Spacecraft Will Capture Junk With Vast Net

The RemoveDebris satellite will remove the heaps of hazardous space junk orbiting Earth and posing a threat to aerospace activities.

Paint, old screws and bolts, and worn-out satellites. Approximately 700,000 pieces of space junk measuring 1-10 cm are orbiting Earth at speeds of up to 36,000 km/h, and the hazardous junk threatens to collide with satellites, the ISS, and other spacecraft. So, British scientists have developed a satellite called RemoveDebris, which is going to try to clear away some of the junk using a very basic technique.

To begin with, the satellite is to test different methods for capturing the junk and sending it down through Earth’s atmosphere, where it will burn up. The methods include a net, which is fired to capture the target like a wild animal. Another method fires a harpoon, which seizes the junk. Weridly enough, when the satellite is tested in 2017, it will bring its own junk for trying out the methods.

AEROSPACE METHOD 1: HARPOON METHOD 2: NET From a chamber hidden in the satellite, a harpoon is fired towards the space junk. The harpoon penetrates the junk, which is placed in the hold of the satellite. The satellite also includes a net, which fires to capture the space junk. Subsequently, the net can be retrieved back into the satellite again just like the harpoon. Junk and satellite burn up. Once the junk has been captured, RemoveDebris will head for the atmosphere, where it burns up.

6,800 tonnes of space junk are located in a low Earth orbit just like the ISS space station and other satellites. 36,000 km/h is the top speed of the junk.