Space harpoon test for orbital debris

Space harpoon test for orbital debris

The photo of February 8, 2019 shows a harpoon hitting a square target set at a distance of 1.5 m from the RemoveDEBRIS spacecraft. The same team used the net to capture some of the space junk in the September test.

The harpoon thrown by the satellite successfully captured a piece of false space debris. The British experiment is considered part of the effort to remove debris from orbit around the Earth. Last Friday, the tool successfully coped with the tests.

Harpoon size does not exceed the writing pen. He managed to break through an aluminum panel the size of a table tennis racket attached to the end of the satellite. The distance between them was only 1.5 m, but the researchers were satisfied.

In September 2018, the same team used the network to capture some space debris. The experiment started from the International Space Station last year.

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