JAXA and others take first photo of 15-year-old “H-IIA rocket” floating in space – Impress Watch

JAXA has released images of the upper stage of the H-IIA rocket, which was launched in 2009 and is still floating in Earth’s orbit. Photographed by the space debris removal demonstration satellite “ADRAS-J” developed by Astroscale in the new space project “Commercial Debris Removal Demonstration (CRD2) Phase I” aimed at space debris removal being undertaken by JAXA. What was done.

What was confirmed was the upper stage of the H-IIA rocket that launched the Greenhouse Gas Observation Satellite “IBUKI” (GOSAT) in 2009. It remained in orbit after launch and is now treated as space debris. ADRAS-J’s mission is to demonstrate technologies such as rendezvous and nearby operations for the upper stage of the H-IIA rocket.

The images were taken close up to a distance of several hundred meters behind the debris. One of the objectives of CRD2 Phase I is to “obtain images that show the movement, damage, and deterioration of debris that has existed in orbit for a long time, for which there is little information worldwide”, and this image is the first of its kind. This is one of the results.

Space debris is a “non-cooperative object” that does not have functions such as approaching, capturing, or transmitting location information, so accurate location information cannot be obtained. It is necessary to approach this by making full use of observation data from the ground and sensors mounted on satellites.

JAXA predicts in advance that the attitude of the target debris will be a pendulum movement centered on the geocentric direction (toward the center of the earth), or, in the extreme case, an upright posture along the geocentric direction. However, the photographed images confirmed that it was in an upright position along the geocentric direction. Understanding the state of postural motion and its dynamic state will be important when capturing debris in the future CRD2 Phase II.

It was also predicted that the insulation material used on the surface of the rocket would have been orange immediately after launch, but now, more than 10 years later, it has turned dark brown due to ultraviolet rays. It was confirmed that the guess was correct. It is important to know the actual state of deterioration of the surface material because it affects the measurable distance of the optical sensor mounted on the satellite during rendezvous and nearby operations.

Astroscale will continue to operate ADRAS-J and is expected to conduct fixed-point observations and orbiting observations at closer distances in the future. JAXA plans to continue providing technical support for the operation of ADRAS-J while conducting detailed analyzes of images obtained during CRD2 Phase I.