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The European Space Agency (ESA) has signed a $ 102 million contract with a Swiss start-up to purchase a unique service: the first ever removal of a space debris object from orbit.
The company, ClearSpace SA, will capture part of a used rocket using what is described as a “tentacle” and then drag it down for reentry. The object to be removed from orbit is a so-called Vespa payload adapter which was used in 2013 to hold and then release a satellite. It weighs around 112 kilograms.
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 (ISS).
During a remote press conference regarding the contract on Tuesday, ESA Director General Jan Woerner said there are more than a million space fragments orbiting the Earth. He said there have already been cases where satellites and spacecraft have been hit by the debris.
ESA says deal with ClearSpace SA will lead to “first active debris removal mission” in 2025, in which a bespoke spacecraft, known as ClearSpace-1, will encounter, capture and disassemble the payload adapter of the Vespa for return.
ClearSpace SA CEO Luc Piguet says the company hopes to expand those operations in the future to include more item removal and even spacecraft maintenance and refueling.
“When we look to the future, what we can already see today is that there are more than 5,000 non-functional objects in orbit, which are essentially, if you will, customers who need some sort of service. And every year, we add 74 new objects. to this list, “says Piguet.
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