netting

Engineers at the European Space Agency (ESA) have evaluated behaviour of deployable nets in orbit to remove derelict satellites in space.

The technology was tested on parabolic flights over a Falcon 20 aircraft to create weightlessness.

During tests, the engineers also evaluated their simulation tool, which could be used to design full-size nets for debris removal missions.

ESA engineer Kjetil Wormnes said: "We shot nets out of a compressed air ejector at a scale-model satellite.

"The technology was tested on parabolic flights over a Falcon 20 aircraft to create weightlessness."

"We fired 20 nets at various speeds during 21 parabolas over two days.

"The good news is they worked extremely well, so much so that the nets usually had to be cut away with a knife before we could shoot again."

The rainbow-hued nets, which are packed inside paper cartons, are weighted at each corner, to allow entangling of the satellite. Through its e.Deorbit mission, the ESA intends to test the possibility of clearing large debris in 2021.

The agency’s Clean Space programme is working on various concepts, including robotic arm, harpoon and an ion beam. The initiative aims to reduce the space industry impact on terrestrial and orbital environments.

The National Research Council of Canada carried out parabolic flights under a contract from Poland’s SKA Polska, which manages the project for ESA.

Image: Capture concept being explored through ESA’s e.Deorbit system study for active debris removal. Photo: courtesy of ESA.