New technology to clear up to 5,500t of space debris, including retired and abandoned satellites, has been unveiled by the University of Surrey in the UK.
The university is developing a 3kg miniature satellite, a nanosatellite, fitted with a solar sail.
CubeSail comprises a 5m×5m, 3kg deployable sail fitted into the nanosatellite.
The nanosatellite is designed to be fitted to satellites or launch vehicle upper stages that can be used to de-orbit equipment at the end of any mission.
Surrey Space Centres lead researcher and senior lecturer Vaios Lappas said successful deployment and testing of the sail can enable a low cost / mass solution for future satellites and launch vehicle upper stages reducing dramatically the problem of space debris.
“Following successful in-orbit demonstration, the proposed de-orbit system will be offered as standard for low Earth orbit missions for satellites with a mass of below 500kg at a very low cost,” he said.
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By GlobalDataA mission will be launched in late 2011 to demonstrate passive means of de-orbiting for future satellites.
