Japan startup launches satellite on mission to monitor space debris

Japanese startup Astroscale Holdings said Monday that it has successfully launched a satellite to survey the state of a jettisoned rocket section in orbit in space, in what it calls a world first as it seeks to develop technology for space debris removal. The satellite aboard Rocket Lab USA's rocket lifted off from New Zealand on Sunday on a mission to monitor a part of the H2A rocket body that Japan launched in 2009 and which is currently orbiting 600 kilometers above Earth's surface at high speed. Space debris has been growing in recent years in line with the increase in launches of satellites and rockets. While such objects as defunct satellites and jettisoned rocket sections raise the risk of crashes with active satellites, there is no established method to remove the debris. The startup's cuboid-shaped demonstration satellite, Active Debris Removal by Astroscale-Japan, or ADRAS-J, measures about 80 centimeters in length and width, 1.2 meters in height and weighs around 150 kilograms.