Astroscale, a company dedicated to removing orbital debris, has achieved a groundbreaking milestone by conducting the first-ever controlled flyaround of a large piece of space junk. This maneuver, captured in a timelapse, lays the foundation for future orbital junk removal efforts, paving the way for a sustainable space environment. The Japanese company’s Active Debris Removal by Astroscale-Japan (ADRAS-J) satellite successfully circled a spent rocket upper stage, capturing images from various angles and lighting conditions. Throughout the maneuver, ADRAS-J maintained a controlled fixed-point relative position approximately 50 meters from the rocket part, which measures around 11 meters long, 4 meters in diameter, and weighs approximately 3 tons. This particular rocket part has been orbiting Earth since 2009, when it launched an Earth-observation satellite for Japan. Astroscale emphasizes that ADRAS-J is the world’s first attempt to safely approach, characterize, and assess the state of an existing large piece of debris through Rendezvous and Proximity Operations (RPO). The exercise provides scientists with valuable data to accurately assess the movement and structural condition of the junk. This data will be crucial for future missions involving another spacecraft that will capture and remove the object by nudging it towards an orbit that will cause it to burn up in Earth’s atmosphere. In June, during the flyaround maneuver, an unexpected attitude anomaly triggered an autonomous abort. The satellite, as designed, safely moved away from the rocket part, showcasing the effectiveness of its on-board collision avoidance system. ADRAS-J subsequently approached the upper stage again and successfully completed two fly-around observations. Successfully approaching, orbiting, and gathering data from an object traveling at 7 to 8 kilometers per second in low Earth orbit presents a significant challenge. However, Astroscale believes that their achievement is a vital step towards addressing the mammoth task of clearing low-Earth orbit of large and hazardous pieces of space debris. This debris includes not only spent rocket parts but also decommissioned satellites and fragments of objects. The growing problem of space junk in low-Earth orbit recently came to the forefront when astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) were forced to take shelter in their docked spacecraft after a piece of debris was spotted heading towards the orbital outpost. Fortunately, a direct hit was avoided, and the astronauts could safely resume their duties.
Astroscale Achieves Milestone in Space Junk Removal with Controlled Flyaround
