Write a comment
The world's first mission to remove several small telecommunications satellites from orbit once they reach the end of their operational service is about to start building and testing its prototype spacecraft.
British-based in-orbit servicing company Astroscale - working in an ESA Partnership Project with satellite operator OneWeb - will begin manufacturing the first commercial "servicer" p The world's first mission to remove several small telecommunications satellites from orbit once they reach the end of their operational service is about to start building and testing its prototype spacecraft.
British-based in-orbit servicing company Astroscale - working in an ESA Partnership Project with satellite operator OneWeb - will begin manufacturing the first commercial "servicer" prototype designed to capture multiple satellites in low Earth orbit under the ESA Sunrise Programme.
Companies such as OneWeb are launching constellations comprised of hundreds of communications satellites to connect people in the hardest-to-reach locations through global satellite internet broadband services.
OneWeb currently has 428 satellites orbiting approximately 1200 km above the Earth; its completed constellation will number almost 650 satellites.
Removing these telecommunications satellites from their orbits once they are at the end of their lives is essential to ensure that today's interconnected digital world is not compromised by collisions that damage active satellites in space - and to protect the low Earth orbit environment as a natural and shared resource.
There are currently two options for removing end-of-life OneWeb satellites from their orbits at the end of their predicted five to six years of service.
Each has been allocated enough fuel to be able to actively deorbit at the end of its useful lifetime. But, in case of failure, each has also been built with either a magnetic or a grappling fixture, so that a servicer spacecraft could collect and actively deorbit the satellite.
The servicer spacecraft that Astroscale will build and test is called "ELSA-M" and is planned for launch in 2024. The servicer spacecraft will be the first "space sweeper" capable of removing multiple defunct satellites from their orbits in a single mission.
Following this demonstration, Astroscale will offer a commercial service for clients that operate satellite constellations in low Earth orbit, providing the technology and capability to make in-orbit servicing part of routine satellite operations by 2030.
Related Links
Astroscale
The latest information about the Commercial Satellite Industry
|
| Tweet |
| Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution. | ||
| SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly |  | SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once credit card or paypal |
Gogo Business Aviation to launch LEO Global Broadband service
Geneva VA (SPX) May 24, 2022
Gogo Business Aviation (NASDAQ: GOGO) has announced it will launch the first global broadband service in business aviation to use an electronically steered antenna (ESA) on a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite network. Gogo's exclusive antenna assembly, designed in conjunction with Hughes Network Systems, LLC (Hughes), will be small enough for installation on the fuselage of business aircraft from super light jets and large turboprops to ultralong-range jets, and will operate on OneWeb's high-speed, ... read more