NASA Wants a Giant Inflatable Bag to Collect and Throw Out Space Junk

Passant Rabie
Thu, August 31, 2023 

A capture bag that will be used to collect space junk in orbit.

A capture bag that will be used to collect space junk in orbit.

Picking up the trash in space could be as easy as stuffing pieces of defunct spacecraft into a giant bag, closing it up, and tossing the pesky space junk into an orbital recycling plant. At least that’s what space startup TransAstra hopes to do with its inflatable capture bag.

NASA recently awarded the California-based company a $850,000 early-stage contract to build its inflatable space junk bag and demonstrate its technology on the ground, SpaceNews reported.

“Repeated trips to pick up orbital debris and transport it to Earth’s atmosphere for disposal require significant propellant and time,” Nicole Shumaker, TransAstra vice president of strategic partnerships, is quoted in SpaceNews as saying. “Recycling stations in space resolve this problem and transform what was previously a liability into an asset that not only mitigates orbital debris but opens up new possibilities for in-space manufacturing and construction.”