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The Remove Debris satellite was launched aboard a Falcon 9 rocket. It will use a harpoon & net to drag space junk.
Europe Launches a Satellite to Remove Space Debris
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uWAmQE8
Europe Launches a Satellite to Remove Space Debris
The mission will deploy net and harpoon to drag space junk orbiting around the Earth
A satellite designed to grab space debris has been successfully launched to the International Space Station.
The RemoveDebris satellite was carried by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and contains a net and harpoon that will be used for removing the 7,000 tons of space junk orbiting the Earth.
Space debris is a big problem for space agencies today. After 60 years of space exploration, the low Earth orbit is cluttered with many defunct satellites and their broken pieces. This debris around the Earth could lead to catastrophic collisions with spacecrafts, especially those with humans aboard and pose a major threat for future space missions.
Researchers have developed RemoveDebris satellite to clean up space. The satellite can grab floating space debris with the help of net and harpoon. Once captured, the junk could be dragged lower in the Earth orbit and burned up as it enters the atmosphere. Researchers claim that RemoveDebris is first low-cost space litter-picking technology in the world.
“The ones we are testing - the net and the harpoon - are simple and low cost, but could be considered more risky in certain circumstances than a robotic arm. On the other hand, if your piece of debris is spinning very fast, it becomes very difficult to capture it with a robotic arm and an approach with a net could work better." Mission’s principal investigator Professor Guglielmo Aglietti from University of Surrey's Space Centre told BBC.
“The reason we are doing this mission this way is because it is low cost. In my opinion, whether or not there are going to be real missions to remove debris will depend on cost. And I worry that if they are extremely expensive, people will think about other priorities."
RemoveDebris system will be tested in late May.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uWAmQE8