Futuristic but Possible: An International Effort Will Make Rocket Fuel From Space Junk

An Australian company is planning to make rocket fuel using floating space junk in Earth’s orbit. Neumann Space has set to work to develop an in-space electric propulsion system to recycle hazardous space debris.

There are several attempts focusing on how to stave off space junk threats that whirl around at incredible speeds, and Neumann is working on making a space foundry in which debris will be melted into metal rods.

An international effort including Neumann Space

As part of an international effort, Neumann is collaborating with three other companies from Japan and the US. Japanese startup Astroscale is aiming to capture debris in space through satellites. The US-based Nanorocks is planning to use sophisticated robotics to garner and cut up debris in orbit. Another company from the country, Cislunar, is contributing to developing the space foundry.

Neumann’s CEO Herve Astier at first didn’t think the plan would serve the purpose, and when he was told about the aforementioned plan to melt metal in space, he thought it was a futuristic plan. But they received a grant from NASA. “So we built a prototype and it works,” he told The Guardian.

Neumann Space founder Patrick Neumann. Horst Burghardt photo

The tripartite cooperation for space fuel stations

Regarding the tripartite cooperation, Astier said there were three separate jobs that would be done by the three companies. “One can grab a piece of debris, one can cut the debris open, one can melt the debris, and we can use that,” he said.

The way the system works

The system that would supply fuel works similarly to an arc welder, a welding process where an electric arc is being used to get heat for the melting process. Neumann’s attempt creates thrust as it eats up material located at a metal cathode’s tip. After the process of evaporation and ionization of the material, the resulting pulsating thrust pushes the rocket forward. It reminds the way a bullet leaves the barrel of a gun.

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Neumann Space describes itself as a developer of an efficient and scalable in-space electric propulsion system for satellites. They aim to convert solid conductive propellants into plasma and produce thrust.

“Our thruster can fulfill all requirements for Low Earth Orbit (LEO) mission profiles such as extending mission lifetimes, station keeping, orbit raising, constellation phasing, inclination changes, and de-orbiting,” reads the company’s description of itself.

Considering more than 27,000 pieces of debris floating in space and the high cost of space exploration, the idea of having space fuel stations miles away from our pale blue dot appears to be useful for future missions.