Capture Bag
An inflatable bag designed to wrap around and secure space junk that cannot cooperate with its capture, first conceived for catching small asteroids. NASA has funded a prototype.
Why it matters
Old rocket parts and dead satellites crowd low Earth orbit and threaten working spacecraft. A bag that encloses its target can grab tumbling debris that was never designed to be grabbed.
How the technology works
Rip-stop inflatable bags enclose and secure the target. TransAstra says a lab testbed captured and stopped a one-third-scale rocket body spinning on all three axes without tearing the bag.
The first NASA-funded prototype targets debris about 10 cm across, with plans to scale up. NASA SBIR Ignite paid for a $150,000 Phase I study and an $850,000 Phase II prototype with a ground demonstration.
Sources
Updated Oct 22, 2026 · How we source facts · Suggest a correction