There are more than 7,600 tonnes of ‘space junk’ in and around Earth’s orbit - with some moving faster than a speeding bullet, approaching speeds of 30,000 miles per hour. RemoveDEBRIS is the first demonstrate of active debris removal (ADR) technology.
The satellite, which was designed, built and manufactured by a consortium of leading space companies and research institutes led by the Surrey Space Centre, began its experiment on September 16, 2018.
Professor Guglielmo Aglietti, director of the Surrey Space Centre, said: “While it might sound like a simple idea, the complexity of using a net in space to capture a piece of debris took many years of planning, engineering and coordination between the Surrey Space Centre, Airbus and our partners – but there is more work to be done. These are very exciting times for us all.”
Unlike a “real” capture, the net in this demonstration disconnected from the satellite. Now, the net and box will now fall to Earth on their accord, burning up in the atmosphere. When collecting “proper” space junk, the net would remain attached, so the satellite could pull the rubbish out of the sky.
“To develop this net technology, we spent 6 years testing in parabolic flights, in special drop towers and also thermal vacuum chambers. Our small team of engineers and technicians have done an amazing job moving us one step closer to clearing up low Earth orbit,” said Ingo Retat, Airbus RemoveDEBRIS project head.
In the coming months, RemoveDEBRIS will test more ADR technologies: a vision-based navigation system that uses cameras and LiDaR technology to analyse and observe potential pieces of debris; the first harpoon capture technology used in orbit; and a drag-sail that will finally bring RemoveDEBRIS into the Earth’s atmosphere where it will be destroyed, bringing its mission to a close.