This is what decades-old space junk drifting in Earth’s orbit would look like from just 50 meters (164 feet) away.
You’re looking at the spent upper stage from a discarded Japanese rocket that was launched Land note Satellites Back in 2009. The rocket body was photographed up close on May 23 by ADRAS-J satellitewhich was designed by a private Japanese company Astroscale to approach and study an unobtainable and uncontrollable piece of orbital debris.
Images and data collected during these inspections record the condition of the dead satellite, including how structurally sound it was after drifting in extreme conditions. space environment for years. The satellite is not transmitting Global Positioning System signals to Earth, so by approaching closely, imaging them and potentially removing them from orbit in the future, ADRAS-J demonstrates technologies by which in-orbit services can be used for things like satellite maintenance or capturing space debris objects and deorbiting them, according to Astroscale.
ADRAS-J, which is short for Active Debris Removal by Astroscale-Japan, Launched To orbit above Rocket laboratory‘s Electronic missile On February 18th. By April, the 330-pound (150-kilogram) probe had used its onboard cameras and successfully maneuvered within a few hundred meters of its target — the upper stage of the Japanese H-2A rocket that launched the GOSAT Earth rocket. Observing the satellite back. Another in 2009. This Eye-catching picture It was released in late April to commemorate the achievement.
Related: amazing! A special space probe takes a historic photo of an abandoned rocket in orbit
In an update posted today (Friday, June 14), Astroscale wrote that ADRAS-J completed a safe and controlled approach for the rocket, which is 36 feet long and 13 feet wide (11 x 4 meters). The latest image is one of many taken by ADRAS-J while it was in a fixed position relative to the upper stage, the company said, adding that the mission will soon attempt to capture additional images of the target through various different approaches.
Spaceflight historian Günter Krebs previously noted ADRAS-J is not the first mission to take close-up images of space debris. In 2003, the US Air Force Research Laboratory’s XSS-10 satellite imaged the used upper stage of a Delta 2 rocket; These tasks were less complex than the ADRAS-J tasks.
After a successful, safe and controlled approach to the dead rocket, in late April, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency announced (JAXA) has selected Astroscale for the second phase of the mission, which will progress toward capturing and removing the rocket body using a robotic arm Lighter version Of the International Space Station.
“This next stage is important in addressing… Space debris “This issue will lay the foundation for a sustainable environment for future generations,” Eddie Kato, president of Astroscale Japan, said at a press conference. Previous statement.
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