
An orbital debris removal research project by Astroscale Japan Inc. is to launch later this month or in early March aboard an Electron rocket by Rocket Lab USA, Inc. [RKLB]. The Rocket Lab Electron, carrying Astroscale's ADRAS-J satellite, is to lift off from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand. "The mission is the first phase of an orbital debris removal program," Rocket Lab said on Feb. 7. "The 150-kilogram ADRAS-J satellite will approach an aged, derelict rocket stage…