Saber Astronautics employees test their DragEN satellite de-orbiting tether in microgravity. (Credit: Bill Stafford)

AUSTIN, Texas, Feb. 19, 2014 (Saber AstronauticsPR) — Saber Astronautics, a space technology and analytics company based in Austin TX, recently passed NASA flight tests for a product that addresses the growing threat of “space junk”. The device, called “DragEN”, unrolls a conductive space tether which uses the magnetic field of the Earth to gently drag a dead satellite back to Earth allowing it to burn up safely in the atmosphere at the end of its life.

The rapid growth in the launch of small satellites by governments, universities and commercial interests is dramatically increasing the amount of hardware in low Earth orbit. “Without technologies like the DragEN for safely returning these spacecraft to Earth at the end of their mission life cycles, the danger of space debris will continue to grow exponentially,” Saber Astronautics’ Dr Timothy Meehan cautioned.

The DragEN tests were part of NASA Flight Opportunities Campaign, an annual event where NASA provides resources for a competitively selected group of experiments. Zero-gravity tests were performed on a modified Boeing 727 out of Ellington Field, Houston. The aircraft flew a roller coaster path providing a total of 46 periods of weightlessness during which time the Saber Astronautics team measured the speed and stability of the deployment of DragEN under zero gravity conditions to ensure that it will effectively operate in space.

Saber Astronautics’ Dr Jason Held expressed his enthusiasm for DragEN’s performance during the parabolic flight tests, “The tether deployed exactly as expected, rolling out smoothly without snagging. This is an important demonstration of our yo-yo shaped design since other tethers have been plagued by incomplete roll-outs caused by tangling.”

The successful zero gravity tests of DragEN cleared the way for the first use of the technology on a satellite to be launched in April 2014 by the Manipal Institute of Technology in India. Looking forward to the launch, Meehan commented, “We are very excited to have DragEN flight tested on Manipal’s satellite, and applaud them for taking this important step to prevent their satellite from becoming dangerous space junk.”

About Saber Astronautics

Saber Astronautics is an engineering company delivering logistics and operations solutions for the space industry and beyond. Our mission is to reduce the barriers to space, making it more accessible to people on Earth. For more information, please visit www.saberastro.com