China’s Qingzhou robotic craft tests space debris capture and clean-up

China’s prototype Qingzhou robotic cargo spacecraft successfully conducted capture and towing operations on “non-cooperative” space targets, state broadcaster CCTV reported on Thursday.

The progress paves the way for so-called orbital tow trucks capable of clearing space debris and derelict satellites.

The prototype spacecraft launched last month also conducted a suite of in-orbit experiments designed to sustain long-duration missions, according to CCTV. These included automated metal production, moss cultivation and the electrolytic production of hydrogen and oxygen.

The Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Innovation Academy for Microsatellites (IAMCAS), which developed the spacecraft, said the test flight validated key technologies for future launches and would bolster China’s commercial space programme.

“The Qingzhou cargo spacecraft will continue to iterate and optimise, striving to build a reliable bridge for space-to-ground cargo transport,” IAMCAS said in a social media post on Wednesday, releasing the first test results.

The prototype Qingzhou cargo spacecraft and two small satellites blasted off from the Jiuquan launch centre in northwestern China aboard a Kinetica-2 carrier rocket on March 30.

South China Morning Post