Satellite Captures 360 View of Space Junk During First-Ever Fly Around

A satellite designed to remove space junk out of orbit made two successful fly-arounds of a discarded rocket upper stage taking photos from multiple angles.

The Active Debris Removal by Astroscale-Japan (ADRAS-J) was approximately 164 feet (50 meters) from the piece of space junk which is about 36 feet long or about the same size as a city bus.

ADRAS-J made two successful fly-arounds on July 15 and July 16 as the satellite and piece of space junk traveled in low Earth orbit (about 1,200 miles above the surface) at a speed of approximately 4.6 miles per second (7.5 kilometers per second).

A Path to Removing Space Junk

Astroscale is in a partnership with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and its mission is to remove pieces of space junk such as the one above that powered a Japanese climate research satellite in January 2009.

Since then, it has been hurtling around the Earth posing a potential threat to active satellites and even the International Space Station (ISS) which also travels in low Earth orbit.

Researchers have noted that, despite 15 years of harsh space conditions, the rocket looks in remarkably good shape. The rocket’s outer skin still has its orange foam insulation and the engine nozzle is shiny.

In June, Astroscale got as close as 36 feet to the discarded rocket and it hopes to get even closer than that — to almost touching distance.

The satellite’s controlled 360-maneuver around the space junk is believed to be the first time a spacecraft has tried to approach an uncooperative piece of debris. Meaning, it was never designed to be intercepted in such a way.

Astroscale and JAXA are planning on a second mission called ADRAS-J2 that will intercept the same piece of space junk and guide it out of Earth’s orbit with the help of a pair of robotic arms.

If the ADRAS-J mission is successful, JAXA hopes that more jobs will come in from other space agencies or private contractors to remove other items of space junk.

According to Ars Technica, space debris in orbit has increased by 76 percent since 2019 to 44,600 objects. The European Space Agency reports there are more than 2,000 intact rocket bodies orbiting Earth such as the one Astroscale is targeting.

However, rocket companies now deorbit more of their upper stages after deploying payloads to space so the number of rockets left in orbit isn’t rising as quickly as before.

Space junk poses a serious threat to functioning satellites and the ISS which regularly maneuvers to avoid collisions with debris. But even a tiny fragment piercing the station’s wall could potentially cause a catastrophe.

Image credits: Astroscale