Active Debris Removal (ADR) is the concept of sending a spacecraft to rendezvous with a piece of debris, capture it, and bring it down. It sounds straightforward — but it's one of the hardest engineering challenges in spaceflight.
Active Debris Removal (ADR) is the concept of sending a spacecraft to rendezvous with a piece of debris, capture it, and bring it down. It sounds straightforward — but it's one of the hardest engineering challenges in spaceflight.
Getting to the debris is actually harder than capturing it. Each target requires a complete mission redesign.
ADR is transitioning from research to real missions — funded by both agencies and commercial ventures.
The same technology that removes debris can disable adversary satellites — creating a policy minefield.
Next: who's actually managing space traffic, and is anyone truly in charge?