.png) | |
| Mission type | Technology demonstration |
|---|---|
| Operator | ESA |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Manufacturer | ClearSpace SA |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 2029 (planned) |
| Rocket | Vega C |
| Launch site | Guiana Space Centre |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
TheClearSpace-1 (ClearSpace One) mission is an ESASpace debris removal mission led by ClearSpace SA, a Swissstartup company. The mission's objective is to remove thePROBA-1 satellite from orbit. The mission aims to demonstrate technologies forrendezvous,capture, anddeorbit for end-of-life satellites and to build a path to space junk remediation.[1][2]Destructive reentry will destroy both the captured satellite and itself.[3] It is expected to launch in 2029.[4]
In 2019, the company won a tender for aESA'sSpace Safety Programme contract in the Active Debris Removal/In-Orbit Servicing (ADRIOS) project.ClearSpace-1's original target was the VESPA payload adapter from the 2013Vega flight VV02.[5] In April 2024, the target was changed to thePROBA-1 satellite.[6] The mission contract, worth 86 million euros, was signed in November 2020.[7] As of May 2023,[update]ClearSpace-1 was expected to be launched in the second half of 2026 on aVega-C launch vehicle.[8]
The VESPA adapter thatClearSpace-1 originally aimed to capture is the size of a washing machine and weighs about 112 kilograms.[9]ClearSpace-1's device has been described as a four-armed "space claw" that would grip VESPA and steer it back into the Earth's atmosphere, where both would be destroyed via destructive reentry.[10] On 22 August 2023, the European Space Agency announced that the VESPA adapter had likely been hit by a small piece of space debris earlier in the month, resulting in the creation of several additional pieces of trackable debris.[11] Due to the possibility of a collision with debris, the agency opted to changeClearSpace-1's target to thePROBA-1 satellite.[6]
TheClearSpace-1 mission was preceded bye.Deorbit, a space debris removal mission under planning by ESA in 2010s. In the end, the e.Deorbit mission was not implemented, the satellite was not built and the whole e.Deorbit mission was cancelled.[12]ClearSpace-1 continues the ESA space debris removal aspirations.
Tokyo-basedAstroscale is a space debris removal company testing a removal device called End-of-Life Services (ELSA-d) that successfully demonstrated many of the key technologies required for space debris removal in 2021 and 2022, including magnetic docking with a client in 2021 and close approach RPO in 2022. As of 2023[update] ELSA-d was in its de-orbiting phase.[13][14][15]
In 2022, theUK Space Agency awarded £4 million to ClearSpace andAstroscale to remove non-operational British satellites by 2026.[16]
ClearSpace SA will launch the first active debris removal mission known as ClearSpace-1
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