September 2020
Tackling space debris - a global priority
... that increases the overall drag on the spacecraft, expediting the gradual decay of spacecraft orbit. For active debris removal (ADR) methods, on the other hand, the spacecraft nearing its end of mission utilises onboard thruster(s) to deorbit...
May 2019
Active debris removal faces legal minefield
... the most cost-effective and efficient method of debris mitigation is Active Debris Removal (ADR) Items 6 and 7 of the Space Debris Mitigation Guidelines encourage states to take the necessary measures to remove objects from low Earth orbit (LEO) and...
September 2018
Debris or not debris - is that the question?
...) does little to inspire confidence in this regard - lest we underappreciate that the envisioned guideline(s) with respect to Active Debris Removal (ADR) are among the most contentious and heavily debated, leaving little chance of their being adopted...
January 2023
Clearing space junk from orbit
...space. To prevent collisions involving derelict space vehicles, a tow-truck service – formally known as active debris removal (ADR) - is required. To perform this service, a robotic spacecraft is launched to rendezvous with a derelict object, capture...
12 March 2018
Satellite-servicing space drones set for launch in 2020
..., the drones could be used for additional tasks such as supporting low Earth orbit (LEO) constellations and active-debris-removal (ADR) missions. The diminutive craft’s longer term uses could also include support for asteroid-mining, deep...
April 2017
Urgent action needed to keep satellites safe in orbit
... of the GEO protected region as per IADC guideline 3.3.2 [2]. This defines a toroid-like band that encircles Earth. Active Debris Removal (ADR) will need to be accomplished at some point because even under best-case scenarios we cannot expect 100...
