Angered by Russian Satellite Destruction, US Seeks 'Space Debris Cleanup Companies' [Science Insights]

▲The movie 'Gravity' depicting an incident caused by a collision with space debris. [Photo by Warner Bros. Korea]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] Like the movie Space Sweepers, cleaning up space debris in Earth's orbit is expected to become full-scale. As space debris surged due to Russia's satellite destruction, the United States has launched advanced technology development through public-private cooperation.

According to space-specialized media Space.com, the U.S. Space Force posted a video on its official website on the 5th, announcing a call for private companies to participate in a contest named "Orbital Prime," which aims to develop orbital space debris cleanup technology. In the video, David Thompson, Deputy Commander of Space Operations, stated, "We offer an opportunity to join a partnership to find innovative solutions to remove, recycle, or reuse space debris," adding, "Our goal is to collaborate with academia, industry, and research institutions with innovative minds to develop and apply cutting-edge technologies and operational concepts to reduce and remove space debris." The application deadline is the 17th, with the goal of developing and testing an orbital space debris cleanup system within 2 to 4 years.

The U.S. Space Force's active engagement in orbital space debris cleanup is interpreted as a response to the numerous fragments generated by Russia's satellite interception experiment in November last year, which increased the risk of damage to the International Space Station (ISS) and others. At that time, astronauts aboard the ISS had to take emergency evacuation measures due to the heightened risk of debris collision, facing significant danger.

The U.S. Space Force has offered a prize of $250,000 for this first contest and plans to increase the prize to $1.5 million for the second contest to encourage the development of more practical technologies.

Currently, there are over 20,000 trackable pieces of space debris in Earth's orbit, posing threats not only to the ISS but also to satellites, probes, and launch vehicles of various countries. Including smaller objects that are difficult to track, the total is known to exceed 500,000, all orbiting Earth at an incredible speed of about 7 km per second. Moreover, private space companies like SpaceX plan to launch tens of thousands more satellites for satellite internet, and space development activities such as the U.S.-led Artemis project for lunar exploration and development, China's space station construction and solar power generation facility installation, and advancements in small cluster satellite technology are becoming more active, leading to an exponential increase in space debris.