A Japanese spacecraft has made a daring close approach to a discarded rocket in Earth's orbit. Astroscale, a satellite technology company, intends to eventually remove the 11-meter-long spent rocket stage, but first it tested its ability to get close to the troublesome object (one of 27,000 objects
space debris in orbit with a size greater than 10 centimeters).
The groundbreaking space endeavor has been dubbed "Active Debris Removal by Astroscale-Japan," or ADRAS-J for short. "
We are closing out 2024 with a historic scope!"," Astroscale wrote
on the Internet. "
Our ADRAS-J mission made it possible for a commercial company to approach space debris at a record short distance, reaching a location just 15 meters from the rocket's upper stage."
The three-ton launch vehicle stage is the top part of the Japanese Space Exploration Agency's (JAXA) H2A rocket that launched the GOSAT Earth observation satellite in 2009.
The larger space debris removal mission is part of JAXA's Commercial Debris Removal Demonstration project, which plans to find a proven way to remove problematic space debris from orbit.
Photo: mashable.com
Previously, the ADRAS-J spacecraft flew around a piece of discarded metal, taking pictures and collecting data on the missile's condition and movement. The latest and closest attempt, on November 30, demonstrated the spacecraft's ability to operate precisely at such a close distance from the discarded missile, a prerequisite for future capture of bulky objects.
An accident between large objects moving at thousands of kilometers per hour is unacceptable: it will only exacerbate the problematic space debris situation.
To complete this approach attempt, ADRAS-J moved behind the missile, approaching in a straight line from a distance of 50 meters. The vehicle then stopped 15 meters away from an even closer point. The mission was a success, but as is typical of new space missions, it did not go exactly as planned. The spacecraft did not reach the point where a follow-on mission could capture the launch vehicle stage.
"ADRAS-J successfully held this position until the onboard collision avoidance system caused an autonomous failure due to an unexpected anomaly in the relative position of the upper stage," the company said in a statement. "The spacecraft safely maneuvered away from the debris as intended before reaching the capture initiation point. Astroscale Japan is currently investigating the cause of the flight interruption."
HEO, a space imaging and technology company, captured an image of the ADRAS-J spacecraft coming within 50 meters of the upper stage during the latest approach.
Photo: mashable.com
The $82 million ADRAS-J2 follow-on mission is expected to launch in 2028. This spacecraft, currently under construction, will use a robotic arm to launch a rocket stage into a lower orbit.
It will eventually mostly burn up
in Earth's atmosphere. In the future, spacefaring nations and commercial space companies hope that low Earth orbit (LEO) will be largely cleared of threatening space debris - especially inert vehicles that cannot maneuver themselves.
"NOO is an orbital space debris depot," NASA explained. "Millions of pieces of space debris fly in LEO. Much of the orbital debris is man-made objects, such as parts of space objects, tiny paint particles from spacecraft, parts of rockets, satellites that are no longer operational, or the effects of exploding objects in orbit flying through space at high speeds."