A new deorbit tether will be tested by Aurora Propulsion Technologies in December 2020. The 1.5U CubeSat test will ride to space on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, after which it will be propelled to a sun-synchronous orbit via Momentus Space Vigoride. In addition to the tether, Aurora will test and utilize their new water thrusters for cubesat control.
Read MoreThe European Space Agency will be launching a debris cleaning robot in 2025. This test mission designed by ClearSpace, called ClearSpace-1, is the result of a recently signed debris removal contract with ESA. The mission will use four arms on a spacecraft to capture a 100 kg debris target, a Vespa adapter ring, which was left in an 800 km orbit after a 2013 Arianespace Vega launch of ESA’s Proba-V remote-sensing satellite. After successful capture, both the ClearSpace spacecraft and debris will re-enter and burn up in Earth’s atmosphere.
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