Space junk cleanup mission to launch in 2026 aboard Arianespace rocket

illustration of a four-pronged spacecraft reaching out to grasp a cone-shaped piece of space debris. earth and clouds are below and the curve of the planet is visible in the background with space above

An ambitious space junk cleanup mission now has its rocket ride.

Swiss startup ClearSpace plans to launch an "active debris removal mission" to take out a piece of space junk no earlier than the first half of 2026. That mission, known as ClearSpace-1, will ride aboard an Arianespace Vega-C rocket, we learned on Tuesday (May 9).