Thursday, February 8, 2024

Rocket Lab To Launch Space Junk Inspection Demo Mission

Long Beach-based Rocket Lab says it has set a launch window to help launch a space junk debris inspection spacecraft into orbit. According to the company, it will provide launch services for Astroscale, a company developing systems for eventual "space junk" removal. the company said a launch window starts on February 19th NZDT, and will be open for 14 days, to launch the mission for Astroscale. According to the company, the mission is expected to be the "first phase" of an orbital debris removal program, with the Active Debris Removal by Astroscale-Japan (ADRAS-J) satellite expected to be used for testing techniques for approaching and monitoring space junk.