Tokyo (SCCIJ) – The Swiss start-up Clearspace has developed a small spaceship to dispose of space debris in the long term. A maiden mission is planned for the coming years. TIME magazine named it one of the 200 best inventions of 2023.
An engineering solution to the ubiquitous human debris in Earth’s orbit (© Clearspace).
Maiden mission
Since the dawn of the space age, countless tons of space debris have been floating around in our orbits. This is hardly surprising, given that numerous countries around the globe have launched many satellites and rockets into the farthest reaches of space. But what happens to the rubbish we leave behind in the long term?
The Swiss start-up Clearspace has been investigating this question since it was founded in 2018 by engineer Luc Piguet as a spin-off from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL). The result is a small spaceship designed to dispose of space debris in the long term.
Ready for take-off in 2026
The mission, dubbed Clearspace-1, is scheduled for launch in the second half of 2026. According to current plans, a Vega-C rocket from Arianespace could carry the spacecraft into space. Once there, it will navigate to a payload adapter of a rocket that has been in orbit since 2013.
The Clearspace spacecraft then seizes the 112-kilogram component using a specially developed robotic arm technology, performs a controlled atmospheric reentry, and burns up along with it in the Earth’s atmosphere. If the endeavor proves successful, the start-up’s ships could dispose of several parts per mission in the future. This is because waste is increasingly becoming a problem in our orbit.
ClearSpace is in charge of research and development, designing and building the spacecraft with the help of its industry partners: Deimos is responsible for the navigation and guidance systems. Airbus in Germany is taking care of avionic assembly. OHB-Sweden designs and manufactures the propulsion system. APCO-Technologies in Switzerland offers its expertise in satellite structure and thermal control.
High time for clean-up
The European Space Agency (ESA) estimates in their latest Space Environment Report that there are currently 34,000 pieces of space debris larger than ten centimeters in size in orbit. There are also around 6,500 satellites. Hence, it seems high time to clean up the mess.
For this purpose, the Zero Debris Charter has been recently introduced by ESA. Its ambitious goal is to significantly limit the production of debris in Earth and Lunar orbits by 2030 for all future missions, programs, and activities.
One possible key to achieving this ambitious goal: Clearspace. ESA has commissioned the Swiss start-up by awarding Clearspace a service contract of around 86 million euro. A further 26 million euro has been contributed by a Series A round by private investors. It will become the world’s first space debris removal mission.
Text: © SwissTech (Editing by SCCIJ)
