CLEAR mission for debris removal reaches key milestone

Specifically, it has achieved Preliminary Design Review (PDR) maturity, marking a significant advancement for making space operations more sustainable, said the company.

The mission is funded as part of the UK Space Agency’s national debris removal programme. It will use ClearSpace’s robotic capture system to safely remove two dead, washing-machine-sized, UK satellites from orbit.

The successful completion of the PDR confirms that ClearSpace’s “solution meets all of the mission requirements and is ready for the next stages of development”:

“We are incredibly excited to have achieved this critical milestone, not only showing that these complex missions are feasible, but also validating our core technology developments,” said Rory Holmes, UK Managing Director at ClearSpace.

“We are very grateful to the UK Space Agency for all their support. This collaboration has allowed us to move fast – really fast – in developing core technologies that can be used for a wide range of in-orbit services right here in the UK.”

CLEAR Mission

The development phase included the creation of a robust breadboard of all core technologies, including an agile robotic arm.

The robotic arm was designed and refined in less than one year, said ClearSpace.

Image: ClearSpace – CRAB, the robotic arm. In development (top), artistic impression of use, below.

See also: ClearSpace, Orbit Fab partner for in-space refueling service