Space Debris – Spaceflight Now

Smallsat companies teaming up on deorbit experiment

August 15, 2019

TriSept Corp. has announced plans for a commercial technology demonstration mission set for launch next year on a Rocket Lab Electron vehicle to test a deployable conductive tape, made by Tethers Unlimited, that could help small satellites more quickly fall out of orbit at the end of their missions.

Rocket Lab deploys experimental U.S. military smallsats on first night launch

May 5, 2019

On its first nighttime launch, Rocket Lab’s Electron booster climbed into orbit Sunday from New Zealand with a trio of small U.S. military payloads, demonstrating the privately-developed rocket’s ability to help meet the Air Force’s growing demand for smallsat launches.

Live coverage: Rocket Lab launches three U.S. military smallsats

May 4, 2019

Three experimental satellites sponsored by the U.S. military lifted off on an Electron rocket from Rocket Lab’s commercial spaceport in New Zealand on Sunday at 0600 GMT (2 a.m. EDT).

Intelsat declares drifting satellite total loss

April 22, 2019

Intelsat has declared the Intelsat 29e communications satellite a total loss after the Boeing-built spacecraft suffered a fuel leak and shed debris in geostationary orbit, three years into a planned 15-year mission.

Stricken with fuel leak, Intelsat 29e seen drifting in geostationary orbit

April 15, 2019

A Boeing-built Intelsat communications satellite launched three years ago is drifting in geostationary orbit more than 22,000 miles over the equator after suffering a fuel leak and releasing debris fragments last week, according to an analysis by space surveillance experts.

Experimental British satellite tests harpoon in orbit

February 15, 2019

A British satellite released from the International Space Station last year has successfully demonstrated a harpoon that could be used on future missions to clean up space debris, officials announced Friday.

Space junk clean-up demonstrator deployed from space station

June 26, 2018

A small satellite assembled in Britain has been released from the International Space Station, commencing a standalone mission to test technology and techniques that could be used to capture and de-orbit space junk in low Earth orbit.

Chinese space lab burns up on re-entry over Pacific Ocean

April 2, 2018

China’s Tiangong 1 space lab, home to two astronaut crews in 2012 and 2013, fell back to Earth uncontrolled Sunday, likely burning up over the Pacific Ocean as satellite trackers monitored the module’s gradual descent from orbit.

Q&A with Guglielmo Aglietti, RemoveDebris principal investigator (members only)

April 2, 2018

Guglielmo Aglietti is the director of the Surrey Space Center in Britain, and he leads a team of scientists and engineers who developed an experiment named RemoveDebris to demonstrate techniques to approach, capture and remove space junk from orbit.

Eliminating space junk could take step toward reality with station cargo launch

April 1, 2018

European engineers who developed a small satellite hitching a ride to the International Space Station aboard a SpaceX supply ship Monday are gearing up for a first-of-a-kind experiment to examine ways to snare a chunk of space junk and tug it back to Earth.