Clearspace-1 space debris cleanup target in orbit just got struck by space debris

The target for a space debris cleanup mission is apparently in pieces.

A leftover rocket adapter, expected to be removed from low Earth orbit in 2026, has new pieces of space debris floating nearby. That's a likely aftereffect of being hit by something small flying through space. The problem was spotted by the 18th Space Defense Squadron of the U.S. Space Force, which monitors satellite movements.

That's an unexpected event for the European Space Agency's ClearSpace-1 mission, which is a planned test mission to remove that adapter in 2026. The adapter is a conical-shaped leftover, roughly 250 pounds (113 kg) in mass, from a 2013 Vega launch that sent a small fleet of satellites into orbit. Space tracking systems found new objects nearby the adapter, which ESA learned about on Aug. 10. The objects are likely space debris from a "hypervelocity impact of a small, untracked object" that smacked into the payload adapter, the agency said. We may never know if the crashing object was natural or artificial, given it didn't appear in tracking systems.