Rocket Lab Launches Astroscale's Space Junk Inspection Satellite To Orbit

Rocket Lab launched ADRAS-J(Active Debris Removal by Astroscale-Japan) satellite atop an Electron rocket at 1452 UTC on Feb. 19, from the company's New Zealand launch site. The Astroscale's spacecraft is designed to inspect a large piece of space junk: a defunct Japanese H-2A rocket stage in low Earth orbit.

About 64.5 minutes after liftoff, the Electron successfully deployed ADRAS-J about 600 kilometers above Earth, near the orbital neighborhood occupied by the satellite's target: the upper stage of the Japanese H-2A rocket that launched the GOSAT Earth observation satellite in 2009.

"ADRAS-J will fly around the stage, 11 meters long and four meters in diameter, inspecting it with cameras," Rocket Lab wrote in the mission description. "After deployment from Electron, Astroscale's full mission will take between three and six months to complete."

"On Closer Inspection" will be Rocket Lab's 44th mission overall and its second of 2024. On this year's previous flight, which launched Jan. 31, Rocket Lab recovered the Electron's first stage from the sea, as part of its ongoing effort to make the booster reusable. According to the company, there will not be a rocket recovery attempt on Sunday's mission.

The 150 kilograms ADRAS-J will try to help in the fight against space junk, a problem that continues to grow as we launch more and more satellites to orbit.

"The ADRAS-J mission will be the world's first attempt to safely approach and characterize an existing piece of large debris through rendezvous and proximity operations," Astroscale CEO and founder Nobu Okada said in a video statement. Tackling space junk is a key focus for the company which was founded in 2013 and has subsidiaries in the United States, United Kingdom,, France and Israel.

"The mission is the first phase of an orbital debris removal program, and during this phase ADRAS-J is designed to test technologies and operations for approaching and monitoring debris objects," Rocket Lab representatives wrote in a mission description. The satellite will also deliver "data that will assist in removing [space junk], to ensure the sustainable use of space for future generations."

In 2026, Astroscale plans to capture and remove two defunct British satellites from orbit, on a mission called COSMIC ("Cleaning Outer Space Mission through Innovative Capture").

The company in 2021, launched a demonstration mission called ELSA-d, which captured a piece of simulated debris in orbit using a magnetic system.

"ADRAS-J is a pioneering mission that opens up a range of on orbit capabilities that will lead to a sustainable future in space," Okada said.

WATCH Rocket Lab launch the ADRAS-J satellite