Close Menu
TechCentralTechCentral

    Subscribe to the newsletter

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube LinkedIn
    WhatsApp Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    • News

      TechCentral Nexus S0E3: Behind Takealot’s revenue surge

      23 June 2025

      Letter: South Africa risks missing AI wave while world surges ahead

      23 June 2025

      Prosus profit surges 47% as e-commerce bet pays off

      23 June 2025

      Apple shifts its AI strategy

      23 June 2025

      Takealot rides subscription wave to revenue surge

      23 June 2025
    • World

      Watch | Starship rocket explodes in setback to Musk’s Mars mission

      19 June 2025

      Trump Mobile dials into politics, profit and patriarchy

      17 June 2025

      Samsung plots health data hub to link users and doctors in real time

      17 June 2025

      Beijing’s chip champions blacklisted by Taiwan

      16 June 2025

      China is behind in AI chips – but for how much longer?

      13 June 2025
    • In-depth

      Meta bets $72-billion on AI – and investors love it

      17 June 2025

      MultiChoice may unbundle SuperSport from DStv

      12 June 2025

      Grok promised bias-free chat. Then came the edits

      2 June 2025

      Digital fortress: We go inside JB5, Teraco’s giant new AI-ready data centre

      30 May 2025

      Sam Altman and Jony Ive’s big bet to out-Apple Apple

      22 May 2025
    • TCS

      TCS+ | AfriGIS’s Helen Hulett on how tech can help resolve South Africa’s water crisis

      18 June 2025

      TechCentral Nexus S0E2: South Africa’s digital battlefield

      16 June 2025

      TechCentral Nexus S0E1: Starlink, BEE and a new leader at Vodacom

      8 June 2025

      TCS+ | The future of mobile money, with MTN’s Kagiso Mothibi

      6 June 2025

      TCS+ | AI is more than hype: Workday execs unpack real human impact

      4 June 2025
    • Opinion

      South Africa pioneered drone laws a decade ago – now it must catch up

      17 June 2025

      AI and the future of ICT distribution

      16 June 2025

      Singapore soared – why can’t we? Lessons South Africa refuses to learn

      13 June 2025

      Beyond the box: why IT distribution depends on real partnerships

      2 June 2025

      South Africa’s next crisis? Being offline in an AI-driven world

      2 June 2025
    • Company Hubs
      • Africa Data Centres
      • AfriGIS
      • Altron Digital Business
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Altron Group
      • Arctic Wolf
      • AvertITD
      • Braintree
      • CallMiner
      • CambriLearn
      • CYBER1 Solutions
      • Digicloud Africa
      • Digimune
      • Domains.co.za
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • Incredible Business
      • iONLINE
      • Iris Network Systems
      • LSD Open
      • NEC XON
      • Network Platforms
      • Next DLP
      • Ovations
      • Paracon
      • Paratus
      • Q-KON
      • SevenC
      • SkyWire
      • Solid8 Technologies
      • Telit Cinterion
      • Tenable
      • Vertiv
      • Videri Digital
      • Wipro
      • Workday
    • Sections
      • AI and machine learning
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud services
      • Contact centres and CX
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Electronics and hardware
      • Energy and sustainability
      • Enterprise software
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Lifestyle
      • Motoring
      • Public sector
      • Retail and e-commerce
      • Science
      • SMEs and start-ups
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Events
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home » Science » Harpoon to capture debris orbiting Earth tested in space

    Harpoon to capture debris orbiting Earth tested in space

    By Jamie Harris18 February 2019
    Twitter LinkedIn Facebook WhatsApp Email Telegram Copy Link
    News Alerts
    WhatsApp

    A harpoon designed to spear through space junk and capture it has been tested in space for the first time.

    The RemoveDebris mission is hoping to address the issue of waste material in space left over by past rockets and other deployments, with between 16 000 and 20 000 pieces being tracked orbiting Earth.

    Airbus carried out the experiment last Friday, where a harpoon pierces through the skin of a sample piece of debris being dangled on a boom at about 1.5m away from the spacecraft.

    Once hit, a barb is deployed on the debris to secure it.

    The experiment is a major step towards cleaning up space junk, as the number of spacecraft launches continue to increase

    The harpoon is still a number of years away from operational use, but the experiment is a major step towards cleaning up space junk, as the number of spacecraft launches continue to increase.

    Astronaut Tim Peake previously revealed the damage that orbital junk can cause spacecraft, when he shared an image of a chipped window panel on board the International Space Station in 2016.

    It is believed that something as small as a paint chip could have caused the damage, as it hurtled towards the ISS.

    When in full operation, scientists aim to make the harpoon fire at debris up to 30m away.

    Moving objects

    Engineers back on Earth are still trying to work out how the system can be used to target moving objects.

    The harpoon, which is a joint initiative including British efforts from Airbus, the University of Surrey and the Surrey Satellite Technology firm, is capable of travelling at 20m/s.

    A previous RemoveDebris experiment demonstrated how a net could be used to catch potentially dangerous pieces of rubbish orbiting the Earth.

    Next, the group are expected to test the drag sail part of the test on 12 March.



    Airbus RemoveDebris
    Subscribe to TechCentral Subscribe to TechCentral
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email Copy Link
    Previous ArticleNew Zealand frets over China backlash after Huawei ban
    Next Article SAA to be split into three

    Related Posts

    Electric plane could be ready in three years: Rolls-Royce

    14 February 2022

    Boeing wants to build its next aeroplane in the metaverse

    17 December 2021

    Airbus unveils hydrogen-powered designs for zero-emission flight

    21 September 2020
    Company News

    IoT connectivity management in South Africa – expert insights

    23 June 2025

    Let’s reimagine Joburg using the power of tech, data and AI

    23 June 2025

    Netstar doubles down on global markets while backing SA growth

    23 June 2025
    Opinion

    South Africa pioneered drone laws a decade ago – now it must catch up

    17 June 2025

    AI and the future of ICT distribution

    16 June 2025

    Singapore soared – why can’t we? Lessons South Africa refuses to learn

    13 June 2025

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2025 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.