harpoon 'em..
The harpoon has barbs on the end that would grip the space debris object
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Harpoon idea
One UK concept under development is a harpoon. This would be fired at the hapless target from close range. Astrium harpoon The harpoon has barbs on the end that would grip the space debris object
A propulsion pack tethered to the projectile would then tug the junk downwards, to burn up in the atmosphere.
When the BBC first reported this concept back in October, the harpoon was being test-fired over a short range of just 2m.
The latest testing, to be reported at the Darmstadt conference this week, has seen the harpoon fired over a much longer distance and at a more realistic, rotating target.
"Our tests have progressed really well, and everything seems to be scaling as expected," explained Dr Jaime Reed, from Astrium UK.
"We've now upgraded to a much more powerful gun and have been firing the harpoon over 10m - the sort of distance we'd expect to have to cover on a real debris-removal mission.
"Our harpoon also now has a shock absorber on it to make sure it doesn't go too far inside the satellite, and we've been firing it with the tether attached. It's very stable in flight."