Japanese space junk cleanup experiment fails

Posted on 7 Feb 2017 by Michael Cruickshank
The KITE experiment was to be deployed by the HTV-6 vehicle after leaving the ISS. Image courtesy of Nasa.

A Japanese attempt to test a technology which could be used to clean up space junk has failed due to a technical fault.

The Kounotori Integrated Tether Experiment (KITE) was to test the deployment of a long electrodynamic tether extending out into space. In the future, this technology could be used to latch onto a piece of space junk. Measuring in at 700 meters long, the conductive tether would interact with the Earth’s magnetic field, building up a…

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