{"id":2709956,"date":"2023-06-09T00:17:42","date_gmt":"2023-06-09T04:17:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress-1016567-4521551.cloudwaysapps.com\/plato-data\/video-shows-astroscales-plan-to-deorbit-multiple-satellites\/"},"modified":"2023-06-09T00:17:42","modified_gmt":"2023-06-09T04:17:42","slug":"video-shows-astroscales-plan-to-deorbit-multiple-satellites","status":"publish","type":"station","link":"https:\/\/platodata.io\/plato-data\/video-shows-astroscales-plan-to-deorbit-multiple-satellites\/","title":{"rendered":"Video shows Astroscale’s plan to deorbit multiple satellites"},"content":{"rendered":"
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SAN FRANCISCO \u2014 A new Astroscale video shows how the End of Life Services by Astroscale-Multiple mission, ELSA-M, will capture and deorbit a OneWeb communications satellite.<\/p>\n

\u201cELSA-M will be the world\u2019s first commercial removal of a client\u2019s inactive spacecraft,\u201d Alex Godfrey, Astroscale business development manager, told SpaceNews. <\/em><\/p>\n

In 2025, Astroscale plans to send ELSA-M into very low Earth orbit for commissioning. Next, the Astroscale satellite will move into a higher orbit to test its ability to latch onto a OneWeb satellite equipped with magnetic docking plates. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe work very closely with OneWeb,\u201d Godfrey said. \u201cWe\u2019ve done so in a public-private partnership on the ELSA-M program for the last five years. We\u2019ll be removing a spacecraft that has failed that is part of their constellation.\u201d<\/p>\n

ELSA-M is designed to capture multiple defunct satellites<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo make the price of doing this reasonable enough that the business can really take off, we have to be able to to remove multiple items with one spacecraft,\u201d Godfrey said. \u201cWe go up, grab our first client, bring it down and then release it. Then, we have to go back up and grab another.\u201d<\/p>\n

Astroscale is building and preparing to operate ELSA-M in its U.K. facility. Funding for the mission is being provided by the U.K. Space Agency, the European Space Agency and OneWeb. <\/p>\n

Astroscale demonstrated its ability to latch onto a docking plate in low Earth orbit in 2021 during capture and release tests<\/a> as part of End of Life Services by Astroscale-Demonstration, ELSA-D, mission. <\/p>\n

Related<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n