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Space Junk Removal Testing Craft Ejected From the ISS

posted by martyb on Friday June 22 2018, @01:28PM   Printer-friendly
from the gonna-need-a-bigger-net dept.

takyon writes:

Astronauts eject UK-led space junk demo mission

A UK-led project to showcase methods to tackle space junk has just been pushed out of the International Space Station.

The RemoveDebris satellite was ejected a short while ago with the help of a robotic arm.

The 100kg craft, built in Guildford, has a net and a harpoon.

These are just two of the multiple ideas currently being considered to snare rogue hardware, some 7,500 tonnes of which is now said to be circling the planet.

Previously: SpaceX Launches CRS-14 Resupply Mission to the ISS

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  • (Score: 2) by VLM on Friday June 22 2018, @07:30PM

    by VLM (445) Subscriber Badge on Friday June 22 2018, @07:30PM (#696906)

    Oh cool also deployment from the ISS is safe because its so low that IF the experiment messes up, the remains of the experiment will naturally deorbit very fast.

    I recall the ham radio suit-sat experiments where they shoved commo gear into surplus obsolete space suits on the ISS (the suit provides air pressure, cooling, some thermal insulation) then tossed them out the airlock and they orbited and worked for awhile... but re-entered pretty quickly.

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