A British space startup is developing technology to capture inactive satellites that could give rise to a new industry for maintaining and refueling spacecraft in orbit.
The company british says the system could make operations in space more sustainable and, in the long term, reduce mission costs.
The technology is designed to capture satellites that no longer work and remove them from Earth’s orbit.
According to the company, this type of capability could pave the way for new services in space, including:
- orbital debris removal
- satellite inspection
- extending the useful life of equipment
- in-orbit refueling
“Imagine that the entire motorway network has operated without trailers for 60 years and someone invents one. Everyone would say it’s absurd, that it would never work. But it seems strange just because we are not yet used to this change,” said the co-founder and executive director of ClearSpace, Luc Pigue, in an interview with Reuters..
According to the person responsible, the company’s objective goes beyond the creation of a specific technology.
“What we are building is not just a company, but an entire services industry that could transform the way we operate in space.”
Mission to remove inactive satellites
The company is developing a mission within the scope of the active debris removal and
The objective is to capture two satellites that are no longer operational and that are in low Earth orbit.
In the proposed mission, a spacecraft would approach inactive satellites and guide them into Earth’s atmosphere, where they would disintegrate during reentry.
According to those responsible, this operation could help reduce risks to satellite networks that support essential services, such as GPS, weather forecasting and emergency communications.
has been increasing as low Earth orbit becomes more congested.
According to the nearly 44,870 space objects are currently monitored and catalogued.
Statistical models indicate, however, that there may be:
- nearly 54,000 objects larger than 10 centimeters
- nearly 1.2 million between 1 and 10 centimeters
- nearly 140 million between 1 millimeter and 1 centimeter
According to ESA, fragments larger than one centimeter can cause catastrophic damage to satellites, while even smaller particles can affect sensitive spacecraft systems.
“The number of objects we put into orbit is increasing rapidly. If we don’t have a truly sustainable system, we risk making some orbits unusable within a few years,” he said. said Piguet.
