---
title: Orbital debris remediation as a stepping stone toward asteroid mining.
description: Maria Varmazis speaks with TransAstra's Joe Sercel about their recently demonstrated capture-bag technology aboard the ISS and the goal of asteroid mining.
---

[T-Minus, the Only Daily Space Intelligence Podcast | N2K Space ](https://space.n2k.com/podcasts/t-minus)

# [Orbital debris remediation as a stepping stone toward asteroid mining.](https://space.n2k.com/podcasts/t-minus/ds148)

 Written by [Maria Varmazis](https://space.n2k.com/podcasts/t-minus/author/maria-varmazis) | May 3, 2026 5:00:00 AM

Summary

This week on our Deep Space episode, Maria speaks with [⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠](https://www.linkedin.com/in/4uk-semis/)TransAstra's CEO [⁠Joe Sercel⁠](https://www.linkedin.com/in/joelsercel/) about their recently demonstrated capture-bag technology aboard the ISS, drawing attention for its potential role in orbital debris cleanup. Debris removal is only the beginning. The real goal is far bigger: asteroid mining as future space infrastructure.

Sercel walks us through how the same capture system designed to safely enclose debris could eventually be used to secure near-Earth asteroids—unlocking access to water, propellant, and raw materials that enable sustained operations beyond Earth orbit.. Learn more about ⁠⁠⁠[⁠TransAstra's work⁠](https://issnationallab.org/press-releases/bagging-space-junk-transastras-inflatable-tech-takes-aim-at-orbital-debris/).

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[View full post](https://space.n2k.com/podcasts/t-minus/ds148)

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