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An attempt is underway to clean up the more than 8000 tons of space debris circling the globe.
That debris, which comprises old satellites and small pieces of metal, is a threat to services like weather forecasting, telecommunications and GPS systems.
Mounted on a rocket launched from Kazakhstan this morning are a pair of devices that will be used to test one method for tidying up that mess.
Charity Weeden, is the Vice President for Global Space Policy at Astroscale.