
DUBAI, UAE (SSC PR) — Swedish Space Corporation (SSC) and Bradford Space / ECAPS, a leading manufacturer of non-toxic propulsion systems, have signed an MoU for the collaborative offering of orbital debris removal services. Starting in 2024, SSC and Bradford Space will offer orbital debris removal as a commercial service from Esrange Space Center in northern Sweden, mainland Europe. The agreement was signed today at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) 2021 in Dubai.
The new services will address the issue of common orbits becoming increasingly congested as more actors are accessing space, creating a hazard to other spacecraft using these orbits. A Bradford Space satellite bus, named ‘Square Rocket’, with significant delta-V capability will be inserted into orbit via launch from the Esrange Space Center to then rendezvous with and deorbit the debris. The target orbits are high-inclination polar, including the common Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO).
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