is already integrated into the rocket and is ready to demonstrate our technical capabilities to the world,” said Okada, who is also the company’s current CEO.
“This flagship mission will also enable better-informed policy developments and drive the business case of orbiting services such as end-of-life and active waste disposal.
“This is an incredible time, not only for our team, but for the entire satellite service industry, as we work to mature the waste disposal market and ensure the responsible use of our orbits.” .
The world’s first mission to demonstrate how space debris could be removed from Earth’s lower orbit will be launched tomorrow. ELSA-d consists of two spacecraft that will perform a series of tests in space to test their ability to recover debris with its magnetic mechanism
The founder of Astroscale previously told AFP that the density of space debris has reached a “critical level” where collisions can occur at any time.
“If we don’t take any action, the space will no longer be sustainable,” he said. “So someone has to clean up the space.”
Future waste will come mostly from constellations.
“A certain percentage of the satellites will disappear into space. And they need to be replaced with new satellites to maintain coverage.
“To do that, they have to remove the older satellites to make sure their orbital plane is clean.”
As part of the upcoming demonstration, two components will be launched into space together: a 180kg service satellite to collect debris and a 20kg “customer satellite”.
The smallest client satellite is a waste replica piece equipped with a plate that allows it to dock with the magnetic mechanism of the service as it approaches.
Close-up of the 180 kg service satellite, equipped with a magnetic capture mechanism, which will release and trap repeatedly with the “client” spacecraft
Astroscale intends to demonstrate the capabilities needed for waste disposal, including customer search, inspection, and meeting, and both fall and fall coupling.
During the mission, the technician will repeatedly release and approach the customer in a series of technical demonstrations, such as a fictitious test of how he would be found and coupled with satellites and other missing debris.
Demonstrations include looking for the customer, inspecting and meeting with the customer, and approaching “the fall,” where the customer’s satellite is lost and falling, the service needs to catch up.
The main demonstration phases of the mission will be completed by the end of the year, when the dismantling process will begin.
“At the end of the mission, the ELSA-d spacecraft will begin a slow phase of orbit, using the last of its propellant to responsibly prevent collision with other debris in space, eventually burning on re-entering, ”John Auburn told MailOnline, CEO of Astroscale UK.
“We are already working hard on the next phase of the program to recover several remnants in a single mission and look forward to launching this service by the end of 2023.”
ELSA-d, which is the abbreviation for end-of-life service demonstration for Astroscale, will operate from the national facility to the Satellite Application Catapult (SAC) on the Harwell campus in Oxfordshire.
“We will perform complex maneuvers to demonstrate the release and capture of this waste,” Auburn said.
The UN has recognized the challenge of avoiding collisions between satellites and space debris
“This mission will pave the way for Astroscale to expand our commercial waste disposal services for satellite providers and government partners.”
Auburn said it will be the first semi-autonomous robotic magnetic capture of a piece of debris falling through space.
However, the mission will use advanced software and autonomous control technology, rather than being completely under human control.
“Such demonstrations have never been done before in space; they are very different, for example, from an astronaut controlling a robotic arm on the International Space Station,” Jason Forshaw told Astroscale UK in New Scientist.
With up to tens of thousands of satellites launched in the coming years, space debris endangers “a thriving ecosystem in space,” Astroscale says.
According to ESA, there are 34,000 pieces of space debris more than 4 inches long and another 130,000 bits of space debris smaller than this.
A collision with space debris could have a major impact on the satellite services they rely on every day
It is estimated that there have been more than 560 breakages, explosions, collisions or anomalous events that have caused fragmentation.
ESA performs approximately two “collision avoidance maneuvers” a year with each of its spacecraft orbiting the Earth.
Although rocket launches have placed some 10,680 satellites in Earth orbit since 1957, about 6,250 of them are still in space, but only 3,700 remain in operation.
“A collision with debris in space could have a major impact on the many satellite services we rely on every day on Earth, from cell phones to online banking,” said Dr. Alice Bunn, international director of the UK Space Agency, who approved the license for the launch earlier this month.
“The UK is taking a leading role in international efforts to clean up space debris as the largest investor in space security for the European Space Agency,” said Drs. Bunn.
“Astroscale’s exciting ELSA-d mission is the world’s first commercial waste disposal mission and will show how we can make the space safer for everyone.”
WHAT IS JUNK SPACE? MORE THAN 170 MILLION PIECES OF DEAD SATELLITE, SPENT ROCKETS AND PAINT FLAKES POWER “THREAT” TO SPACE INDUSTRY
There are an estimated 170 million pieces of so-called “space junk,” left after missions that can be as large as spent rocket stages or as small as paint flakes, in orbit along with about $ 700 billion. Americans (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.
Today, around 500,000 pieces of man-made debris (artist’s impression) revolve 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.