Japan's Astroscale wins contract for space junk harvesting robotic arm

The plan is to do away with an H-IIA rocket upper stage – and prove it's possible

Japanese space debris cleaning outfit Astroscale revealed on Monday that it will enter a ¥12,000 million ($81.4 million) five-year contract with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency to remove the upper stage of the space org's H-IIA rocket from orbit using a newly developed satellite.…