2024-08-04 07:32:40
The ADRAS-J space probe has entered its planned orbit, Astroscale announced on Monday. It is the first mission in the world to analyse the presence of space debris.
A Japanese company has successfully launched the first mission to inspect space debris floating around Earth. The ADRAS-J space probe —the acronym for Astroscale Japan Active Debris Removal— entered its planned orbit, Astroscale, which is coordinating the project with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, reported Monday.
The space probe was launched from New Zealand on Sunday. Astroscale confirmed that everything went as expected. The team “has successfully established contact… and is ready to begin operations,” project director Eijiro Atarashi said in a statement.
ADRAS-J’s first task will be to find and examine the wreckage of the Japanese H2A rocket. Its bus-sized remains have been floating in space for the past 15 years. Its exact location is not known, but the mission team is conducting observations from Earth to find its location. Once it is found, the probe will approach to a safe distance, to collect images of this space junk and assess the condition of the structure.
“This milestone marks the beginning of our mission, and we are excited to study and characterize an actual piece of debris through our innovative capabilities,” Atarashi said. Astroscale highlights that this is the first mission in the world dedicated to studying space debris.
The growing problem of space junk
The European Space Agency (ESA) reports that some 16,900 satellites have been launched into orbit over nearly 60 years of space activity. About 11,500 remain in space, but only 9,000 are still operational, according to the latest ESA update in December 2023. Many of those that are not working are not even kept in one piece.
It is estimated that there are more than 36,500 thousand objects of space junk with a size greater than 10 centimeters. These are regularly tracked by Space Surveillance Networks, reports ESA’s Space Debris Office.
The ADRAS-J probe was selected by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency for the first phase of a program to remove space debris of Japanese originThe project will be carried out in partnership with private companies. Among the possible solutions is the proposal of a space “crane”, put forward by Astroscale, which would use a magnet to pick up decommissioned satellites.
NASA is also thinking about how to deal with the growing space junk. Last year, the US space agency awarded an $850,000 contract to TransAstra to evaluate the feasibility of a plan to clean up this human-launched debris. TransAstra has proposed a device that acts as a giant “capture bag.” The idea is to use these “bags,” attached to small spacecraft, to collect several objects at once.
Donald J. Kessler, a NASA consultant, developed a theory in the 1970s known as the Kessler Syndrome. This principle assumes that the volume of space debris in low Earth orbit could become so high that it would begin to frequently collide with other objects in low Earth orbit, such as other satellites.
These coalitions, in turn, would produce a “domino effect” that would generate more space debris. The problem could become so serious that it could hamper space flights. Experts also warn of the danger to global communications. And although the probability is minimal, there is also a risk of impact on Earth.
By: www.hipertextual.com