Satellite launched to clean up polluted Earth orbit

The satellite, Astroscale’s End-of-Life Services Demonstration (ELSA-d), will serve as a proof of concept for space clean-up missions to reduce the amount of hazardous space waste littering Earth’s orbit . The Astroscale spacecraft will find and attach magnetically to broken and abandoned satellites, inspect them and in future operations, and remove debris from orbit. According to Astroscale, the satellite sweeper will be able to dock with stable and tumbling debris. If the demonstration is successful, ELSA-d technologies could soon be used to clean up the Earth’s backyard.

ELSA-d was launched Monday from Kazakhstan on a Soyuz 2.1a rocket by GK Launch Services along with 37 other payloads. Astroscale confirmed on Twitter a successful launch into orbit, a transfer to mission operations in the UK and the deployment of its solar panel. Every step of the operation is a mechanical test of the satellite, and even a failure could spell disaster for the mission. Israelis remember the Bereshit probe and how breathlessly every step of its mission was monitored before it failed on its final approach to the moon.

Acquisition of our signal #Elshad Confirmed service and customer satellites! Congratulations to the whole team and thank you to all of our Space Sweepers partners and colleagues around the world for bringing us here. #GoELSAd pic.twitter.com/vmxRmpSQ6g

– Astronomical scale (@astroscale_HQ) March 22, 2021

According to a representative from Astroscale, has attempted an evil mission since its founding in 2013, but it was not put into orbit due to a rocket failure from their launch service. This is the first successful launch they have had and represents an important step in achieving the mission of the space start-up “to ensure the safe and sustainable development of space for the benefit of future generations”.

Space debris has become a growing problem as Earth’s orbit has become more congested. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists satellite database, 3,372 satellites are operating in orbit and, according to NASA, thousands of traceable junk, including abandoned boosters, abandoned satellites and fallen parts of ships.

Extraterrestrial waste poses a danger to the thousands of operating satellites and manned space missions. Although boats are protected against impacts, debris can still cause significant damage. In 2009, the first major satellite collision between a former Russian satellite and an operational US satellite destroyed both objects.

According to an article by Donald Kessler of NASA, as the number of satellites and junk increases, the likelihood of collisions will also increase. Additionally, the collisions could lead to a cascading effect where they would lead to an increasing series of collisions, known as the “Kessler effect”. This would ultimately result in the formation of an artificial asteroid belt. The massive destruction of satellites would have dire consequences on a planet dependent on GPS and other modern space amenities.