ASTROSCALE ON MISSION TO DECLUTTER SPACE

New satellite propulsion test facility to propel UK into new space age

According to the European Space Agency (ESA), there are around 6,250 satellites in space, of which only around 3,900 are still functioning. So what’s happened to the rest? The number of debris objects regularly tracked by Space Surveillance Networks has reached more than 28,000.

But a far greater number of debris objects are estimated to be floating around space, says the ESA. These include 34,000 objects greater than 10cm, 900,000 objects greater than 1cm to 10cm and 128 million objects greater than 1mm to 1cm.

They might be tiny, but what is all this rubbish? According to NASA, they include pieces of space craft, tiny flecks of paint from their surfaces, parts of rockets, satellites that are no longer working, or explosions of objects in orbit flying around in space at high speeds. Most space junk is moving very fast and can reach speeds of 18,000 miles per hour, almost seven times faster than a bullet.

We need to clear up after ourselves.

And that’s what Astroscale wants to do. In March, the Japanese company which has a major base at Harwell Campus, launched its End-of-Life Services demonstration mission. This marks the start of the world’s first commercial mission to prove the core technologies necessary for space debris docking and removal. ELSA-d, which consists of two satellites stacked together — a servicer designed to safely remove debris from orbit and a client satellite that serves as a piece of replica debris — was launched by GK Launch Services into a 550km orbit on a Soyuz rocket from Baikonur in Kazakhstan.

The new centre will allow UK companies and academics to fire up and test state-of-theart space propulsion engines at up to 1.5kN in high-altitude vacuum, an equivalent test altitude of 140,000ft. It will cement the international reputation in propulsion of the Westcott Space Cluster.

The facility, which is expected to create around 60 jobs, will offer companies a more affordable test facility than international rivals.

It will also allow new types of more sustainable propellants to be tested, such as hydrogen peroxide and liquid oxygen which are more environmentally friendly in sourcing, storage and combustion.

Nobu Okada, Astroscale Founder and CEO, said: “This successful launch brings us closer to realising our vision of securing the safe and sustainable development of space for the benefit of future generations.”

Following additional preparatory steps in orbit, ELSA-d will enter the next phase of this pioneering mission to demonstrate the technologies and capabilities necessary for debris capture and removal.

At present, companies can test extremely small engines in the UK but have to go overseas to test bigger engines. The new facility will tackle this issue and help grow the UK’s status as a leading space player.

The government is backing the new facility, dubbed the National Space Propulsion Test Facility, with £4 million in funding.