Astroscale, the Japanese company that is developing technology to safely and responsibly dispose of space waste, will start working with the Japanese Space Agency (JAXA) on a mission to remove space debris.
The organization passed the selection process and will participate in the first cleaning phase of the Commercial Removal of Debris Demonstation (CRD2) project.
Astroscale will build, launch and operate a satellite that will collect information about components of an old Japanese rocket, which will be removed in the second phase of CRD2.
In order to prepare for a safe and successful removal, the company wants to understand the movements made by the equipment, and to understand what debris is around it.
JAXA expects to complete the first phase of the cleaning mission by the end of 2022.
This is a major step on the way to creating a commercial space debris service, Nobu Okada, CEO and founder of Astroscale, said in a press release.
The company hopes that the data it collects in the first phase of CRD2 will be able to reinforce the awareness that waste in space is a problem that really needs to be solved.
Remember that the CEO and founder of Astroscale was at the 2019 edition of the Web Summit to raise awareness about the projects that his company is developing.
According to the official, Astroscale focuses on removing the debris that already exists floating through space, and is already preparing to deal with the death "of SpaceX or Amazon satellites.
At the same session that Nobu Okada was present, Holger Krag, Head of Space Safety at the European Space Agency (ESA), explained that space debris can be harmful to satellites that are in orbit and also to our planet.
Pollution only generates more pollution, says the person in charge, explaining the garbage is at a much shorter distance than is thought and that it is only a single fragment capable of destroying a satellite.
