Planetes

Space travel has become routine enough to leave dangerous rubbish in orbit. Ai Tanabe joins the overlooked debris-collection division of Technora, where removing a discarded bolt can matter as much as a glamorous mission.

Her idealism clashes with Hachimaki, an experienced worker who dreams of owning a spacecraft and escaping his lowly post. Through hazardous jobs and ordinary workplace disputes, the team confronts the distance between humanity's ambitions in space and the people asked to keep them possible.