A Japanese company said Monday that it has successfully launched a spacecraft tasked with examining potentially hazardous man-made debris floating around Earth. The European Space Agency (ESA) estimates that there are around a million satellite and rocket debris in orbit larger than a centimeter, enough to “disable a spacecraft”.

Astroscale Japan said Astroscale-Japan’s Active Debris Clearance Vehicle (ADRAS-J) was designed to locate and investigate the debris of the Japanese H2A rocket that has been floating in space for the past 15 years. The probe was launched from New Zealand at 14:52 GMT on Sunday, and Astroscale “has successfully communicated and is ready to begin operations,” project manager Eijiro Atarashi said in a statement.

The exact location and orbital position of the upper stage of the H2A rocket, which was launched by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) in 2009 and is approximately the size of a bus, is unknown.

But an approximate location will be determined using observations from Earth, and ADRAS-J will approach from a “safe distance” and then collect images to assess the movement and condition of the structure. The ADRAS-J spacecraft, which Astroscale says is the first of its kind, was selected by JAXA in collaboration with private companies for the first phase of the program to remove large debris of Japanese origin.

Spent satellites, rocket parts, and debris from collisions have been accumulating since the dawn of the space age, and the problem has accelerated in recent years. Potential solutions include using a laser beam to push objects into a new orbit, and Astroscale’s own space “evacuator” that uses a magnet to pick up and transport dormant satellites.

The launch of the ADRAS-J mission comes after Japan successfully launched its new flagship H3 rocket on Saturday after years of delays and two previous failed attempts. It also follows the successful moon landing of the country’s unmanned probe last month – albeit at a shaky angle – making it only the fifth country to make a “soft” landing on the moon.