From laser beams and wooden satellites to galactic tow-truck services, start-ups in Japan are trying to imagine ways to deal with a growing environmental problem: space debris.
Junk such as used satellites, rocket parts and wreckage from collisions has been piling up since the space age began, with the problem accelerating in the past few decades.
“We’re entering an era when many satellites will be launched one after another. Space will become more and more crowded,” said Miki Ito, general manager at Astroscale, a company dedicated to “space sustainability.”
“There are simulations suggesting space won’t be usable if we go on like this,”