Astroscale Japan has released more stunning images of space debris in Earth’s orbit.
The Tokyo-based company launched its Active Debris Removal Spacecraft (ADRAS-J) aboard a Rocket Lab Electron rocket on Feb. 18, 2024. ADRAS-J is designed to test safe ways to approach and clear space debris in orbit through what are known as rendezvous and proximity operations, or RPO.
To test the spacecraft’s capabilities, Astroscale sent ADRAS-J to photograph the abandoned upper stage of a Japanese H-2A rocket launched in 2009. The company released a statement on July 9 showing a new image of the wreckage floating lifelessly above the blue-and-white Earth, glared at by the sun.
ADRAS-J took the image sometime in June 2024 while it was just 165 feet (50 meters) from the bus-sized H-2A upper stage, which is about 36 feet (11 meters) long and weighs 3 tons.
Beyond taking pictures of space debris, ADRAS-J used the RPO with the disabled upper stage to demonstrate a collision avoidance system, which involves autonomous operations. In fact, while approaching the rocket body, the Astroscale spacecraft initiated an autonomous abort when it encountered an attitude anomaly.
ADRAS-J was then able to maneuver away from the debris, a capability that demonstrates that the spacecraft “can maintain safety even while making close-up observations of uncooperative objects,” Astroscale wrote. Statement.
Close-in operations like this are delicate maneuvers, due to the fact that many space debris objects like the H-2A upper stage were not designed with such tasks in mind.
Astroscale has high hopes for ADRAS-J. When this phase of the mission, known as Commercial Debris Removal Demonstration As the CRD2 project nears its end, the company plans to move forward with a new phase funded by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), in which it plans to remove a large piece of “uncooperative” space debris and deorbit it — one that wasn’t designed with such a mission in mind.
“This next phase is important in addressing the issue of space debris and laying the foundation for a sustainable environment for future generations,” Eddie Kato, president of Astroscale Japan, said at a press conference. Previous statement.
The second phase of the CRD2 mission is scheduled to begin no later than 2026.
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