MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th November, 2020) The United Kingdom will play a leading role in the launch of the Clearspace-1 satellite, dubbed "The Claw," that will help clear dangerous space junk from orbit, the UK Space Agency said on Tuesday.
In a press release, the agency said that the Elecnor Deimos firm will design Clearspace-1's Attitude and Orbit Control System, which will position the satellite to collect debris in orbit.
"The UK is going to lead the way in tracking and removing this hazardous debris, and I am delighted that technology supporting this pioneering ambition is going to be made in Britain," Dr. Graham Turnock, the chief executive of the UK Space Agency, said in the press release.
The Clearspace-1 satellite is earmarked for launch in 2025 and will be the first-ever mission dedicated to the removal of space junk in orbit.
The European Space Agency-backed project was developed by an affiliate of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne.
