Artist's impression of ClearSpace satellite embracing the VESPA. Image credit: ClearSpace SA
Posted on 11/28/2020 8:56:14 PM PST by dayglored
No, really. It has signed a contract to make this happen in 2025
The European Space Agency has formalised its plan to dispose of space junk by using an orbiting claw to grab an old bit of rocket before dragging both the claw and the junk to a fiery doom.
The agency announced the plan in late 2019 when it revealed it had asked Swiss startup ClearSpace to fully scope the mission.
The paperwork was due in March and found favour with ESA's Ministerial Council, which has approved funding for an €86 million contract to fund the mission.
The goal remains the same: fly ClearSpace's junk-grabbing claw to intercept a VESPA (Vega Secondary Payload Adapter) that has orbited since the 2013 launch of an ESA Vega rocket.
Artist's impression of ClearSpace satellite embracing the VESPA. Image credit: ClearSpace SA
The Adapter weighs 112kg, which, ESA said, is close to the size of a small satellite. Once ClearSpace's claw grabs the lump of junk, they'll got on a hot date to the atmosphere. So hot that neither will survive the experience.
The hope is that even though the pair's short relationship ends badly, it will give humanity the chance to retrieve other unloved orbiting objects before they deal out bad break-ups to things humanity would like to remain in space.
ESA's announcement of the contract says its €86m will only cover some of the mission's cost. ClearSpace gets to raise the rest as it pursues its goal of becoming a space garbage collection business. ®
There are thousands of dead satellites and dead boosters and pieces of same, floating around without power and/or without useful attitude or position control. They are acknowledged to be derelict, and they present a serious and growing danger to other viable craft. There are registries of "space junk", along with the registries of viable spacecraft, including both commercial and governmental, and yes, even the ones whose mission is classified.
While it's physically possible for something like the Claw to make a mistake (or a "mistake") and snatch a live satellite, that would create an international uproar.
Indeed.
There is an astonishing amount of crap floating around out there. And that’s just LEO (Low Earth Orbit); there are also a lot of highly-elliptical orbiting craft, and of course the ever-more crowded geo-synch and geo-stationary orbits.
That looks painful.
What could go wrong?
No problem. Should buff right out.
A series of big orbiting nets to collect bits of debris has been suggested. I think maybe flypaper would be best.
LOL!
As expensive as putting that stuff up is you would think an effort could be made to collect it for eventual reuse.
Sort of like Sanford & Son meets Elon Musk.
As expensive as putting that stuff up is you would think an effort could be made to collect it for eventual reuse.
Sort of like Sanford & Son meets Elon Musk.
Darn. I was hoping it would throw the garbage at the sun.
It would take a lot of energy (propulsion) to throw anything that's in orbit around Earth far enough / fast enough to end up falling into the Sun. Not worth the effort.
Imagine that thing grabbing all our defense satellites during a war.
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