‘Space hoover’ mission control ELSA-d based at Harwell Campus
ON Monday, a satellite designed to clear ‘space junk’ was launched in Kazakhstan – and it is being operated directly from the Harwell Campus.
The ELSA-d (End-of-Life Services by Astroscale) demonstration was created by Astroscale, a private space firm headquartered in Japan, which is dedicated to finding technological solutions to removing hazardous space junk.
Rocket launches through the years have left a large amount of debris in the Earth’s orbit and, according to the European Space Agency, there are now more than 100 million man-made objects circling the world at any given time.
Most of these are small, but around 34,000 have been identified as being larger than 10cm.
ELSA-d is a prototype, intended to demonstrate the current state of the technology intended to help clear the junk.
Once in orbit, it will release a piece of detritus, and will attempt to recapture it with magnets.
ELSA-d’s control centre is based at science space hub Harwell Campus.
Astroscale UK managing director John Auburn said: “Our team is very proud to have developed the mission control and ground systems for ELSA-d.
“We will perform complex manoeuvres to demonstrate the release and capture of this debris, with the first semiautonomous robotic magnetic capture of a piece of debris, tumbling through space, using advanced software and autonomous control technology.
“This mission will prepare the way for Astroscale to scale-up our commercial debris removal services for satellite providers and government partners.
“We hope to continue to leverage international partnerships and encourage investment in this innovative sector in the UK, providing us with further opportunities to drive forward the technology, capability and regulation needed for a burgeoning debris removal market."
The chief operating officer at the Satellite Applications Catapult, Lucy Edge, said that it was delighted Astroscale’s ELSA-d mission is the very first to use the new In-Orbit Servicing and Control Centre at the Harwell facility.