Astroscale wants to be the world's friendly neighborhood space garbage collector
(2023/06/16)
- Reference: 1686904209
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2023/06/16/space_junk_wef_astroscale/
- Source link:
Earth's orbit is getting extremely untidy, littered with the corpses of satellites, spent rocket engines, and debris caused by collisions between space garbage.
Though humanity has spent decades doing the equivalent of "la la la I can't hear you," it now actually poses a risk to current and future space missions. The US Department of Defense's global Space Surveillance Network is tracking more than 27,000 pieces of floating trash.
In an effort to get the ball rolling on a solution, late last summer the Federal Communications Commission [1]proposed a five-year deadline after the end of a mission to dispose of equipment through uncontrolled re-entry into Earth's atmosphere. Previously it was fine to leave a unit in an orbital decay that would re-enter within 25 years, though the agency now believes this is unsustainable given the frequency of launches, and compliance is thought to be less than 50 percent.
[2]
The World Economic Forum (WEF) appears to agree with these time scales. This week it published its [3]"Space Industry Debris Mitigation Recommendations" [PDF] which aim to maintain a post-mission disposal (PMD) success rate of 95-99 percent or better, with all operators striving for the five-year target to remove obsolete space stuff from low Earth orbit (LEO).
[4]
[5]
It also recommends that satellites are maneuverable, preferably through onboard propulsion, at altitudes above 375 kilometers and asks governments to mandate the use of active debris removal (ADR) systems for objects that cannot comply with the guidelines.
One person's trash is another person's treasure, after all, and an industry is springing up around the problem. Take Astroscale, for example, whose raison d'être is to be the garbage men of LEO.
[6]
This week the Japanese company published a video on how its ELSA-M End of Life service will match the orbit of a target object, inspect the site, then dock before pushing the defunct spacecraft off to fiery euthanasia in Earth's atmosphere.
[7]Youtube Video
Astroscale says ELSA-M should be able to retire multiple client satellites in a single mission and is aiming to run an in-orbit demonstration with a constellation customer satellite next year. If successful, this would be the first time a commercial ADR system completes "the end-to-end operations of a removal service with a full sized and fully representative client."
[8]After scaring the world, China shows off 'chute that can aim Long March rockets' descents
[9]NASA solar satellite burns up over the Sahara desert
[10]Student satellite demonstrates drag sail to de-orbit old hardware
[11]Amazon convinces FCC it can avoid space junk chaos
Satellite docking has also been successfully demonstrated by Northrop Grumman's [12]Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV). While this is for the sake of giving client spacecraft a new lease on life rather than ending them, it gives credence to Astroscale's ambitions.
The WEF's recommendations have some buy-in from operators who run large constellations like OneWeb, Planet, and Spire, and a mix of established and emerging space companies – including Astroscale. But others are conspicuous by their absence.
[13]
SpaceX operates Starlink, the largest satellite constellation, and is surely set to be one of the worst orbital polluters in the decades to come. Amazon, which is developing the Project Kuiper constellation to rival Starlink in the satellite broadband stakes, is also not a signatory. Nor is Viasat, which runs another large internet constellation.
For a long time, it's been hoped that collisions in orbit are the stuff of science fiction, but the days of "set it and forget it" are coming to an end. ®
Get our [14]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2022/09/09/fcc_space_junk/
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_specialfeatures/thereginspace&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZIwyv3tXp22tXMafa2mb6wAAAAI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Space_Industry_Debris_Mitigation_Recommendations_2023.pdf
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_specialfeatures/thereginspace&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZIwyv3tXp22tXMafa2mb6wAAAAI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_specialfeatures/thereginspace&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZIwyv3tXp22tXMafa2mb6wAAAAI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_specialfeatures/thereginspace&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZIwyv3tXp22tXMafa2mb6wAAAAI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1v-eF26mCc
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2023/06/14/china_long_march_parachute/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2023/04/22/nasa_satellite_rhessi/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2023/03/21/student_satellite_demonstrates_drag_sail/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2023/02/10/amazon_project_kuipers_space_junk/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2021/04/13/mev-2/
[13] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_specialfeatures/thereginspace&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZIwyv3tXp22tXMafa2mb6wAAAAI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[14] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Though humanity has spent decades doing the equivalent of "la la la I can't hear you," it now actually poses a risk to current and future space missions. The US Department of Defense's global Space Surveillance Network is tracking more than 27,000 pieces of floating trash.
In an effort to get the ball rolling on a solution, late last summer the Federal Communications Commission [1]proposed a five-year deadline after the end of a mission to dispose of equipment through uncontrolled re-entry into Earth's atmosphere. Previously it was fine to leave a unit in an orbital decay that would re-enter within 25 years, though the agency now believes this is unsustainable given the frequency of launches, and compliance is thought to be less than 50 percent.
[2]
The World Economic Forum (WEF) appears to agree with these time scales. This week it published its [3]"Space Industry Debris Mitigation Recommendations" [PDF] which aim to maintain a post-mission disposal (PMD) success rate of 95-99 percent or better, with all operators striving for the five-year target to remove obsolete space stuff from low Earth orbit (LEO).
[4]
[5]
It also recommends that satellites are maneuverable, preferably through onboard propulsion, at altitudes above 375 kilometers and asks governments to mandate the use of active debris removal (ADR) systems for objects that cannot comply with the guidelines.
One person's trash is another person's treasure, after all, and an industry is springing up around the problem. Take Astroscale, for example, whose raison d'être is to be the garbage men of LEO.
[6]
This week the Japanese company published a video on how its ELSA-M End of Life service will match the orbit of a target object, inspect the site, then dock before pushing the defunct spacecraft off to fiery euthanasia in Earth's atmosphere.
[7]Youtube Video
Astroscale says ELSA-M should be able to retire multiple client satellites in a single mission and is aiming to run an in-orbit demonstration with a constellation customer satellite next year. If successful, this would be the first time a commercial ADR system completes "the end-to-end operations of a removal service with a full sized and fully representative client."
[8]After scaring the world, China shows off 'chute that can aim Long March rockets' descents
[9]NASA solar satellite burns up over the Sahara desert
[10]Student satellite demonstrates drag sail to de-orbit old hardware
[11]Amazon convinces FCC it can avoid space junk chaos
Satellite docking has also been successfully demonstrated by Northrop Grumman's [12]Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV). While this is for the sake of giving client spacecraft a new lease on life rather than ending them, it gives credence to Astroscale's ambitions.
The WEF's recommendations have some buy-in from operators who run large constellations like OneWeb, Planet, and Spire, and a mix of established and emerging space companies – including Astroscale. But others are conspicuous by their absence.
[13]
SpaceX operates Starlink, the largest satellite constellation, and is surely set to be one of the worst orbital polluters in the decades to come. Amazon, which is developing the Project Kuiper constellation to rival Starlink in the satellite broadband stakes, is also not a signatory. Nor is Viasat, which runs another large internet constellation.
For a long time, it's been hoped that collisions in orbit are the stuff of science fiction, but the days of "set it and forget it" are coming to an end. ®
Get our [14]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2022/09/09/fcc_space_junk/
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_specialfeatures/thereginspace&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZIwyv3tXp22tXMafa2mb6wAAAAI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Space_Industry_Debris_Mitigation_Recommendations_2023.pdf
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_specialfeatures/thereginspace&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZIwyv3tXp22tXMafa2mb6wAAAAI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_specialfeatures/thereginspace&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZIwyv3tXp22tXMafa2mb6wAAAAI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_specialfeatures/thereginspace&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZIwyv3tXp22tXMafa2mb6wAAAAI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1v-eF26mCc
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2023/06/14/china_long_march_parachute/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2023/04/22/nasa_satellite_rhessi/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2023/03/21/student_satellite_demonstrates_drag_sail/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2023/02/10/amazon_project_kuipers_space_junk/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2021/04/13/mev-2/
[13] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_specialfeatures/thereginspace&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZIwyv3tXp22tXMafa2mb6wAAAAI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[14] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: is this correct?
Lee D
That's like saying that people who dump biological waste or chemicals that evaporate etc. aren't polluting because it'll break down in a few years.
Try that argument with a copper if you are ever pulled over for lobbing your apple core out of the window.
Re: is this correct?
alain williams
Try that argument with a copper if you are ever pulled over for lobbing your apple core out of the window.
People seem to be able to drop litter with impunity in the UK - I doubt that a copper would bother.
Anyway: an apple core I would not worry about if it were tossed into a bush as it goes brown & rots quickly; oranges are unsightly for longer. I have done some litter picks in my local area, the worst offenders are smokers - large numbers of butt ends and fag packets; followed by hard/soft/coffee drinks - glass/plastic bottles & paper cups.
Lee D
Touch one ex-military satellite by mistake, and inadvertently trigger a serious international incident.
I can't see countries that aren't clearing up their messes themselves paying a foreign company to clear up their mess for them when the impact of not clearing it up is... zero to the company, in effect. In fact most of the time the companies will be defunct. So who's paying?
And doing it without consent is going to run into all kinds of problems. Hell, you only have to accidentally nudge one thing out of orbit and into someone else's satellite and you could trigger all kinds of knock-on effects.
is this correct?
"SpaceX operates Starlink, the largest satellite constellation, and is surely set to be one of the worst orbital polluters in the decades to come"
I thought the original (*) low orbits selected by Starlink were partly to decrease the range to ground, partly to increase total bandwidth by allowing more satellites each with a smaller ground footprint but also because they would naturally decay and re-enter within a 5 year window without active propulsion.
i.e. they are self tidying - with their little plasma thruster they can offset the drag during their life but at the end they can drive themselves back into the atmosphere or, in the event of total failure, they will do it naturally albeit a bit slower (but still in the 5Y window). I think this has already happened with a few units that failed shortly after launch - so it does work.
(*) I think they have requested some higher orbits which would have a longer natural decay but my recollection is that the original orbits were in the 2-5Y decay range and the higher ones were in the 5-10Y decay range maybe. So not within the new window (if they fail totally) but still quite a lot better than e.g OneWeb, Iridium, etc. which operate at much higher orbits.
So presumably not actually likely to be the worst polluter then?