Space junk collector burns up after hitting snag in first test

A cable designed to drag space junk out of orbit has failed to deploy from a Japanese spacecraft. More than half a million pieces of debris are currently whizzing around our planet, including abandoned satellites and fragments of old spacecraft. They pose a danger to working satellites and new space vehicles. Scientists are working on a range of clean-up solutions, including cables, nets, harpoons, sails and robotic arms. All are designed to capture pieces of space junk and tug them down into Earth's atmosphere where they will burn up and disintegrate.