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WG3K > ANS 02.09.24 21:12l 54 Lines 2729 Bytes #167 (0) @ AMSAT
BID : ANS245.3
Read: GUEST
Subj: Japanese Company Takes First Step Toward Removing Space Junk
Path: IZ3LSV<I0OJJ<GB7CIP<VK2RZ<KC9UHI<KA1VSC<WG3K
Sent: 240902/1904Z 7809@WG3K.#SMD.MD.USA.NOAM LinBPQ6.0.24
There are more than 2,000 mostly intact dead rockets circling the Earth,
but until this year, no one ever launched a satellite to go see what one
looked like after many years of tumbling around the planet.
In February, a Japanese company named Astroscale sent a small satellite
into low-Earth orbit on top of a Rocket Lab launcher. A couple of months
later, Astroscaleâ€Ös ADRAS-J (Active Debris Removal by Astroscale-Japan)
spacecraft completed its pursuit of a Japanese rocket stuck in orbit for
more than 15 years.
ADRAS-J photographed the upper stage of an H-IIA rocket from a range of
several hundred meters and then backed away. This was the first publicly
released image of space debris captured from another spacecraft using
rendezvous and proximity operations.
*Astroscaleâ€Ös ADRAS-J spacecraft captured these views of the H-IIA rocket
upper stage on July 15. [Credit: Astroscale]*
Since then, Astroscale has pulled off more complex maneuvers around the
H-IIA upper stage, which hasnâ€Öt been controlled since it deployed a
Japanese climate research satellite in January 2009. Astroscale attempted
to complete a 360-degree fly-around of the H-IIA rocket last month, but the
spacecraft triggered an autonomous abort one-third through the maneuver
after detecting an attitude anomaly.
ADRAS-J is the first mission to approach a piece of space debris, which
comes with more challenges. The H-IIA upper stage lacks laser reflectors
and targeting aids that would help an approaching spacecraft navigate its
way closer.
A few years ago, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) cinched a
public-private partnership with Astroscale to demonstrate technologies the
private sector could use to remove large pieces of space debris littering
low-Earth orbit. The same robotic technologies could also apply to
satellite servicing or refueling missions.
With more financial assistance from JAXA, Astroscale is developing a
follow-on mission called ADRAS-J2 to dock with the same H-IIA rocket
visited by the ongoing mission, then steer it on a trajectory to reenter
the atmosphere. Astroscale hopes a successful demonstration of this
capability on the ADRAS-J2 mission will lead to more contracts from
commercial or government operators to remote large pieces of space junk
from orbit.
An H-IIA upper stage similar to the one visited by Astroscaleâ€Ös demo
mission broke apart in 2019, creating more than 70 new debris fragments in
low-Earth orbit. A predicted close flyby by one of the pieces from the
H-IIA upper stage prompted the International Space Station to fire its
engines to move out of its path in 2020.
[ANS thanks Ars Technica for the above information. Read the full article
at https://bit.ly/4cFO0vW.]
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