Clearspace-1 space debris cleanup target in orbit just got struck by space debris

By Elizabeth Howell published about 19 hours ago
Space junk does seem to be a growing problem.



An artist's impression of ClearSpace-1 capturing a rocket piece in space. (Image credit: ClearSpace SA)

The target for a space debris cleanup mission is apparently in pieces.

A leftover rocket adapter, expected to be removed from low Earth orbit in 2026, has new pieces of space debris floating nearby. That's a likely aftereffect of being hit by something small flying through space. The problem was spotted by the 18th Space Defense Squadron of the U.S. Space Force, which monitors satellite movements.

That's an unexpected event for the European Space Agency's ClearSpace-1 mission, which is a planned test mission to remove that adapter in 2026. The adapter is a conical-shaped leftover, roughly 250 pounds (113 kg) in mass, from a 2013 Vega launch that sent a small fleet of satellites into orbit. Space tracking systems found new objects nearby the adapter, which ESA learned about on Aug. 10. The objects are likely space debris from a "hypervelocity impact of a small, untracked object" that smacked into the payload adapter, the agency said. We may never know if the crashing object was natural or artificial, given it didn't appear in tracking systems.

"This fragmentation event underlines the relevance of the ClearSpace-1 mission," ESA officials wrote in a statement Tuesday (Aug. 22). "The most significant threat posed by larger objects of space debris is that they fragment into clouds of smaller objects, that can each cause significant damage to active satellites."

While it appears only a small piece of the rocket hardware was lost after the collision, the mission plan assumed fully intact hardware. Now evaluations are ongoing to figure out what's next, and the analysis will persist for weeks at the least.

More:
https://www.space.com/space-debris-cleanup-mission-target-hit