The First Roomba in Space!?!

For many years, space debris has become a big problem. They pose a problem to both satellites and people in orbit, as well as being a problem to people on the ground. Because they are such a big threat, both national space organizations and private companies are trying to tackle this problem. Well, recently a Japanese company named Astroscale launched the first-ever commercial space debris cleanup mission that is designed to locate and retrieve used satellites and other debris orbiting Earth, and today they gave an update on the mission.

Render of ELSA-d Mission

Now you may be wondering, what is space debris? Glad you asked. Space debris is any defunct or broken manmade object orbiting the Earth. This debris is different from satellites because it no longer serves any functions. Space debris is a big problem, as there is constantly being more and more space debris added into our orbit, and it imposes a risk for us and anything in orbit. However, it isn't just small bits of decommissioned satellites that are in our orbit. Space debris can consist of many different things including dead spacecraft, lost equipment, rocket boosters, and debris from satellites that were destroyed by weapons.

IDEA OSG 1

Astroscale is a private orbital debris removal company that was founded in 2013. Since then, Astroscale has gotten funding from governments and other space organizations. Currently, their headquarters are in Tokyo, Japan, with some of their facilities being in the UK, US, Israel, and Singapore. Currently, the company is working on 3 missions. The first mission is the In-situ Debris Environment Analysis OSG1 (IDEA OSG1). This mission was the company's first mission, starting in 2015 and ended in 2017. During this mission, Astroscale launched a 25 kg micro-lite satellite to measure sub-millimeter size debris in LEO. However, the satellite failed to reach orbit due to a programming error. The second mission that Astroscale is working on is called Active Debris Removal by Astroscale (ADRAS). This mission was announced in 2020. In Phase I of this mission, Astroscale would work with JAXA to remove debris. It is part of the JAXA Commercial Removal of Debris Demonstration project (CRD2). The first phase will focus on data collection from the upper stage of a rocket. For the project, Astroscale will be responsible for manufacturing and the launch operations of the satellite.

ADRAS-J Stage 1

The final mission that Astroscale is working on is the one I talked about in the introduction, called End-of-Life Services by Astroscale-demonstration (ELSA-d). This mission lifted off on March 22, 2021, from Russia’s Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. It was one of 38 payloads carried by the Soyuz rocket and was a part of the first all-commercial rideshare mission for GK Launch Services. For the ELSA-d mission, Astroscale will test new technology that consists of two satellites stacked together. One satellite is called the “servicer” and the other is called the “client”. The role of the “servicer” is to safely remove debris from orbit. Meanwhile, the “client” will serve as a stand-in for a piece of space debris for the “receiver” to capture. Essentially, there two satellites will play cat and mouse in LEO for the next six months. 

Render of "Servicer" and "Client"

ELSA-d’s project manager said that Astroscale’s system operations in Hawaii have established a connection with both satellites. During the demonstration, the “servicer” would capture a piece of space debris and enter the atmosphere, and burn it up with it. To do this, the “servicer” is equipped with an advanced system of GPS and a magnetic plate to capture space debris. During the trial mission, the company will have 3 separate demonstrations. In the first demonstration, the “servicer” will release the “client” and then try to catch it as soon as possible. In the second demonstration, the “servicer” will attempt to catch the “client” as it travels at 18,000 miles per hour. In the final demonstration, Astroscale will simulate an actual mission where the “servicer” will search for, locate, and travel to the “client”, which will be placed far away from it. If all three of these demonstrations are successful, ELSA may be attached to actual satellites. 

Every year, the problem of space debris is becoming a more important problem to tackle. With more rockets being launched every year, Earth’s orbit, especially LEO will be filled with space debris. This is a huge problem for satellites and people in orbit, as well as people on Earth. However, companies like Astroscale are leading the wave in the fight against space debris and making Earth’s orbit safer again.

Exaggerated View of Space Debris in LEO

Sources:

“Astroscale Celebrates Successful Launch of ELSA-d.” Astroscale, 31 Mar. 2021, astroscale.com/astroscale-celebrates-successful-launch-of-elsa-d/. 

“Astroscale.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 23 Mar. 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astroscale. 

Mathewson, Samantha. “Tiny Astroscale Satellite Will Test Space Junk Cleanup Tech with Magnets.” Space.com, Space, 8 Apr. 2021, www.space.com/astroscale-launches-space-junk-cleanup-mission. 

Pradhan, Arnav. The Dangers of the Debris, Blogger, 25 Feb. 2021, www.theaceofspace.org/2021/02/the-dangers-of-debris.html. 

“Space Debris.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 6 Apr. 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_debris.