Cosmic Litter Patrol.

• Position: SPACE - Surrey Satellite Technology's RemoveDebris - Brief article

Half a million pieces of space junk are orbiting Earth at 18,000 miles per hour and could pose serious risks if nothing is done. Now there's a plan to clean up the abandoned satellites and other human-made debris before they harm astronauts or the 1,200 active satellites in orbit. Last month, a team from the University of Surrey in England launched RemoveDebris, a spacecraft that will try to capture two pieces of space trash as a test using a harpoon and a net. Once ensnared, the junk will be dragged out of orbit and let go so it burns up while re-entering Earth's atmosphere. The initiative is coming just in time, space experts say. A piece of debris damaged the International Space Station last year, and...