Space Debris Removal Mission Advances to Next Phase
The first major program review with ESA for a ground-breaking space debris removal mission has been completed. With this milestone, ClearSpace has shown the ability to meet the technology requirements this mission demands. In addition, ESA and the participating States have reconfirmed their support for active space debris removal by fully funding the next phase of the ClearSpace-1 program during ESA’s Ministerial Council last November.
"This is a major milestone for ClearSpace, setting us on course to become one of the world leading In-Orbit Servicing companies and is also a major step toward the resolution of the space debris issue."
Luc Piguet ClearSpace CEO and Co-founder.
In 2020, ClearSpace was commissioned by ESA to build, launch, and fly a novel deorbit mission that will rendezvous with and capture a large piece of debris in orbit, and then safely pilot the object into Earth’s atmosphere.
As a key step in the development of this unique space debris removal mission, ClearSpace has designed a four-armed capture system for its robotic satellite. This innovative technology successfully passed proof-of-concept testing at ESA’s ESTEC technology center in the Netherlands in October 2022, a major milestone that contributed to ClearSpace’s successful program review.
Space Debris Removal Mission Program Review Moves the Program Forward
ClearSpace is now qualified to proceed to the next phase of ClearSpace-1, continuing with its industrial partners on the satellite’s detailed design, procurement of spacecraft equipment, and manufacturing of the engineering model servicer satellite, all with an eye toward launch as soon as 2026.
“Along with an experienced European industrial team and the close collaboration with ESA, we were able to reach this important milestone in an effective and technologically sound manner,” said Muriel Richard-Noca, ClearSpace Chief Technology Officer and Co-founder.
"This is a major milestone for ClearSpace, setting us on course to become one of the world leading In-Orbit Servicing companies and is also a major step toward the resolution of the space debris issue," said Luc Piguet ClearSpace CEO and Co-founder. "Debris represents a growing threat to the satellite services we all depend on, including research on climate change, weather prediction, communication, and a host of other applications. The cost of inaction is only increasing.”
In ESA’s Space Debris Environment Report, the agency stresses that it is necessary to start actively cleaning up the space environment – removing existing, larger debris objects from busy regions – to stop the exponential growth of space debris.
Last January 19. ClearSpace announced that it had finalized a €26.7 million (≈$28.5 million) series A financing round, to further accelerate the movement toward the sustainable use of space.
(Source: ClearSpace news release. Images provided)