Getting up close and personal with space junk

We’re getting a close look at some of the space junk that’s floating in space thanks to Tokyo-based company Astroscale Japan. New images taken from a distance of just 50 meters, show the discarded upper stage of a Japanese H-2A rocket that’s currently trapped in Earth’s orbit. They were taken by Astroscale’s Active Debris Removal (ADRAS-J) satellite following the spacecraft’s first fly-around observation of the debris.

ADRAS-J was launched on February 18th with the goal of collecting observational data that can be used to eventually remove large-scale space junk from orbit. The satellite has been monitoring the rocket’s upper stage for several months. The images were released after a test of the craft’s autonomous collision avoidance system designed to allow ADRAS-J to safely approach debris at close distances.

Photographs taken during the fly-around maneuver give us the closest look at the discarded H-2A upper stage rocket body since it was used to launch the GOSAT Earth-observation satellite in 2009. The object, seen floating above the Earth, weighs approximately 3 tons, and measures at around 11 meters (around 36 feet) long and 4 meters (around 13 feet) in diameter – a smidge smaller than an average city bus.

Astroscale says ADRAS-J successfully maintained a distance of approximately 50 meters (about 164 feet) during the fly-around, before an “unexpected attitude anomaly” triggered an autonomous abort after completing around one-third of the maneuver. ADRAS-J then moved away from the debris as intended and “remains in good health” according to Astroscale. The anomaly has since been identified, and Astroscale engineers are now preparing to approach the discarded upper stage again.

Phase two of Astroscale’s ADRAS-J mission, which aims to actually capture and deorbit some large space junk, is scheduled to begin no earlier than 2026.