Space Junk

As its Aeolus wind monitoring mission comes to an end, ESA is testing new procedures for deorbiting the decommissioned 1360-kg (3,000 lb) spacecraft to burn up in the Earth's atmosphere, advancing international space safety standards.

It turns out the rocket that is predicted to impact the Moon on March 4 is not the second stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket after all, but the upper stage of a Chinese Long March 3C used to launch the Chang'e 5-T1 lunar flyby mission in 2014.

Showing that space junk isn't a local problem, observations by amateur astronomers have determined that the upper stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched in 2015 will impact the Moon on March 4 at 12:25 GMT.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency has grand plans when it comes to tackling the growing problem of space junk, and startup Rocket Lab has just been enlisted to get its first efforts off the ground.

A space-debris-clearing drag sail developed by Purdue engineers called Spinnaker3 that is large enough to pull a spent rocket booster out of a 400-mile orbit to safely burn up in the Earth's atmosphere will be put to the test next month.

Private orbital debris removal company Astroscale has demonstrated its magnetic capture system that is designed to tackle the problem of space junk, with its ELSA-d servicer satellite managing to capture a simulated piece of space debris in orbit.

The ISS was forced to make an emergency course correction to avoid an unidentified piece of space debris earlier this week, an incident that highlights the dangers posed by the thousands of tonnes of disused satellites and rockets orbiting the Earth.

Given how many satellites and bits of orbital debris are now orbiting the Earth, it's becoming increasingly important to keep track of where they all are. A new telescope system allows space agencies and other clients to do so – even in broad daylight.

A team of ESA scientists has developed a way to use lasers, special telescopes, detectors, and light filters tuned to specific wavelengths to increase contrast with the sky and accurately track space debris even in broad daylight.

Space debris is a serious problem that won’t be going away anytime soon, but researchers have put forward a novel way to keep things in check, making a case for charging satellite operators an “orbital-use fee” to reduce the risk of collisions.

DirecTV has been granted permission by the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to send a damaged communications satellite in danger of exploding due to its severely damaged batteries into an emergency disposal trajectory.

ESA has commissioned the world's first mission to recover a piece of space debris in orbit. At the end of November, the Ministerial Council consortium awarded a service contract to a consortium for the ClearSpace-1 mission to launch in 2025.