. 24/7 Space News .
TECH SPACE
ESA commissions world's first space debris removal
by Staff Writers
Paris (ESA) Dec 10, 2019

ESA's ClearSpace-1 will be the first space mission to remove an item of debris of orbit, planned for launch in 2025. The mission is being procured as a service contract with a start-up-led commercial consortium, to help establish a new market for in-orbit servicing, as well as debris removal.

ClearSpace-1 will be the first space mission to remove an item of debris from orbit, planned for launch in 2025. The mission is being procured as a service contract with a startup-led commercial consortium, to help establish a new market for in-orbit servicing, as well as debris removal.

Following a competitive process, a consortium led by Swiss startup ClearSpace - a spin-off company established by an experienced team of space debris researchers based at Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) research institute - will be invited to submit their final proposal, before starting the project next March.

"This is the right time for such a mission," says Luc Piguet, founder and CEO of ClearSpace. "The space debris issue is more pressing than ever before. Today we have nearly 2000 live satellites in space and more than 3000 failed ones.

"And in the coming years the number of satellites will increase by an order of magnitude, with multiple mega-constellations made up of hundreds or even thousands of satellites planned for low Earth orbit to deliver wide-coverage, low-latency telecommunications and monitoring services. The need is clear for a 'tow truck' to remove failed satellites from this highly trafficked region."

At Space19+, ESA's Ministerial Council, which took place in Seville, Spain, at the end of November, ministers agreed to place a service contract with a commercial provider for the safe removal of an inactive ESA-owned object from low-Earth orbit.

Supported within ESA's new Space Safety programme, the aim is to contribute actively to cleaning up space, while also demonstrating the technologies needed for debris removal.

"Imagine how dangerous sailing the high seas would be if all the ships ever lost in history were still drifting on top of the water," says ESA Director General Jan Worner.

"That is the current situation in orbit, and it cannot be allowed to continue. ESA's Member States have given their strong support to this new mission, which also points the way forward to essential new commercial services in the future."

"Even if all space launches were halted tomorrow, projections show that the overall orbital debris population will continue to grow, as collisions between items generate fresh debris in a cascade effect," says Luisa Innocenti, heading ESA's Clean Space initiative. "We need to develop technologies to avoid creating new debris and removing the debris already up there.

"NASA and ESA studies show that the only way to stabilise the orbital environment is to actively remove large debris items. Accordingly we will be continuing our development of essential guidance, navigation and control technologies and rendezvous and capture methods through a new project called Active Debris Removal/ In-Orbit Servicing - ADRIOS. The results will be applied to ClearSpace-1. This new mission, implemented by an ESA project team, will allow us to demonstrate these technologies, achieving a world first in the process."

The ClearSpace-1 mission will target the Vespa (Vega Secondary Payload Adapter) upper stage left in an approximately 800 km by 660 km altitude orbit after the second flight of ESA's Vega launcher back in 2013. With a mass of 100 kg, the Vespa is close in size to a small satellite, while its relatively simple shape and sturdy construction make it a suitable first goal, before progressing to larger, more challenging captures by follow-up missions - eventually including multi-object capture.

The ClearSpace-1 'chaser' will be launched into a lower 500-km orbit for commissioning and critical tests before being raised to the target orbit for rendezvous and capture using a quartet of robotic arms under ESA supervision. The combined chaser plus Vespa will then be deorbited to burn up in the atmosphere.


Related Links
Clean Space at ESA
Space Technology News - Applications and Research


Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly


paypal only
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal


TECH SPACE
What About Space Traffic Management?
Bethesda MD (SPX) Oct 25, 2019
Those familiar with air traffic management architectures understand the constraints of aircraft flying in the atmosphere, vehicle dynamics and command and control techniques. Unfortunately, space traffic has many more degrees of freedom and much less control capability. Add to this the completely uncontrolled nature of space debris and the reality that most debris objects cannot be tracked and motion cannot be accurately measured or simulated. In fact, orbiting debris is a product of neglige ... read more

Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.



Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

TECH SPACE
NASA awards UbiQD 2nd contract to "Tailor the Solar Spectrum for Enhanced Crop Yield for Space Missions"

Novel camera gives scientists "Night Vision" from ISS

AFRL technology set for launch to International Space Station

SpaceX launches 19th cargo mission to space station with robot aboard

TECH SPACE
SpaceX Dragon docks with International Space Station

NASA will push exploration rocket test hardware beyond its limits

NASA break SLS tank to test extreme limits

NASA says core stage of next Moon rocket now ready

TECH SPACE
Solving fossil mystery could aid quest for ancient life on Mars

Global storms on Mars launch dust towers into the sky

Glaciers as landscape sculptors - the mesas of Deuteronilus Mensae

NASA updates Mars 2020 Mission Environmental Review

TECH SPACE
China launches satellite service platform

China plans to complete space station construction around 2022: expert

China conducts hovering and obstacle avoidance test in public for first Mars lander mission

Beijing eyes creating first Earth-Moon economic zone

TECH SPACE
Nilesat-301 satellite to be built by Thales Alenia Space

SpaceChain sends blockchain tech to ISS for Fintech market

First launch of UK's OneWeb satellites from Baikonur now set for 30 Jan

SpaceChain sends blockchain tech to ISS

TECH SPACE
Gamma-ray laser moves a step closer to reality

SN Now: The Final Installment of SCaN Now

L3 technologies receives $37.5M for precision aiming lasers

'Buildings' in human bone may hold key to stronger 3D-printed lightweight structures

TECH SPACE
Exoplanet axis study boosts hopes of complex life, just not next door

Hidden giant planet around tiny white dwarf star

Scientists figure out how accumulating dust particles become planets

Animal embryos evolved before animals

TECH SPACE
The PI's Perspective: What a Year, What a Decade!

Reports of Jupiter's Great Red Spot demise greatly exaggerated

Aquatic rover goes for a drive under the ice

NASA scientists confirm water vapor on Europa









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.