Close
Search
Menu Menu
[gtranslate]

This magnified satellite could be the key to clearing space junk

By
London, UK
0 comments
0 comments

Japanese space solutions mogul Astroscale has launched the first commercial mission to remove debris from our atmosphere. Spoiler: it involves a giant magnet.

It appears weโ€™ve finally found a feasible solution to make a dent in the storm of space junk currently orbiting the Earth โ€“ though it may sound like a childโ€™s submission to Blue Peter.

Developed by Japanese-UK space solutions firm Astroscale, the worldโ€™s first commercial clean-up mission to remove space debris is officially underway, and it involves an autonomous satellite equipped with a hefty magnet.

Billed as an โ€˜end of life service,โ€™ the ELSA-d is a large 400lb satellite fitted with state-of-the-art sensors and a magnetic docking plate. Travelling along three cluttered orbit lanes between 500km and 550km above the Earth, it will soon search for discarded hardware from missions past.

Once junk is located, the magnetic plate will grab single items and pull them down into lower orbit where they will eventually re-enter the Earthโ€™s atmosphere and burn up. Sounds good in principle right?

Successfully shot into orbit over the weekend from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, an operations team in the UK is now set to oversee the ELSA-dโ€™s testing phase before putting the autonomous unit to work on a monumental clean up mission.

Accompanied on its launch by a piece of test junk weighing around 40lbs, operators are now trialling the ELSA-dโ€™s ability to safely grab the dummy in a multitude of different states โ€“ the trickiest being while โ€˜tumblingโ€™, which means a rolling or cartwheeling motion.

This bizarre solution has gone from the drawing board to Zero G surprisingly quickly, considering a revolutionary space sustainability framework was just drawn up by the UK government and the United Nations little over a month ago.

Nonetheless, given that thereโ€™s a purported 170 million pieces of debris to clear, weโ€™ll definitely take an early start over nihilism. Crack on.

Add to that alarming sum the droves of low-orbit satellites being sent up by billionaire tech tycoons like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, and the growing number of satellite-based climate innovations developed by Space Agencies, and an estimated 990 units are set to be launched every year throughout the 2020s.

Itโ€™s essential then that we find ways of shifting dead satellites and general debris before cluttering the atmosphere further. If we donโ€™t, space research will become dangerous, unpredictable, and will threaten to throw away millions of tax payersโ€™ dollars.

How feasible Astroscaleโ€™s flagship project proves to be will become more apparent in the months of June and July after the ELSA-d sheds its training wheels.

โ€˜The removal of hazardous space debris is not only environmentally important but is also a huge commercial opportunity for the UK,โ€™ revealed UK Science Minister Amanda Solloway.

โ€˜Companies like Astroscale are leading the way in demonstrating how we can make space safer for everyone.โ€™

Editor in Chief London, UK

I’m Jamie (He/Him), the Editor in Chief at Thred. Keeping up with gaming and revolutionary technology is my forte, but when away from my keyboard, you’ll probably find me wrapped around a large Tango ice blast at the latest mediocre horror flick. Follow me on Twitter, LinkedIn and drop me some ideas/feedback viaย email.

Popular

Keep up with thred by signing up to our planet-positive newsletter!

More from thred.

Does the human brain have a microbiome?
Credit: Pexels
Science

Does the human brain have a microbiome?

Though itโ€™s long been assumed that bacteria canโ€™t survive in the human brain, neuroscientists have recently been surprised to discover that it may harbour all sorts of micro-organisms. In recent years, gut health has been all the rage. This is because our understanding of the function and importance of the microbiome that lives in our intestines has improved, particularly in relation to maintaining the immune system. A microbiome is a community...

By London, UK
Apple sued by Democratic Republic of Congo for illegal mining
Credit: Al Jazeera
News

Apple sued by Democratic Republic of Congo for illegal mining

The DRCโ€™s lawyers have stated that tech giant Apple has knowingly sourced minerals from conflict zones in East Africa while publicly painting itself as sustainable and ethical. ย  The Democratic Republic of Congo has filed lawsuits in both Paris and Brussels claiming that tech-giant Apple purchased illegal โ€˜blood mineralsโ€™ from its conflict zones for use in its product lines. Filed against the Apple European subsidiaries, the lawsuit states that the company...

By London, UK
Tech companies exploring nuclear energy to power AI
Credit: Thred
Technology

Tech companies exploring nuclear energy to power AI

Leading tech companies are exploring the potential of nuclear energy as a sustainable and reliable power source to meet the growing energy demands of artificial intelligence. In recent years, since OpenAI dropped ChatGPT, the world has seen a surge in all things AI. From catalyzing a plethora of research to predictive analysis in data security, the presence of AI in our daily lives has become a norm. Powering this increase in...

By Kuala Lumpur, Indonesia
Trans youth are turning to TikTok for support
Credit: Thred
Social

Trans youth are turning to TikTok for support

In uncertain political times, Americaโ€™s young LGBTQIA+ community are using social media as a vital crowdfunding tool.ย  The day after the 2024 US presidential election, thousands of trans youth across the country woke to a sense of a dread. Iris, a 20-year-old Black trans woman living in Texas, was one of them. โ€˜This changes everythingโ€™ she told Wired. โ€˜If I stay in the state now that going to...

By Brighton, UK
Accessibility