A startup based in Singapore plans to take on the ambitious task of tidying up space, eliminating the junk that orbits Earth and puts the planet in danger of losing satellite power.
Astroscale is a mover in a growing industry called "NewSpace," and the startup has developed technology to grab space junk and move the pieces into a different orbit, Reuters reported.
The company's technology uses a mother ship to launch six smaller ships to grab the 200 biggest pieces of space junk and put them in a lower orbit, according to Reuters. The startup's plan is to gather funding through the ultimate product placement--putting a "Pocari Sweat" drink from Japanese soft drinks manufacturer Otsuka Pharmaceutical on the moon.
Okada has declined to say how much Otsuka is paying for the elaborate publicity stunt, Reuters reported.
"Debris affects our daily lives. What if you can't be prepared for storms, not watch the World Cup, if ships can't use GPS?" Astroscale founder and CEO Nobu Okada said at a recent conference as quoted by Reuters. "Our daily lives are totally dependent on satellite technology."
According to NASA data, the pieces of debris currently circling Earth number more than half a million. Bits of space junk travel at speeds of hundreds of miles an hour, making even tiny pieces deadly if they hit a space shuttle.
"Somehow the amount of debris is still growing and there's no clear solution yet," said Okada, as quoted by Reuters.
Space junk orbits larger space objects until it burns up, something that could take a few years or a century. Earth has reached the Kessler Effect, according to experts. The Kessler Effect is a state where Earth's lower orbit holds enough objects that a space collision could result in a cascade of space debris.
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