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TECHNOLOGY
Tests of experimental craft include flinging a net and shooting a spear at targets in space.
In a move Spiderman might envy, one satellite flung a net at another craft in low Earth orbit on 16 September. A few months from now, the satellite will ape the spear-wielding Aquaman and fire a harpoon into space.
The manoeuvres will test ideas meant to address the growing problem of space junk. If they work, future missions might use similar nets or harpoons to ensnare dangerous space debris and drag it to a fiery end in Earth's atmosphere.
"This is proof of concept of a new technology," says Guglielmo Aglietti, director of the Surrey Space Centre at the University of Surrey in Guildford, UK, and principal investigator for the project, known as RemoveDEBRIS. "The idea is to be really useful and clean up satellite space."
The US military tracks approximately 20,000 objects in orbit that measure at least 5-10 centimetres across. That's big enough to cause serious damage if two objects collide, and the threat is growing as more junk...