Worlds first space junk-collecting robot claw underway to combat deadly amount of trash in orbit

The long arm of the claw is coming for space junk.The UK is launching a first-of-its-kind mission to rid the atmosphere of space junk, which involves using giant, satellite-propelled claws to snatch it from the sky.On Wednesday, the UK Space Agency just signed an $81 million (£61.3million) contract with the aerospace manufacturing company ClearSpace to manufacture interstellar reacher sticks capable of disposing of defunct satellites, GeoNews reported.Currently, these dead orbiters pose a great risk to their active counterparts that provide GPS, communications and other everyday utilities, the UK gov announced in a statement.Known as the UK’s Active Debris Removal Programme (ADR), the cosmic dump trucks will embark from Scotland in 2029 with the goal of destroying two dead orbiters by 2032.After hunting them down, the specialist spacecraft will use four specialized grabbing arms to swoop up the dead satellites like something out of a James Bond film.They’ll then gently escort the debris into our lower atmosphere, where it’ll be incinerated before it can contribute to the galactic garbage patch encircling the Earth.If successful, this celestial snatch-and-grab will mark the first time “a spacecraft has disposed of more than one satellite in this way,” per the release.To avoid inadvertently becoming part of the problem, the refuelable satellites will be parked at a safe orbit so they can be used for future cleanups.“Space junk and debris pose an immense and growing challenge, but with our homegrown expertise, the UK is determined to lead the global effort to clean up space,” declared UK Space Minister Liz Lloyd.

“By backing this world-first mission, we will protect the satellites that underpin modern life, from keeping us connected with loved ones and delivering accurate weather forecasts to keeping our country safe.”Despite the country’s relatively modest national space budget, which pales in comparison to the financial scale of NASA’s deep s...