Space Debris Removal With Sub-Tethered Net: A Feasibility Study And Preliminary Design

TARGET GROUP: ACTIVE SPACE DEBRIS

OBJECTIVES

·        To ensure the long-term accessibility of space, high-risk objects must be actively removed to limit growth of the orbital debris population with the use of a tethered-net to capture and tow an object out of orbit.

SUMMARY

The term orbital debris refers to objects in orbit around Earth that are not considered useful. Due to the vastness of space, orbital debris was thought to pose no risk to future spacefaring missions until proven otherwise by Donald J. Kessler in 1978. Known as the Kessler Syndrome, Kessler stated that eventual collisions between orbital objects will lead to sequential collisions, producing new debris, and ultimately creating a chain reaction that will grow the debris population faster than it can naturally decay. As of January 2021, the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Space Debris Office at the European Space Operations Center (ESOC) estimates that 10,680 satellites have been launched into orbit. Of these satellites, an estimated 6,250 of them are still in orbit, with only 3,700 of them are operational. Large pieces of debris commonly occurs in the form of fragmented spacecraft pieces, spent launch vehicle stages, and non-operational satellites. ESA’s Space Debris Office reports that there are approximately 28,210 of these objects tracked by global Space Surveillance Networks and maintained in their catalog, which equates to 9,200 tonnes of mass in Earth’s orbit. Furthermore, many objects are too small to be tracked. These include small fragments of paint from satellites, which over time erode due to solar wind and friction from Earth’s upper atmosphere. Collisions between these paint flecks, micrometeorites, and other small debris pieces are quietly increasing the total debris population.

REFERENCE

https://conference.sdo.esoc.esa.int/proceedings/sdc8/paper/304/SDC8-paper304.pdf