UK's Space Cleanup Mission to Grab Dead Satellites with Robotic Claws

The UK is embarking on a space cleanup mission. It will spend $81 million on a project to capture and eliminate space debris using giant robotic claws. The UK Space Agency has officially launched the project by selecting ClearSpace UK, a space debris removal company.

Thousands of pieces of junk — defunct satellites, rocket remnants, and fragments from past collisions — are already orbiting Earth at speeds approaching tens of thousands of kilometers per hour. Left uncleared, they pose a growing risk of colliding with operational satellites.

The contract is part of the UK's Active Debris Removal (ADR) mission. The funding will go toward developing a dedicated spacecraft for removing defunct satellites. The spacecraft will track a dead satellite while both objects are moving at thousands of kilometers per hour, seize it with a robotic claw, and drag it into Earth's atmosphere to burn up — effectively serving as an 'orbital garbage truck.'

The first mission will remove two UK-registered defunct satellites in low Earth orbit, with the British government aiming to clear both by 2032. The spacecraft is scheduled to launch in 2029 from the SaxaVord Space Centre in the Shetland Islands, Scotland.