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Astroscale: Cleaning up Space Junk for a More Sustainable Future

  • Human-produced objects in orbit at the dawn of the space age and today. (Courtesy of Astroscale)

    Human-produced objects in orbit at the dawn of the space age and today. (Courtesy of Astroscale)

  • A chart showing the number of objectshttps://orbitaldebris.jsc.nasa.gov/modeling/legend.html bigger than >10 cm in low Earth orbit. (© NASA ODPO; courtesy of Astroscale)

    A chart showing the number of objectshttps://orbitaldebris.jsc.nasa.gov/modeling/legend.html bigger than >10 cm in low Earth orbit. (© NASA ODPO; courtesy of Astroscale)

  • “The space industry has had a throwaway culture with onetime use and disposal and that’s why spacecraft were not recycled, reused, relocated, refueled, or removed. Astroscale was born to bridge that gap,” says Astroscale CEO Okada Nobu. (© Nippon.com)

    “The space industry has had a throwaway culture with onetime use and disposal and that’s why spacecraft were not recycled, reused, relocated, refueled, or removed. Astroscale was born to bridge that gap,” says Astroscale CEO Okada Nobu. (© Nippon.com)

  • (© Nippon.com)

    (© Nippon.com)

  • The ADRAS-J mission will attempt to rendezvous with a discarded upper rocket stage in low Earth orbit. The satellite will match the object’s speed and rotation before photographing it. (Courtesy of Astroscale)

    The ADRAS-J mission will attempt to rendezvous with a discarded upper rocket stage in low Earth orbit. The satellite will match the object’s speed and rotation before photographing it. (Courtesy of Astroscale)

  • Chris Blackerby, director of the board and chief operating officer at Astroscale, describes the ADRAS-J mission as an “incremental step” toward achieving the company’s vision. (© Nippon.com)

    Chris Blackerby, director of the board and chief operating officer at Astroscale, describes the ADRAS-J mission as an “incremental step” toward achieving the company’s vision. (© Nippon.com)

  • The office was designed to look like the deck of a spaceship, with conference rooms named after various orbits around Earth. (© Nippon.com)

    The office was designed to look like the deck of a spaceship, with conference rooms named after various orbits around Earth. (© Nippon.com)

  • Visitors are invited to try to catch debris whipping around an air-pressurized model of Earth. (© Nippon.com)

    Visitors are invited to try to catch debris whipping around an air-pressurized model of Earth. (© Nippon.com)

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