Mark Megahan
There is so much garbage floating around in low Earth orbit that it has become a menace to space navigation. Something has to be done about it and the UK is determined to get the contract, one way or another. Two of their engineering firms are duking it out with cutting edge technology.
Micro-gravity garbage grabber
The space garbage will soon be gone. According to an official news bulletin put out by the United Kingdom’s Space Agency, two “UK-based companies are designing missions to clear hazardous space junk.”
The new project is designed to “back cutting-edge space technology.”
ClearSpace and Astroscale each got “£4 million from the UK Space Agency to design missions to remove existing pieces of space debris, working with a consortium of industry partners.”
They will come up with plans to pick up the garbage and “once the designs are complete, the teams, along with other UK space companies, could receive further funding to see the UK’s first national space debris removal mission launch in 2026.”
All that cash will be great for the Kingdom’s economy because between the two varieties the work will “directly support the creation of 70 new jobs, with further opportunities to increase growth in the wider UK space sector, which already supports 47,000 jobs and generates an income of £16.5 billion each year,” which is $18.65 billion in America.
There is serious money to be made collecting garbage in orbit. London’s Enabling Technology Program just started up with “£15 million to support innovative space research and develop emerging space technologies across the UK.”
In-orbit servicing
Space garbage removal is included in the ETP funding. They plan to sponsor “technology for in-orbit servicing and manufacturing, which can extend the lifetime of satellites, building resilience and reducing space debris.”
Once they get that off the ground, they will reevaluate further support for “the UK’s contribution to future space science missions.”
Now that we’ve solved the challenges of lifting mass to orbit safely and accurately, “orbital congestion and space debris is one of the biggest challenges facing the global space sector.”
There is so much garbage flying around its going to break something important soon. That’s why UK “committed £102 million, over the next three years, to deliver capabilities to track objects in space and reduce debris.”
They also want to come up with some international rules to prevent space litter. “The UK is also leading on global regulation and standard setting to make space activities more sustainable, in line with the government’s National Space Strategy.” Picking up the garbage should be part of the pre-launch strategy for all future missions.
Right now, “there are estimated to be more than 130 million pieces of space debris orbiting Earth, from tiny flecks of paint from spacecraft, to old satellites, spent rocket bodies and even tools dropped by astronauts.” Like old tennis shoes hanging from the phone lines, “debris can stay in orbit for hundreds of years and present a real danger to satellites and the public services that they deliver, from communications and navigation to environmental monitoring.“
