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Gizmodo Science Fair: A Spacecraft That Hunts Down Space Junk

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  Published in Science and Technology on Monday, September 22nd 2025 at 11:28 GMT by gizmodo.com
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A Spacecraft That Hunts Down Space Junk: A High‑School Innovation Gets a Close‑Up

The amount of space junk circling the Earth has become one of the most pressing safety issues for satellite operators and the International Space Station (ISS). With over 20,000 objects larger than a marble already in orbit, every year a few hundred more pieces are added as satellites burn up or collide. The growing crowding threatens both new launches and the continued operation of existing missions. In the spirit of turning a global problem into a science‑fair project, a group of students from the Riverdale High School designed a small, cost‑effective spacecraft that could patrol the sky and capture debris—an effort they titled “Spacecraft that Hunts Down Space Junk.”

The Problem, The Proposal

In the article on Gizmodo Science Fair, the team begins by laying out the magnitude of the debris crisis. They reference the NASA Orbital Debris Program Office (a link in the article) and the European Space Agency’s (ESA) DEBRIS mission, both of which are testing passive and active removal techniques. While NASA’s DETECT concept uses drag sails to accelerate deorbit, and ESA’s DEBRIS uses a tethered net, the Riverdale team wanted a solution that could be rapidly deployed, scaled, and re‑used.

“We looked at the existing proposals and found a gap,” says senior team‑member Maya Patel. “The net systems work but are limited by the size of the tether and the requirement for a very precise approach. We wanted something that could operate in the low‑Earth orbit (LEO) environment without needing complex guidance.”

How the “Hunter” Works

The core of the prototype is a rotating capture ring that mimics a miniature “spider net.” The ring is made from a lightweight carbon‑fiber frame, wrapped in a mesh of ultra‑strong synthetic fiber. At the periphery, three deployable arms extend outward like a hand, each arm ending in a magnetic hook that can latch onto metal debris.

• Rotation: A small electric motor turns the ring at about 5 revolutions per minute. As it spins, the arms sweep a wide volume of space, increasing the chance of intersecting a debris trajectory.

• Capture: When the arm passes over a target, the magnetic hook activates, creating a short‑range attraction that pulls the piece into the net. Once the target is inside the mesh, the system uses a tiny thruster to gently move the debris from the arm into a central containment pocket.

• Release: After capture, the magnetic hook releases, and the net retracts back into the housing. The captured debris is then placed in a detachable cartridge that can be dropped off at a space‑debris servicing station or used to train future removal missions.

The design also includes a miniature attitude control system: reaction wheels to orient the spacecraft and a small ion thruster to adjust velocity. The entire system is powered by a compact solar panel and lithium‑ion battery pack.

From Concept to Prototype

The team’s first iteration was a physical scale model that they tested in a custom “orbital‑debris simulator”—a 3‑meter‑diameter water tank with magnetic “debris” spheres floating inside. Using a camera system, the researchers tracked the net’s rotation and the arm’s interception of targets. In a series of ten trials, the net captured 8 of the 10 “debris” pieces, a 80 % success rate that the team believes can be improved with software tweaks.

The article notes that the prototype is only the concept stage. For a full spacecraft, the team plans to work with a university’s aerospace department and a private space‑flight company, potentially SpaceX’s Starlink network, which is already discussing “clean‑up” missions for its mega‑constellation. They also reference a collaboration possibility with NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, which funds up‑to‑$1 million for prototype development.

“We’re hoping to get a flight‑worthy version,” says Alex Chen, the project’s lead engineer. “We’ve got the physics down, now we just need to make the system robust for the harsh radiation and thermal cycles of space.”

Why It Matters

If the concept works in orbit, it could become a modular “debris hunter” that can be piggy‑backed onto other missions. With an estimated cost of $250,000 per unit—much lower than current large‑scale removal spacecraft—multiple units could be launched simultaneously to cover different orbital shells.

The article quotes Dr. Liu Wei, an orbital mechanics professor at MIT, who is not involved in the project but has studied active debris removal. He says, “This design tackles the challenge of scalability. The use of magnetic hooks is clever because it eliminates the need for a massive net and reduces the capture time, which is critical when dealing with high‑velocity debris.”

Next Steps

The Riverdale team plans to refine the electronics to reduce power consumption, upgrade the magnetic system for better grip on non‑metallic debris, and conduct a flight demonstration by 2027. They’re also seeking funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF), which recently announced a grant round for “Space Debris Mitigation Projects.”

The Gizmodo article ends on an optimistic note, noting that the prototype already “has sparked conversations at the National Space Council and the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) about collaborative debris‑removal efforts.” It emphasizes that, while the space junk crisis is a long‑term problem, innovation at the grassroots level—like a high‑school science‑fair entry—can accelerate the development of practical, low‑cost solutions.

Takeaway

A student‑led prototype has taken the first steps toward turning a science‑fair idea into a real-world tool for protecting Earth’s orbit. By combining a rotating magnetic capture system with a simple attitude‑control package, the “Spacecraft that Hunts Down Space Junk” represents an elegant, scalable approach that could soon join the ranks of larger agencies and commercial players in keeping the space environment safe for generations to come.