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The European Space Agency says it is signing a € 86 million ($ 102 million) contract with a Swiss start-up to bring a large chunk of orbital junk back to Earth.
The agency said Thursday that the deal with ClearSpace SA will lead to the “first active debris removal mission” in 2025, in which a bespoke spacecraft will capture and drop part of a rocket once used to transport a satellite into orbit.
Experts have long warned that hundreds of thousands of pieces of space debris surrounding the planet, including an astronaut’s lost mirror, pose a threat to functioning satellites and even the International Space Station. Several teams are working on how to address the problem.
The object that is removed from orbit is a so-called Vespa payload adapter that was used to hold and then release a satellite in 2013. It weighs around 112 kilograms (247 lbs).
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Quote: Europe signs $ 102 million deal to take home space junk (2020, November 26) recovered November 26, 2020 from https://phys.org/news/2020-11-europe-102m-space -trash-home.html
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