Rocket Lab will launch an ambitious space-junk probe mission for Japanese company AstroScale today (Feb. 18), and you can watch the action live.
Astroscale's ADRAS-J satellite is scheduled to lift off atop an Electron rocket from the rocket lab's New Zealand launch pad at 9:52 a.m. EST (1452 GMT; 3:52 a.m. local New Zealand time on Feb. 19) today.
You can watch it live courtesy of Rocket Lab or on Space.com Directly through the company. Coverage begins approximately 20 minutes prior to departure.
Related: Kessler syndrome and the space debris problem
ADRAS-J stands for „Active Debris Removal by Astroscale-Japan”. True to its name, the satellite will attempt to advance humanity's fight against space debris, a problem that continues to grow as more and more satellites are launched into orbit.
„This mission is the first phase of the Orbital Debris Removal Program, and this phase is designed to test technologies and operations for accessing and tracking ADRAS-J debris,” Rocket Lab representatives wrote. Job description.
The 330-pound (150-kilogram) ADRAS-J „helps remove data” [space junk]To ensure sustainable use of space for future generations,” they added.
Such work is a key focus for Astroscale, which was founded in 2013 and has subsidiaries in the United Kingdom, the United States, France and Israel.
For example, in 2021, the company launched a demonstration mission called ELSA-d, which used a magnetic system to capture a piece of simulated debris in orbit. And in 2026, Astroscale plans to capture and de-orbit two defunct British satellites under the name COSMIC („Cleaning Up the Outer Space Mission Through Innovative Capture”).
Related: 6 Types of Objects That Can Cause Disaster in Space Debris
If all goes as planned today, Electron will land ADRAS-J at an altitude of 373 miles (600 kilometers) 64.5 minutes from Earth. This is the orbital orbit occupied by ADRAS-J's target: the upper stage of the Japanese H-2A rocket that launched the GOSAT Earth observation satellite in 2009.
„ADRAS-J will fly around a platform 11 meters long and four meters in diameter [36 by 13 feet]examining it with cameras,” Rocket Lab wrote in the mission statement. „After deployment from Electron, Astroscale's full mission will take three to six months to complete.”
„On Closer Inspection” will be the rocket lab's 44th mission overall and the second of 2024. In an earlier flight this year, Rocket Lab, which launched on January 31, retrieved the first stage of an electron from the ocean. Reusable booster. Rocket Lab representatives said today's mission will not include rocket recovery.
„Oddany rozwiązywacz problemów. Przyjazny hipsterom praktykant bekonu. Miłośnik kawy. Nieuleczalny introwertyk. Student.