Rocket Lab to launch satellite aimed at reducing space junk

Geraden Cann  Aug 23 2021

Rocket Lab will carry a satellite to low Earth orbit designed to reduce the amount of dangerous space junk.

Launching from the company’s Mahia Peninsular complex sometime near the end of the year, the Finnish-designed AuroraSat-1 will test its new technology after being released above the planet’s surface.

The new tech includes a water-based propellant system and deployable Plasma Brakes, which effectively create drag in low Earth orbit, slowing craft and making them more susceptible to the planet’s gravitational pull.

The US Department of Defense’s global Space Surveillance Network (SSN) sensors track more than 27,000 pieces of orbital debris, or space junk.


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ROCKET LAB/SUPPLIED
The AuroraSat-1 will test various bits of kit designed to help solve the issue of space junk.

However, much of it is too small to be tracked. Because both the debris and spacecraft are travelling at speeds of approximately 15,700 mph, even a tiny paint fleck can damage spacecraft or satellites.

The AuroraSat-1 was developed by Aurora Propulsion Technologies, a Finnish company dedicated to the sustainable use of space.

The CubeSat, which is roughly the size of a toaster, will test the company’s water-based propellant and its system that can help control a satellite’s altitude,or right it, if it starts to tumble.

ROCKET LAB/SUPPLIED
The AuroraSat-1 will be launched to low Earth orbit during the fourth quarter of this year.

AuroraSat-1 will also test its deployable Plasma Brakes.

These combine a very small tether with charged particles in space, which generate drag, which could be used to slow spacecraft and pull them out of orbit when they reach the end of their usable life.

Satellites brought down from orbit will typically burn up on re-entry to the atmosphere.

AuroraSat-1’s tech could one day be fitted to satellites to enable operators to bring them back to Earth, rather than allowing them to accumulate as more space junk.

ROCKET LAB/SUPPLIED
The AuroraSat-1 is only about the size of a toaster, but will trial some fancy new tech.

Rocket Lab founder and chief executive Peter Beck said getting the satellite to space would allow Aurora to bring its tech to the market more quickly.

The mission is expected to follow three back-to-back Electron launches in August and September, which will see the CAPSTONE mission to the Moon begun in support of NASA’s Artemis program.

ROCKET LAB/SUPPLIED
The AuroraSat-1 will be launched as part of a ride-share mission from Mahia Peninsular.

Rocket Lab spokeswoman Murielle Baker described space junk as a growing problem.

“With the significant increase in the predicted number of spacecraft needing to get on orbit in the next few years, the problem of space junk will only get worse if action isn’t taken.

“With space junk congesting room on orbit for satellites, there is a risk of collision for all launchers because of it.”

In a separate effort to make space more sustainable, Rocket Lab are also working on a method of recovering the first stage of its Electron rocket, which would usually drop back to Earth and be lost.
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