Next year, newspacemissions will test technologies to fix busted satellites in orbit

Next year, the long-held dream of repairing satellites already in orbit around Earth will come a little closer to reality. Two new missions — from military contractor Northrop Grumman and a startup called Astroscale — will send spacecraft into orbit to rendezvous with other vehicles zooming around Earth to see if it’s possible for two satellites to delicately meet up with each other in space. If successful, these missions could mark a big first step toward cleaning up Earth orbit and making it a more sustainable place.

Northrop Grumman and Astroscale are trying to prove out a concept known as satellite servicing, which isn’t an option for satellite operators right now. Whenever an operator launches a satellite into orbit, there’s really...

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