Space debris removal
Also known as Active debris removal, Active space debris removal
Space debris removal uses spacecraft to catch dead satellites and spent rocket stages and bring them down. Companies have demonstrated approach and magnetic capture in orbit, and ESA and Japan have funded removal missions, but no removal of a derelict object has been reported yet.
In plain language
Space debris is any human-made object in orbit that no longer does a useful job, from dead satellites to spent rocket stages. Active debris removal means sending a spacecraft up to meet one of these objects, catch it and bring it down so that it burns up in the atmosphere. The hard part is that the object was never designed to be caught, so the chaser has to match its motion closely before it can grip anything.
So far, the in-orbit results are demonstrations rather than removals. Astroscale reports that its ELSA-d mission repeatedly captured a client satellite magnetically in 2021, and that its ADRAS-J spacecraft flew to about 15 metres from a rocket stage in 2024 before an automatic abort. ESA has contracted a team led by ClearSpace SA to remove a piece of debris. The sources now give different launch years for that mission, and the sources checked do not report any derelict object captured and removed.
Technical explanation
The core task is rendezvous and proximity operations (RPO): a chaser spacecraft must approach a target at close range, inspect it and hold a controlled position without a cooperative docking aid. Astroscale's ELSA-d mission tested a magnetic docking mechanism on its servicer. Astroscale reports that repeated magnetic capture was demonstrated on 25 August 2021. ELSA-d's client was a satellite, not a derelict object that had been left in orbit unmanaged.
ADRAS-J is Astroscale Japan's inspection mission against a spent H-IIA upper stage. Astroscale reports that the spacecraft reached about 15 metres from the stage on 30 November 2024. Fly-around operations were said to confirm no major damage to the payload attach fitting, which is the structure the follow-on ADRAS-J2 mission plans to target. An autonomous abort was then triggered by the onboard collision avoidance system because of an unexpected relative attitude anomaly. Astroscale reports that ADRAS-J2 will approach the same stage, capture it with an in-house robotic arm and deorbit it. The contract is reported at about 13.2 billion yen including tax.
Cost and law are the two main barriers. ESA's 2020 announcement gave a €86 million contract for ClearSpace-1, with the rest of the mission cost to be raised from commercial investors. ClearSpace's website now lists a 2028 launch and a total budget to launch of €100 million. Under the Liability Convention, a launching state is absolutely liable for damage its object causes on Earth's surface or to aircraft in flight, but damage caused in space is judged on fault. The Outer Space Treaty keeps jurisdiction and control over a space object with the state on whose registry it is carried, so the legal route to remove another state's object without its consent is not settled by these treaties.
What the evidence says
Each statement is typed by the strength of its evidence and linked to the source that supports it.
Demonstrated Shown in a published experiment, test or shipping product.
The 1972 Liability Convention makes a launching state absolutely liable for damage its space object causes on the Earth's surface or to aircraft in flight, but applies a fault-based test to damage caused elsewhere in space.
Sources: [6] · Articles II, III and VIArticle VIII of the Outer Space Treaty keeps jurisdiction and control over a space object with the state on whose registry it is carried, and preserves ownership of the object after it is launched.
Sources: [7] · Article VIII summaryReported, unverified Stated by a company or team but not independently confirmed.
ESA announced in November 2020 a €86 million contract with a team led by ClearSpace SA for ClearSpace-1, which it described as the first active debris removal mission.
Sources: [1], [8] · Press release textIn 2020, ESA said ClearSpace SA would raise the remainder of the mission cost through commercial investors.
Sources: [1], [8] · Press release textAstroscale reports that the ELSA-d servicer captured its client satellite magnetically and repeated the capture on 25 August 2021, and that the mission later completed rendezvous operations in May 2022.
Sources: [3] · Mission timeline · medium confidenceAstroscale reports that ADRAS-J reached 15 metres from an upper stage on 30 November 2024, then stopped its approach when the onboard collision avoidance system triggered an autonomous abort after an unexpected relative attitude anomaly.
Sources: [4] · Announcement text and timeline · medium confidenceAstroscale reports that its fly-around operations confirmed no major damage to the payload attach fitting of the ADRAS-J target stage.
Sources: [4] · Announcement text · medium confidenceAstroscale reports a contract of approximately 13.2 billion yen including tax for ADRAS-J2, which plans to approach an unprepared Japanese upper stage, remove it with an in-house robotic arm and deorbit it.
Sources: [5] · Mission page · medium confidenceDisputed Contested by other credible sources.
ESA's 2020 announcement gave 2025 as the ClearSpace-1 launch year and named the Vega Secondary Payload Adapter (Vespa) as the target. ClearSpace's website now lists a 2028 launch date, a total budget to launch of €100 million and PROBA-1 as the target.
Sources: [1], [2], [8] · Press release text; mission summaryLimitations and open problems
- All in-orbit results come from operator announcements. The sources checked include no telemetry, imagery analysis or independent review.
- No contracted removal mission has flown yet. The sources give different ClearSpace-1 launch years: 2025 in ESA's 2020 announcement and 2028 on ClearSpace's website.
- The ELSA-d test captured a client satellite, not an object that had been in orbit unmanaged.
- ADRAS-J ended its approach with an abort caused by an attitude anomaly. Astroscale says it is still investigating the cause.
- The sources give contract or budget figures for ClearSpace-1 and ADRAS-J2 only, so the cost of removing one object is still unclear.
- The Liability Convention and Outer Space Treaty do not mention debris removal. The sources checked did not show an agreed route to remove another state's object without its consent.
Possible future uses
Ideas, not predictions. None of these has been demonstrated.
- Removal of large spent rocket stages from crowded orbits before they break up into more fragments.
- Removal services paid for by satellite operators or governments at the end of a satellite's life.
- Standard capture points built into new satellites so that later removal is easier.
Timeline
- 26 Nov 2020ESA announces an €86 million contract with ClearSpace SA leading a team for ClearSpace-1, which it describes as the first active debris removal mission. Sources: [1], [8]
- 22 Mar 2021ELSA-d launches, with a mission launch date of 22 March 2021 on the mission page. Sources: [3]
- 25 Aug 2021Astroscale reports repeated magnetic capture in the ELSA-d mission. Sources: [3]
- 30 Nov 2024Astroscale reports that ADRAS-J reaches about 15 metres from an upper stage, then aborts the approach after an attitude anomaly. Sources: [4]
- 1 Sept 2026Astroscale selects Isar Aerospace to launch ADRAS-J2. The mission page gives a contract of about 13.2 billion yen including tax. Sources: [5]
Futures this could help bring about
Glossary
- Active debris removal
- Sending a spacecraft to capture an object that is no longer in use and move it to a safe place or bring it down.
- Rendezvous and proximity operations
- Manoeuvres that bring one spacecraft close to another and keep it at a controlled distance.
- Non-cooperative target
- An object that does not help a chaser spacecraft, for example because it has no docking aid or no active control.
- Upper stage
- The final rocket stage that stays in orbit after it has released its payload.
Sources
- other
Call for Media: ESA and ClearSpace SA sign contract for world's first debris removal mission
European Space Agency, 26 Nov 2020. Accessed 21 Oct 2026. - company announcement
ClearSpace (company website, ClearSpace-1 mission summary)
ClearSpace SA, 21 Oct 2026. Accessed 21 Oct 2026. - company announcement
ELSA-d Mission
Astroscale, 24 Jan 2024. Accessed 21 Oct 2026. - company announcement
Astroscale's ADRAS-J Achieves Historic 15-Meter Approach to Space Debris
Astroscale, 11 Dec 2024. Accessed 21 Oct 2026. - company announcement
ADRAS-J2 Mission
Astroscale, 1 Sept 2026. Accessed 21 Oct 2026. - other
Convention on International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects
United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, 29 Mar 1972. Accessed 21 Oct 2026. - other
Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies
United Nations Treaty Collection, 27 Jan 1967. Accessed 21 Oct 2026. - news
ESA Contracts Clearspace for Mission to Remove Space Debris
Rachel Jewett. Via Satellite (Satellite Today), 3 Dec 2020. Accessed 21 Oct 2026.
Revision history
4 changes since this profile was created.
What it took to get here
The inventions this technology was built on, oldest foundations at the top. Lines show what each one required.
- 2020Space debris removalPilot and early commercialRequires: Reusable launch vehicles. Unlocked.