Orbital Cleanup Initiative

The Orbital Cleanup Initiative aims to provide an effective solution to remove space debris to make way for future space exploration.

The challenge

With the ever-increasing demand for spacecraft in Earth orbit, space debris is becoming a substantial problem. There are currently over 23000 pieces in orbit that we know of, and millions of fragments still undetected. Of this debris, 24% originates from satellites and spent upper rocket stages. According to ESA, since 1961, more than 290 in-orbit fragmentation events have occurred due to satellite collisions and explosions of these satellites and upper stages. Each of these explosions generates thousands of new pieces of debris, each with the potential to destroy a satellite or put manned missions in jeopardy.

The solution

With the advancement of space technology, large batches of small satellites can be put into orbit with a single launch. By launching a group of satellites into low Earth orbit, each of these satellites can remove a piece of debris. By intercepting a piece of debris, attaching itself to it, and performing a deorbit burn, the satellite disintegrates in the atmosphere together with its target. In this way, one launch can take out multiple pieces of debris, making for a cost-effective solution.