ON CLOSER INSPECTION - Rocket Lab launches Astroscale satellite to inspect space junk.

Mission Name: On Closer Inspection Rocket: Electron Launch Date: 19 Feb NZDT Launch Site: Launch Complex 1 Launch Time: 03:52 am NZDT / 14:52 UTC Payload: ADRAS-J (Active Debris Removal by Astroscale-Japan) The mission will lift-off from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand and will deploy the Active Debris Removal by Astroscale-Japan (ADRAS-J) satellite for Astroscale Japan Inc. The mission is the first phase of an orbital debris removal program, and during this phase ADRAS-J is designed to test technologies and operations for approaching and monitoring debris objects, also known as space junk, and delivering data that will assist in removing it, to ensure the sustainable use of space for future generations. After launching on Electron, the 150-kilogram ADRAS-J satellite will approach an aged, derelict rocket stage in orbit to observe it closely, understand how it behaves and determine potential methods for its assisted deorbiting in future. The rocket stage it will be observing is the Japanese H-2A upper stage left in low Earth orbit after the launch of the GOSAT Earth observation satellite in 2009. ADRAS-J will fly around the stage, 11 meters long and four meters in diameter, inspecting it with cameras. After deployment from Electron, Astroscale’s full mission will take between three and six months to complete. To enable the rendezvous with a non-cooperative space object requires a dedicated launch, highly responsive mission planning and extremely tight margins on...