A “space garbage truck” and a spacecraft with a robotic arm are two projects competing for government contracts.
The British Space Agency (UKSA) has awarded two companies £4m to design a space cleanup mission that could start as early as 2026.
The winning prototype will track and capture two defunct satellites that are already orbiting the Earth, then throw them into the atmosphere and burn them. Among the proposals are two innovative solutions. The first garbage truck for space and a spacecraft with a robotic arm.
Rory Holmes of one of our competitors, ClearSpace, told Sky News:
“When it runs out of fuel or breaks down, we just throw it away. We leave it to clog up space.
“We’re in a situation where the universe is very crowded right now, and all these different dead objects are whirling around, crossing paths with each other, sometimes colliding with each other, and sometimes really getting in the way of what we want to do in space. I have.”
At this time, estimates suggest that there are over 100 million space junks orbiting Earth. Ranging in size from a dime to an entire rocket booster, and tThe number of satellites in low earth orbit (LEO) is expected to increase dramatically over the next few years.
By 2025, as many as 18,000 new satellites could be on Earth, thanks to contributions from companies like SpaceX, Amazon and OneWeb. To date, Elon Musk’s SpaceX alone has launched about 3,000 satellites for Starlink, his service for the space-based internet.
To address this issue, space companies are ClearSpace is designing a spacecraft that resembles a giant squid, with multiple arms reaching out to wrap around a target satellite. “Bear Hugs”.
“We have to find a way to capture and confine these objects so they don’t leave us,” he said.
“One of the advantages of the mechanism we have is that we can avoid the object completely before pulling it in firmly so that it doesn’t slip off or go off in an unexpected direction. is.”
Oxfordshire-based Astroscale proposes using spacecraft with long robotic arms to grab defunct satellites.
The company’s head of future business, Jason Forshaw, said designing a spacecraft capable of evaluating and capturing aging satellites is a major challenge.
“Maybe another piece fell off the satellite,” he said. “Sometimes the antenna falls, other times it hits debris. The first task is to examine the condition of the incoming debris.
“Then the second stage actually approaches it and latches, but with the complexity of the robotics required to do that.”
Astroscale hopes satellite manufacturers will start adding standardized docking plates to their designs to make it easier for another spacecraft to refuel and serve or remove from orbit. .
Governments, businesses, academics and advocacy groups Necessity of Space Debris ManagementThrough measures ranging from aggressive space debris removal to policies that discourage leaving spacecraft and other objects in low-Earth orbit past their useful life.
Space debris is becoming more and more dangerous.Active satellites and the International Space Station must periodically change orbits to avoid collisions.Thanks to the orbiting object’s extremely high speed, a piece of space debris as small as 1cm in size can penetrate the walls of an orbiting spacecraft..
In September, tThe Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has decided to shorten the retirement deadline for obsolete satellites in low earth orbit from 25 years to 5 years.
Under new Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules, unused satellites must be removed from Earth’s orbit “as soon as practicable and within five years after the end of their mission.”
The UK space industry already supports 47,000 jobs and generates £16.5 billion a year. As pressure mounts on countries and companies to take responsibility for space debris, new opportunities for growth emerge.
UKSA’s Adam Camilletti said: “We are looking for satellites that have been disabled by the UK.” “They are our satellites. We want to lead the way in being responsible actors in the universe, unloading that crap and not threatening others.”
“The initial lead, not only in developing proactive debris removal, but also in understanding the laws and guidelines that must be followed, shows that the UK is taking its commitments seriously.
“It puts us in a great position for future business. If we’re the first to demonstrate that, we’ll be the go-to place for those deals.”
As the amount of spacecraft sent into space increases, the potential for falling space debris to harm humans and other space hardware increases. A recent study published in natural astronomy As a result of estimating the probability that falling rocket and satellite parts pass through the earth’s atmosphere, The odds of one or more casualties from space debris in the next decade are 1 in 10.
In May 2021, the International Space Station (ISS) will Hit by a piece of space junk A good amount was extracted from the 17 m long robotic arm. In November The ISS was forced to change its orbit to avoid some of the now-defunct Chinese satellites that were headed for a collision course.
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