The UK is taking on space junk with a world-first mission using giant robotic claws to grab dead satellites threatening the GPS, weather forecasts, and communications necessary in everyday life.
Hazardous old satellites and their remnants endanger thousands of operational spacecraft, which underpin national security and civilian services. Hundreds of thousands of tracked debris objects are large enough to damage that infrastructure.
The UK’s active debris removal mission (UK ADR) will remove two satellites and release them lower into Earth’s atmosphere, where they will naturally burn up. The mission launches from Saxavord Spaceport in Scotland in 2029.
The UK ADR spacecraft will be refuellable, designed for repeated use rather than a single mission. Saxavord Spaceport recently received £30 million ($57.24 million) from UK Government funding to ensure its sovereign launch capability.
Space Minister Liz Lloyd says the government aims to protect the satellites that ‘underpin modern life’.
“This is our space strategy in action: giving British firms the support and clear direction they need to turn bold ideas into cutting-edge innovation, strengthen our world-class satellite sector, and drive economic growth across the country,” Lloyd states.
A need for minerals
Spacecraft such as the one being built for UK ADR are constructed from a wide range of refined metals and minerals, including those derived from bauxite, rutile, chromite, and coltan.
Aluminium accounts for 50–90% of most modern spacecraft bodies and fuel tanks, prized for its low weight and high strength. The metal is primarily sourced from bauxite ore.
This demand provides an opportunity for producers such as Metro Mining (ASX:MMI), owner of the Bauxite Hills Mine in Queensland.
In September alone, Metro Mining shipped 659,000 wet metric tonnes (WMT) bauxite. Year-to-date, the company has shipped 4.013 million WMT of bauxite.
This news comes after Metro Mining increased waste stripping volumes by 140% year-on-year in mid-August 2026. This increase was a result of Metro investing additional equipment and productivity improvements.
As more spacecraft and technologies such as the UK ADR mission are built to clean up space, more minerals will be required to support them.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Main image: ClearSpace
