Arianespace Plans to Launch Vega C for ClearSpace’s First Active Debris Removal Mission

Arianespace has signed a launch contract with ClearSpace for the first active debris removal mission, ClearSpace-1. The mission will capture and deorbit a derelict space debris of 112 kg, using the European light launcher Vega C to release the spacecraft into a Low Earth/Sun-Synchronous drift orbit for commissioning and critical tests. The servicer spacecraft will then be raised to the client object for rendezvous, capture and subsequent deorbitation through an atmospheric reentry. The space debris object removed by this mission is the upper part of a Vespa (Vega Secondary Payload Adapter) left in a ‘gradual disposal’ orbit, in compliance with space debris mitigation regulations, during the second flight of a Vega launcher in 2013. The simple shape of this space debris will allow the spacecraft to demonstrate its technologies and its quartet of robotic arms, thus opening the way for more challenging missions with multiple captures per flight. The launch is scheduled to take place in the second-half of 2026.