ClearSpace is a space technology start-up that wants to make space operations more sustainable and less expensive with its self proclaimed space towing service. The company has developed a technology that captures faulty satellites in orbit and guides them into the atmosphere, where they burn up. This innovation could create a new industry ranging from towing and maintenance to refuelling spacecraft in space.
Luc Piguet, one of the founders and CEO of ClearSpace, says these developments could fundamentally change how space operations are carried out. “We are not just building a company here, but a complete service industry that will change operations in space”, he said. He highlights the importance of the first mission, however. Once the world sees that such a technology works, the concept could be implemented on a much larger scale.
The company is currently working on a mission for the British Space Agency, which has two satellites in orbit that are no longer operational. These satellites are to be safely removed from low Earth orbit before being guided into a controlled re-entry into the atmosphere, where they will burn up. Removing this debris would eliminate a potential risk to other satellites and therefore to services such as GPS, weather forecasting, and emergency communications.
The European Space Agency (ESA) warns that so-called space junk larger than one centimetre can cause catastrophic damage to satellites or even endanger astronauts. Even smaller fragments can cause serious damage. Piguet also warns about the increasing number of objects orbiting the Earth. At some point, he says, there could be so many that “these orbital altitudes will no longer be usable in a few years’ time”.
With the number of satellites and pieces of debris orbiting the Earth rising, space agencies are showing a growing interest in services that remove this debris and reduce the risk of collisions. According to ESA, there are currently 44,870 catalogued objects in space. Statistical models suggest there are around 54,000 objects larger than 10 centimetres in orbit. In addition, there are about 1.2 million objects between one and ten centimetres in size and roughly 140 million pieces between one millimetre and one centimetre.
