Approaches to satellites for defensive, offensive or espionage purposes are increasingly common. Usually these are trials, so all the devices involved belong to the same company. However, all alarms went off recently when a Russian satellite was detected approaching a radar satellite from the Finnish company ICEYE, which provides intelligence to Ukraine. This is the first time anything has been detected against a commercial satellite that supports this country. Because of this, its allies showed concern and an organization specializing in orbital cleaning was not slow to propose a solution: a fleet of bodyguards for military satellites.
China and Russia ahead. Although many countries have carried out orbital approach maneuvers, none have surpassed the merits of China and Russia. as reported placeBoth countries have the best technology in that regard; Therefore, if it’s time to leave rehearsals and take action, they’ll have a clear advantage. For this reason, the company Astroscale offers to build bodyguard ships that protect satellites without the need to dock or capture them. At an event in London, its defense chief, Alex Godfrey, explained that Europe could be the region that would benefit the most, as its approach technology is much weaker than that of the Russians or the Chinese.
Their proposal includes building a fleet of ships that can protect satellites from close quarters, but without the need to touch them or dock with them.
much cheaper Since no coupling is required beyond the proximity maneuver, the proposal is not very expensive. In fact, Astroscale notes that operating these ships would cost 1% of the Skynet fleet, which is used in the UK to facilitate military communications.
Why a cleaner company? Astroscale is still a space debris cleanup company, but that fact makes it so special. To remove debris from Earth’s orbit, it has to get very close to it. Therefore, this company is very good at manufacturing ships with precision approach technology. In this case, it will not even be necessary to get very close, just enough.
Background. The technology will, in principle, be based on what Astroscale has already used in its ADRAS-J mission. In this case, a piece of real space junk was chosen, such as the discarded upper stage of a Japanese rocket, and proximity maneuvers were successfully tested.
Taking into account that they start from knowledge that has already been proven, the company assures that it can prepare a first bodyguard ship in just 3 years. As the UK government has pledged to fund the development of space controls from 2030, they hope to have a prototype ready in the same year. Then, if all goes well, these space bodyguards can be strategically distributed throughout Earth’s orbit.
Picture | Astroscale
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