Space junk vacuum cleaner with aluminium wire tether reaches Space Station on Dec 13

The scientists at the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Energy (JAXA) have built a revolutionary space junk vacuum cleaner that aims to clean up space debris accumulating in the outer world since the beginning of the space age. The unique space junk cleaner is an experimental vehicle made of thin strands of aluminium and stainless steel wire. With a tether measuring 700 meters, the vehicle is capable of generating electricity as it swings through the earth's magnetic field.

It goes without saying that clearing up space junk is in itself a mammoth task. Though NASA ensures the fact that the risk of debris impact both in space and on Earth, is kept at minimal, on an average one piece of space junk has fallen back every day for the past 50 years. According to the NASA Orbital Debris Program office data, there are more than 21,000 pieces larger than 10 centimetres, and an estimated half-million pieces between 1 and 10 centimetres revolving in the space. Jaxa's aluminium-steel wire built junk cleaning vehicle will attempt to clear up all these debris on an experimental basis.


The steel-aluminium wire tether of the space junk vacuum cleaner carries current, which, hypothesis states will disrupt space debris enough to knock low-orbit objects into the sea below.

"The motion of the long charged cable through the Earth's magnetic field will create a force pushing other objects down towards the Earth – hopefully tossing some small pieces of metal down towards the atmosphere," explains Forbes author Jillian Scudder. "In its final form, the tether will have a grappling hook attached to its other end, which can be attached to a dead satellite and then used to tug the defunct satellite down to Earth."

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Named as KITE, the Kounotori Integrated Tether Experiment arrived at the International Space Station on December 13, 2016, and is currently undergoing multiple trials. If the aluminium-steel wire built space junk cleaner works as planned, it will be able to remove one large object and numerous tiny magnetic objects per mission.