HARWELL, UK — There are currently more than 160 000 pieces of space junk floating in Earth orbit, and 34,000 of these are longer than 10 centimeters. <br /><br />These pieces move at incredible speeds and pose a real danger to all current and future spacecraft. <br /><br />The BBC reports that the world's first test satellite that uses magnets to gather up space junk, will launch this week.<br /><br />The test satellite is called Elsa-d and it consists of two spacecraft, a 175 kilogram "Chaser" and a 17 kilogram "Target". <br /><br />These two units will go up together on a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and, once in orbit, separate to play multiple games of cat and mouse. <br /><br />The Chaser will use its sensors to find and chase down the Target, latching on to it via a magnetic docking plate. <br /><br />It will then release the Target for other capture experiments. <br /><br />The tasks will become increasingly complex, with the most difficult maneuver requiring the Chaser to grab the Target as it is tumbling. <br /><br />Ultimately, the Chaser will grab the Target and drop out of orbit to burn up in the atmosphere.<br /><br />The company that created the Elsa-d test satellite, Astroscale, says the next phase of the programme would be to retrieve multiple pieces of debris in a single mission. <br /><br />The company expects to launch this mission by the end of 2023.
