Astroscale Near-Earth Space Cleaning Satellite

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• Space satellites of the world
• Space debris

2020: Space Debris Satellite Test Launch Plan

Japanese startup Astroscale I am sure that the collection space debris can become a potentially profitable business area. The Japanese propose to remove from orbit non-working satellites and dropped sections of rockets using a satellite with magnetic panels on which such objects will be attracted. This became known on December 3, 2020.

Astroscale Holdings Inc. was founded in 2013 by Nobu Okada, a former Treasury Department official Japan who viewed space debris collection as a commercial project. Its satellite for cleaning near-Earth space will be delivered to orbit the Russian by the Soyuz rocket Kazakhstan Baikonur Cosmodrome from March 2021.

It will be a test launch - as part of a test mission, the satellite will have to collect simulated debris, then enter the Earth's atmosphere and burn out along with captured objects. Simulation of the wreckage will be launched along with the satellite.

The Astroscale Holdings satellite for December 2020 has a rectangle shape and dimensions of about 110 cm wide and 60 cm high and long, and its weight is 175 kg. The satellite extends special solar magnetic panels, similar to wings, which will attract objects abandoned in orbit. In the future, the company also plans to assemble satellites using a robot manipulator in collaboration with the Japan Aerospace Research Agency.

According to the Japanese Space Agency, about 20,000 different objects measuring more than 10 centimeters have already been discovered in orbit, which can be attributed to space debris (according to the Russian state corporation Roscosmos, there are from 600 to 700 thousand objects of space debris in total in Earth orbit.).

Japan has previously prepared projects for garbage collection in space. Satellite operator SKY Perfect JSAT and the Ricken Institute of Natural Sciences of Japan are already engaged in the joint development of a space laser capable of removing small debris from rocket stages and other objects. According to the developers' plan, the laser beam will drop debris from orbit into the atmosphere where it will burn. The Japanese space laser will be created no earlier than three years.

The topic of space debris has been seriously raised for the past five years, scientists are constantly looking for ways to combat near-Earth pollution. Developments in this area are carried out in Russia, Europe, China.

Space clogging is a problem for the space industry. According to the Russian Scientific Institute of Mechanical Engineering, as of December 2020, about 70% of all objects of the geostationary orbit are space debris. Non-operational satellites, dropped rocket sections and other debris are considered a threat to operational satellites and the International Space Station (ISS)^[1].

Шаблон:Topic Space