Originally published on September 17, 2013
The Cleanspace One satellite is set to be launched into space and begin cleaning up our rubbish from 2018, according to Gizmag.
Gizmap writes: "Equipped with thrusters, CleanSpace One is designed to rendezvous with a disabled satellite. Once on station, a claw reaches out, clamps on to the debris, and CleanSpace One pushes the debris and itself into the Earth's atmosphere on a kamikaze dive."
There are estimated to be more than 16,000 pieces of space debris orbiting the Earth larger than 10 cm (3.9 in) in diameter that could pose problems for the future of space travel.
The Gizmag report continues:
The launch system uses the Suborbital Reusable Shuttle (SOAR), a small unmanned shuttle, taken aloft by an A300 jet airliner. At an altitude of about 10 km (33,000 ft), the SOAR is released and flies under its own power to an altitude of 80 km (263,000 ft). There it launches a rocket booster stage that flies to an altitude of 700 km (435 mi), where it releases its payload into orbit.
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