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The video is breathtaking: a satellite in orbit pulls a net to trap a nearby target in the groundbreaking demonstration of space debris cleaning technology.
The demonstration of the space network, which took place on Sunday 16 September, is part of the European RemoveDebris mission, designed to test for the first time active debris removal techniques in space. The target was not a real parcel of space but a small cube measuring 10 x 10 x 20 centimeters or 4 x 4 x 8 inches that had been released by the main RemoveDebris spacecraft shortly before the capture experiment.
"That went very well," said Senior Researcher of the RemoveDebris Mission, Guglielmo Aglietti, director of the Surrey Space Center at the University of Surrey in the UK. "The network is well deployed, as is the structure attached to the cubesat.We are now downloading the data, which will take a few weeks, because we can only do this when we are in contact with the satellite. " [7 Ways to Clean Up Space Junk]
RemoveDebris is a spacecraft the size of a refrigerator built by the satellite manufacturer Surrey Satellite Technology (SSTL), which is part of the RemoveDebris consortium with the University of Surrey, the Airbus aerospace company, and the United States. other European companies. It is designed to test the methods of cleaning space spaces in orbit. In addition to the debris capture net, the satellite is equipped with a small harpoon, a visual tracking system and a trail sail.
New technology for cleaning up unwanted space
This video still shows when the network of the RemoveDebris spacecraft captured an undesirable target in a first test of the debris cleaning technology. The test took place in orbit on September 16, 2018. Credit: Surrey Nanosats
The network demonstration is the first test for RemoveDebris to date, and began when the satellite released its target cubesat on Sunday.
Once the cubesat drifted approximately 19 feet (6 meters) away from the RemoveDebris fighter, the satellite deployed an inflatable structure 3 feet wide (1 m) which increased the size of the object to match that of A real target. Then, the tracking satellite ejected the net using a spring mechanism. The entire sequence was preprogrammed and took about 2-3 minutes, Aglietti said.
He told Space.com that the RemoveDebris team could not use a real parcel of space, because international laws consider that even missing satellites are the property of the entity that launched them. Thus, it would be illegal to catch other people's space debris, he added.
Ingo Retat, who led the team of European spacebuilder Airbus, who designed the network, said it had taken six years of testing on parabolic flights, special tours and chambers empty so engineers get enough confidence to send the technology into space.
"Our small team of engineers and technicians has done an extraordinary job in bringing us closer to the development of a low Earth orbit," Retat said in a statement.
The interest in active space debris removal technology has increased in recent years, as the number of spacecraft and low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites increased. Experts said too much debris from missing satellites or rockets could threaten the most recent satellites in orbit, since even a small impact could destroy a satellite.
Satomi Kawamoto, of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), told a conference last year that more than 100 objects were to be removed from LEO at a rate of five per year to prevent Kessler syndrome – an unstoppable cascade of collisions planned in the 1970s by NASA scientist Donald Kessler. This collisional cascade would produce a massive amount of fragmentation and make space operations around the Earth dangerous.
A net of space debris
The net consists of ultra light polyethylene Dyneema, commonly used to make climbing ropes. According to Mr. Retat, six weights attached to the mosquito net allowed him to span the full width of 5 meters (16 feet).
"The weights are actually small engines used to close the net around debris," said Retat. "They work with a timer that starts counting once the network has been deployed, and [they] automatically tighten to trap the object. "
In an operational configuration, the network would be connected to the chaser spacecraft with a clip. After the capture, the spaceship chaser fired its engines and dragged space debris into the earth 's atmosphere, where the object would burn.
For this first attempt, the engineers left the cable free, which could lead to unexpected complications, said Mr. Aglietti. For example, the satellite could bounce off and hit the main spacecraft RemoveDebris, which still has three other experiments to perform.
Aglietti said the cubesat wrapped in the net will naturally fall into orbit over time. It should stay in orbit no more than a year.
More tests to come
RemoveDebris was delivered to the International Space Station in April and deployed by astronauts in June.
The € 5.2 million mission ($ 18.7 million), funded by the European Union, will then validate a vision-based navigation system designed to track and analyze space debris. In early 2019, RemoveDebris will test another active Airbus driven deletion technology: a pen-size harpoon that will be fired at a fixed plate attached to an arrow that will extend from the main spacecraft .
The campaign will end in March 2019, when RemoveDebris deploy a large sail designed to increase the atmospheric drag of the craft and accelerate its return. In the end, the spaceship will burn as it enters the atmosphere.
follow us @ Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally posted on Space.com.
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