Clearing dead satellites and space junk from orbit

How far are we from clearing dead satellites and space junk from orbit?

Active debris removal has moved from concept to in-orbit tests, but no dead satellite or rocket stage has yet been captured and removed. Astroscale's ELSA-d mission magnetically captured a client satellite in 2021. Its ADRAS-J spacecraft came to about 15 metres from a rocket upper stage in November 2024, then aborted when an attitude anomaly was detected. ADRAS-J2, planned to capture and deorbit a stage, is targeted for launch in Japan's fiscal year 2027. ESA's ClearSpace-1 has changed its target, and the company's website now lists a 2028 launch.

AI illustration · Illustrative scene, not a photograph of the specific device or experiment.
WHERE WE AREEngineering prototypes

Getting closer. Prototypes exist, but not in real-world use.

Close approach, inspection and magnetic capture have been reported in orbit, but these were operator demonstrations on a client satellite and a rocket stage. No derelict object has been captured and removed. The two missions planned to capture and deorbit objects are still in development, with launch targets of 2027 to 2028. That fits engineering prototype rather than pilot.

The tech tree

Everything recorded on Vrulum that this future needs, oldest foundations at the top and the goal at the bottom. Lines show what each step requires.

What it takes: Clearing dead satellites and space junk from orbit Unlocked Being researched Locked
  1. 2017Asteroid miningResearch and prototypes Being researched.
  1. 2014In-space manufacturingResearch and prototypesRequires: Asteroid mining. Being researched.
  1. 1964Reusable launch vehiclesPilot and early commercialRequires: In-space manufacturing. Unlocked.
  1. 2020Satellite broadband constellationsCommercial Unlocked.
  2. 2020Space debris removalPilot and early commercialRequires: Reusable launch vehicles. Unlocked.
  3. 2023In-space servicing and assemblyResearch and prototypesRequires: Asteroid mining. Being researched.
  1. 2021Magnetic capture of a client satelliteDone Unlocked.
  2. 2024Close approach and inspection of a rocket upper stageDone Unlocked.
  3. 2026Robotic capture and deorbit of an unprepared rocket stage (ADRAS-J2)In progress Being researched.
  4. Date not recordedClearSpace-1 capture of PROBA-1In progress Being researched.
  5. Date not recordedCapture and removal of a derelict object from orbitNot started Locked.
  1. GoalClearing dead satellites and space junk from orbitGoalRequires: Space debris removal, In-space servicing and assembly, Satellite broadband constellations, Close approach and inspection of a rocket upper stage, Magnetic capture of a client satellite, Robotic capture and deorbit of an unprepared rocket stage (ADRAS-J2), ClearSpace-1 capture of PROBA-1, Capture and removal of a derelict object from orbit. Locked.

The road so far

2 of 5 steps done, 2 in progress.

  1. Done · 30 Nov 2024Close approach and inspection of a rocket upper stage

    Astroscale's ADRAS-J spacecraft reached about 15 metres from a rocket upper stage on 30 November 2024. Two fly-around observations, on 15 and 16 July 2024, confirmed no major damage to the payload attach fitting, and Astroscale says the data will inform the follow-on ADRAS-J2 mission. The onboard collision avoidance system then triggered an autonomous abort after an unexpected relative attitude anomaly. Astroscale said at the time that it was still investigating the cause. [1]

  2. Done · 25 Aug 2021Magnetic capture of a client satellite

    Astroscale's ELSA-d mission launched in March 2021 with a servicer and a client satellite stacked together. Astroscale reports successful repeated magnetic capture on 25 August 2021. The mission page logs the finalised deorbit operations on 24 January 2024 as the mission's conclusion. The client was a satellite, not an object left unmanaged in orbit. [2]

  3. In progress · 1 Sept 2026Robotic capture and deorbit of an unprepared rocket stage (ADRAS-J2)

    ADRAS-J2 is under development. Astroscale says it will approach an unprepared Japanese rocket upper stage, remove it with an in-house robotic arm and deorbit it. Astroscale selected Isar Aerospace to launch the spacecraft on 1 September 2026, and says the launch is targeted for Japan's fiscal year 2027 (April 2027 to March 2028) on Isar's Spectrum rocket. The contract is about 13.2 billion yen including tax, under Phase II of JAXA's Commercial Removal of Debris Demonstration programme. [3][4]

  4. In progressClearSpace-1 capture of PROBA-1

    ESA commissioned ClearSpace-1 as a removal mission. In April 2024 ClearSpace announced a change of target to ESA's PROBA-1 satellite, after debris was detected near the original target, indicating a collision with untraceable debris. ESA and ClearSpace also simplified the industrial team. ClearSpace's website now lists a 2028 launch and a total budget to launch of €100 million, and describes the mission as validating capture, removal and end-of-life execution. The sources checked do not give a build status or a launch contract for the current plan. [5][6]

  5. Not startedCapture and removal of a derelict object from orbit

    No capture and removal of a derelict object has been reported. The ADRAS-J approach ended with an abort before the capture initiation point. The next capture-and-deorbit missions have launch targets of 2027 to 2028. [1][4][6]

Why it matters

Satellites and rocket stages left in orbit add collision risk. ESA's Space Debris User Portal lists about 47,140 regularly tracked objects in Earth orbit (update of 14 October 2026), and its modelled estimates include far more pieces too small to track. A single fragmentation event can add thousands of pieces: ScienceAlert reports that ESA counted 11 such events in 2024, which together generated at least 2,633 pieces of debris. Removing large dead objects is one proposed way to limit the growth of this population.

What stands in the way

  • The target is not prepared for capture. Astroscale describes its ADRAS-J2 target as an unprepared upper stage that has not been fitted with technology for docking or servicing. The ADRAS-J approach to a stage ended in an abort after an attitude anomaly, and when Astroscale announced it in December 2024 the cause was still under investigation.
  • Consent and jurisdiction are not settled. The Outer Space Treaty keeps jurisdiction and control over a space object with the state on whose registry it is carried. A 2014 commentary by Joanne Wheeler says that another state, or a private entity of another state, may not remove a space object without the launching state's consent. The sources reviewed do not describe an agreed route for that consent.
  • Liability is unclear. The 1972 Liability Convention makes a launching state absolutely liable for damage on Earth's surface or to aircraft in flight, but applies a fault test to damage in space. The same 2014 commentary says an agreement between the two states would be necessary to assign responsibility and liability for a removal.
  • Cost per removal is not published. The figures available are for whole missions, such as ClearSpace's €100 million total budget to launch and ADRAS-J2's contract of about 13.2 billion yen including tax, so the price of removing one object is not published.
  • Schedules have moved. ClearSpace-1 changed its target in 2024, and the company's April 2024 announcement gave a second-half 2026 launch, while its website now lists 2028.

Published forecasts

What others have predicted. These are their estimates, not ours.

WhoForecastTimeframeMade
ClearSpace SAClearSpace-1 would launch in the second half of 2026 on Arianespace's Vega C, from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana, to rendezvous with PROBA-1. The company's website later listed a 2028 launch, so this date has moved. [5]202624 Apr 2024
Astroscale JapanADRAS-J2 is targeted for launch in Japan's fiscal year 2027 (April 2027 to March 2028) on Isar Aerospace's Spectrum rocket, from a pad at Andøya in Norway. [4]2027–20281 Sept 2026

Signals to watch

  • ADRAS-J2 launches in Japan's fiscal year 2027 and captures its target stage.
  • Astroscale publishes the cause of the ADRAS-J attitude anomaly and the plan for its next approach.
  • ClearSpace-1 launches and captures PROBA-1 in orbit.
  • A satellite operator or government buys the removal of a named derelict object with a stated price.
  • An agreed international route for consent and liability when removing another state's object.
  • ESA's annual count of fragmentation events, which coverage of its 2025 report puts at 11 in 2024.

Sources

  1. company announcement
    Astroscale's ADRAS-J Achieves Historic 15-Meter Approach to Space Debris
    Astroscale, 11 Dec 2024.
  2. company announcement
    ELSA-d Mission
    Astroscale, 24 Jan 2024.
  3. company announcement
    ADRAS-J2 Mission
    Astroscale, 1 Sept 2026.
  4. company announcement
    Astroscale Japan Selects Isar Aerospace to Launch ADRAS-J2
    Astroscale, 1 Sept 2026.
  5. company announcement
    ClearSpace-1 Mission Changes in Response to Space Debris Collision to Go Leaner, Faster and Safer
    ClearSpace SA, 24 Apr 2024.
  6. company announcement
    ClearSpace website, ClearSpace-1 mission summary
    ClearSpace SA, 21 Oct 2026.
  7. dataset
    Space Environment Statistics
    European Space Agency (Space Debris User Portal), 14 Oct 2026.
  8. news
    ESA Report Says There's Too Much Junk in Earth Orbit
    ScienceAlert, 9 Apr 2025.
  9. other
    Convention on International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects
    United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, 29 Mar 1972.
  10. 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.

Last reviewed 21 Oct 2026.