Astroscale Demonstrates Advanced Fly-Around Capabilities in Space Debris Mission

Astroscale Demonstrates Advanced Fly-Around Capabilities in Space Debris Mission
by Riko Seibo
Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Aug 14, 2024

Astroscale Japan Inc. has successfully advanced its Active Debris Removal by Astroscale-Japan (ADRAS-J) mission, marking a significant milestone in commercial space operations. The ADRAS-J satellite conducted a controlled fly-around of space debris, specifically an upper stage rocket, maintaining a fixed relative distance of about 50 meters. During this operation, the satellite captured detailed images from various angles and under different lighting conditions.

This mission represents the first-ever attempt by a commercial entity to safely approach and survey a large, unprepared piece of space debris through Rendezvous and Proximity Operations (RPO). The target, a Japanese upper stage rocket body measuring approximately 11 meters in length and 4 meters in diameter, weighs around 3 tons. ADRAS-J successfully approached the object, the size of a city bus, and has been collecting images and data to evaluate its movement and structural integrity.

Objects like the upper stage in orbit are typically unprepared for docking, servicing, or removal, increasing the complexity of such operations. The data collected by ADRAS-J will be crucial for planning future missions aimed at capturing and removing this debris.

In its initial fly-around attempt in June, ADRAS-J encountered an attitude anomaly about one-third into the maneuver, leading to an automatic abort. The satellite's onboard systems effectively managed the situation, ensuring it safely moved away from the debris. Following this, ADRAS-J successfully reapproached the upper stage and completed two more fly-around observations.

Satellites and debris in low Earth orbit travel at speeds of 7 to 8 km per second, making such missions challenging. The success of ADRAS-J's maneuvers is a key step forward in on-orbit servicing technologies. These capabilities not only set the stage for future RPO missions but also contribute to efforts in maintaining a sustainable space environment.

The ADRAS-J mission was selected by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) for Phase I of its Commercial Debris Removal Demonstration program. This phase focuses on demonstrating the technology needed to remove large space debris. Astroscale Japan has also been chosen for Phase II, which will involve capturing and deorbiting the upper stage.

Development of the follow-up ADRAS-J2 spacecraft is currently in progress. The experience gained and data collected from the ADRAS-J mission will be instrumental in the upcoming debris removal phase. The initial fly-around operations have shown that the payload attach fitting, the intended capture point for ADRAS-J2, remains undamaged.