Space junk demo mission launchesA UK-led experiment to tackle space junk has been sent into orbit. Space junk is an ever-growing problem with more than 7,500 tonnes of redundant hardware now thought to be circling the Earth. At the end of its mission, RemoveDebris will deploy a large membrane. He said the jury was still out on the best way to capture and remove space junk. These include Airbus, which supplied the harpoon technology, and Surrey Satellite Technology Limited, which assembled the spacecraft.