Science
A magnetic spacecraft that can attract dead satellites has entered orbit – a test in a new effort to clean up space junk – Business Insider Australia
Millions of bits of junk rocket around Earth faster than bullets, threatening to collide with satellites and the space station.
Earth’s orbit desperately needs someone to take out the trash. A Japanese company is trying to keep the problem from getting worse.
The company, called Astroscale, has designed a spacecraft with a magnetic plate that can attach to dead satellites – as long as they have the other side of the magnet. That enables it to pull the satellites into a freefall, burning up both the spacecraft and its satellite passenger in Earth’s atmosphere.
The first version of this technology is called the End-of-Life…
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