Swiss make more than just good knives...

[Twingo Gilford]

Swiss craft janitor satellites to grab space junk," By JOHN HEILPRIN

Swiss scientists said Wednesday they plan to launch a
"janitor satellite" specially designed to get rid of space junk, the
orbiting debris that can do serious and costly damage to valuable
satellites or even manned space ships.

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Swiss space-cleaning bot grabs flying junk, hurls itself into furnace

The clock-and-choc-making country today announced plans for a rubbish-grabbing space bot. The tiny 30cm-long (11.8-inch) CleanSpace One from the Swiss Space Center at the University of Lausanne will claim the title of the first janitor satellite.

'Janitor satellite' made to clean up space junk



In this illustration provided by the Swiss Space Center of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, the CleanSpace One is chasing its target, one of the CubeSats launched by Switzerland in 2009. Photo: EPFL/Swiss Space Center

ENEVA – The tidy Swiss want to clean up space.
Swiss scientists said Wednesday they plan to launch a "janitor satellite" specially designed to get rid of space junk, the orbiting debris that can do serious and costly damage to valuable satellites or even manned space ships.
The 10-million-franc ($10.09m) satellite called CleanSpace One — the prototype for a family of such satellites — is being built by the Swiss Space Centre at the Swiss Federal Institute for Technology in Lausanne, or EPFL.

Its launch would come within three to five years and its first tasks will be to grab two Swiss satellites that were launched in 2009 and 2010 but will be phased out of use, EPFL said.

Awesome idea?

[Space Hound]

More "Space Junk" news...

It's time to get serious about space junk danger, experts say International solution to growing problem needed — and time is running out By Denise Chow

Time is running out to get serious about fixing the problem of space debris, experts say.

As more countries around the world build up their space capabilities, U.S. lawmakers are keen to address the growing issue of potentially harmful debris in orbit. But while policies have attempted to tackle the problem, no major strides have been made.

In 2010, the White House released its sweeping national space policy for the country, which identified orbital debris and the long-term sustainable use of space as clear priorities. But so far, few changes have been implemented on the ground or in space, said Brian Weeden, a technical adviser with the Secure World Foundation, an organization dedicated to the peaceful use of outer space.

Space Junk