Since our first forays into space, we've been leaving behind bits of debris: rocket stages, abandoned satellites, and pieces of spacecraft broken off in collisions. Left perpetually in orbit, this flotsam can make navigating space difficult and dangerous. But the Swiss Space Center at EPFL (the Federal Institute for Technology in Lausanne) has announced today that it will be making the skies a little safer with CleanSpace One, a "janitor satellite" that will fly through space, chase down space debris, and then carry them back through Earth's atmosphere to burn up on re-entry.
Swiss janitor satellites will clean up space
The Swiss Space Center at the Federal Institute for Technology in Lausanne has announced CleanSpace One, a satellite that will grab space debris and carry them into the atmosphere to burn up in reentry.
The Swiss Space Center at the Federal Institute for Technology in Lausanne has announced CleanSpace One, a satellite that will grab space debris and carry them into the atmosphere to burn up in reentry.
is a senior tech and policy editor focused on online platforms and free expression. Adi has covered virtual and augmented reality, the history of computing, and more for The Verge since 2011.
CleanSpace One, part of a proposed series of satellites, will be launched within three to five years. The first satellite will burn up with its quarry, but this may not be the case with later versions. Currently, EPFL scientists are working to create a motor powerful enough to keep up with the debris, which travel at speeds of 28,000 kilometers per hour (about 17,400 miles per hour), and to find a gripping mechanism that can keep hold of the rotating, fast-moving objects. Assuming the project is successful, the satellites can then start taking out some of the roughly 16,000 pieces of space junk.
Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.
Most Popular
Most Popular
- Xbox overhauls its PC, web, and cloud apps with a faster design
- I’ve reviewed almost every Android foldable this year — here’s how the iPhone Duo compares
- After printing 40,000 whistles, this is the 3D printer I’d buy
- Anker’s new window-mounted camera monitors the outside of your home from within it
- The Enough Phone is made by and for people fed up with big screens
