Download or read book Active Space Debris Removal Using Capture and Ejection written by Jonathan William Missel and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Low Earth Orbit is over-cluttered with rogue objects that threaten existing technological assets and interfere with allocating new ones. Traditional satellite missions are not efficient enough to collect an appreciable amount of debris due to the high cost of orbit transfers. Many alternate proposals are politically controversial, costly, or dependent on undeveloped technology. This dissertation attempts to solve the problem by introducing a new mission architecture, Space Sweeper, and bespoke hardware, Sling-Sat, that sequentially captures and ejects debris plastically. Resulting momentum exchanges are exploited to aid in subsequent orbit transfers, thus saving fuel. Sling-Sat is a spinning satellite that captures debris at the ends of adjustable-length arms. Arm length controls the angular rate to achieve a desired tangential ejection speed. Timing the release exacts the ejection angle. This process redirects debris to burn up in the atmosphere, or reduce its lifetime, by lowering its perigee. This dissertation establishes feasibility of principles fundamental to the proposed concept. Hardware is conceptualized to accommodate Space Sweeper's specialized needs. Mathematical models are built for the purpose of analysis and simulation. A kinematic analysis investigates system demands and long-term behavior resulting from repeated debris interaction. A successful approach to enforce debris capture is established through optimal control techniques. A study of orbital parameters and their response to debris interactions builds an intuition for missions of this nature. Finally, a J2-compliant technique for path optimization is demonstrated. The results strongly support feasibility of the proposed mission. The electronic version of this dissertation is accessible from http://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/149391

Download or read book Space Security and Legal Aspects of Active Debris Removal written by Annette Froehlich and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-11-27 with total page 188 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book analyzes the various legal and political concepts to resolve the problem of the existing space debris in outer space and which measures have been taken to avoid space debris or to reduce potential space debris in the course of future space missions. From a scientific and technical point of view various studies are ongoing to analyze the feasibility of active debris removal. Nevertheless it has to be highlighted that outer space is an international area where various actors with different legal and political concepts are operating, a situation that leads to different approaches concerning such activities.

Download or read book Space Debris Peril written by Matteo Madi and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2020-11-10 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This book provides up-to-date knowledge of space debris and valuable insights on how to grapple with this issue from legal, technical, economical and societal aspects. I would strongly recommend that everyone who is working on space development and utilizations and even non-specialists once read this book and think over how human being should be faced with this issue." –Prof. Shinichi Nakasuka, University of Tokyo, Japan Space Debris Peril: Pathways to Opportunities takes readers through the wide spectrum of problems created by space debris – including technical, political, legal and socio-economical aspects – and suggests ways to mitigate its negative consequences and create new opportunities. With chapter contributions from authors at world-renowned universities, private or public entities, and research institutes active in the field of space debris mitigation, space policy and law, risk and resilience, liability and insurance, this book provides a comprehensive introduction to the subject helping the reader to grasp the whole picture of the current space debris remediation challenges. This book will be of interest to the scientific communities, policy makers, business developers, (re)insurers and international standards developers for space operations and orbital debris mitigation. Also, it should appeal to a broader audience among non-specialists in various sectors and the general public. Key features: Brings together interdisciplinary perspectives on the topic in one, cohesive book Chapter contributions from specialists in this interdisciplinary field from around the globe Up-to-date information with the latest developments

Download or read book Active Debris Removal in Space written by Robin Biesbroek and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2015-02-18 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There are 17,000 traceable objects in space. However only 600 of these objects are active satellites. The other 96% can be classified as space debris; human-made elements or fragments that do not function anymore. These objects are now the reason why satellite operators get collision warnings on a weekly basis, and every week at least one of these debris objects enters the atmosphere. In the meantime, the number of debris objects in space keeps increasing... It is time for a change. People need to realize that our environment includes space around the Earth, and that this space is polluted. It is time to start actively removing space debris. But access to space is expensive, and catching debris objects has never been done before. Now for the first time, Robin Biesbroek, who manages active debris removal studies at the European Space Agency, describes solutions to clean up space in a non-technical way. Apart from technical design solutions to create a 'garbage truck for space', other questions such as 'what are the legal applications?', 'Where is space debris?', 'can we make a business case out of debris removal?' are discussed.

Download or read book Orbital Debris written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1995-07-07 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since the beginning of space flight, the collision hazard in Earth orbit has increased as the number of artificial objects orbiting the Earth has grown. Spacecraft performing communications, navigation, scientific, and other missions now share Earth orbit with spent rocket bodies, nonfunctional spacecraft, fragments from spacecraft breakups, and other debris created as a byproduct of space operations. Orbital Debris examines the methods we can use to characterize orbital debris, estimates the magnitude of the debris population, and assesses the hazard that this population poses to spacecraft. Potential methods to protect spacecraft are explored. The report also takes a close look at the projected future growth in the debris population and evaluates approaches to reducing that growth. Orbital Debris offers clear recommendations for targeted research on the debris population, for methods to improve the protection of spacecraft, on methods to reduce the creation of debris in the future, and much more.

Download or read book Guidance Control and Docking for CubeSat based Active Debris Removal written by Mohamed Khalil Ben-Larbi and published by Cuvillier Verlag. This book was released on 2023-08-07 with total page 223 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While a paradigm shift in space industry has already started involving “mass production” of higher standardized, large distributed systems such as constellations, there are no effective solutions existing for the “mass removal” of satellites. Many indicators point to a further increase in the space traffic in Earth orbit in the near future, which could imply new dynamics in the evolution of the space debris environment. Even in case of diligent compliance with the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (IADC) mitigation guidelines, the growth in space traffic complicates its management and drastically increases the probability of accidents and system failures. NASA scientist Donald J. Kessler proposed a scenario in which the density of objects in low Earth orbit is high enough that collisions between objects could cause a cascade that renders space unusable for many generations. Therefore, a reliable and affordable capability of removing or servicing non-functional objects is essential to guarantee sustainable access to Earth orbit. Recently, the CubeSat design standard introduced a new class of cost-efficient small spacecraft and thereby offers a potential solution to the active debris removal (ADR) problem. The development of a novel “CubeSat-compatible” ADR technology has significant advantages such as the use of commercial off-the-shelf parts, reduced launch cost, and reduced design efforts. This thesis presents –in the frame of an ADR mission– an approach to advanced rendezvous and docking with non-cooperative targets via CubeSat. It covers the design process of simulation systems used for verification purposes, the ideation and implementation of novel guidance, control, and docking techniques, as well as their verification and evaluation. The outcome of this research is a series of validated software tools, processes, technical devices, and algorithms for automated approach and docking, that have been tested in simulation and with prototype hardware.

Download or read book Handbook of Cosmic Hazards and Planetary Defense written by Joseph N. Pelton and published by Springer. This book was released on 2015-04-27 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Covers in a comprehensive fashion all aspects of cosmic hazards and possible strategies for contending with these threats through a comprehensive planetary defense strategy. This handbook brings together in a single reference work a rich blend of information about the various types of cosmic threats that are posed to human civilization by asteroids, comets, bolides, meteors, solar flares and coronal mass ejections, cosmic radiation and other types of threats that are only recently beginning to be understood and studied, such as investigation of the “cracks” in the protective shield provided by the Van Allen belts and the geomagnetosphere, of matter-antimatter collisions, orbital debris and radiological or biological contamination. Some areas that are addressed involve areas about which there is a good deal of information that has been collected for many decades by multiple space missions run by many different space agencies, observatories and scientific researchers. Other areas involving research and studies that have only recently gotten underway are discussed by some of the world’s foremost experts in each of these areas, who provide up-to-date and scientifically verifiable information. Although much of the work in these various areas have been conducted by space agencies, an expanding range of work is also being carried out by observatories, by universities and other research centers, and even by private foundations and professional organizations. The purpose of this work is thus several-fold: to include the latest information and most systematic research from around the world in a single reference work; to note where there are significant gaps in knowledge where new research, spacecraft, observatories, or other initiatives are needed to fill in critical missing information; and to give the best possible information about preventative actions that might be taken against cosmic threats and identify various alternative strategies that are now under way or planned to cope with these various threats.

Download or read book Characterization and Capture of Space Debris Objects Using Domain Ontology and Optimal Control written by Marko Jankovic and published by . This book was released on 2022 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This dissertation provides solutions to the active debris removal (ADR) research domain. More specifically it contributes to the initial mission planning as well as to the close-range rendezvous and capture phase of an ADR mission. The first contribution of the thesis consists out of a domain-ontology specifically developed for ADR with an aim to provide a standardized, machine-interpretable knowledge representation framework. This framework is capable not only of efficiently storing complex information but also inferring the most suited ADR capture method(s) for an object from its minimal set of parameters. The second contribution of the thesis is to provide an optimization-based motion planner of a spacecraft equipped with a manipulator, a space robot. The purpose of the planner is to to facilitate an autonomous capture of an uncooperative, rapidly tumbling target by means of a space robot. This is achieved by taking the advantage of the particular dynamics of the space robot and an appropriate partial attitude synchronization strategy.

Download or read book New Solutions for the Space Debris Problem written by Joseph N. Pelton and published by Springer. This book was released on 2015-05-06 with total page 102 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Addressing a pressing issue in space policy, Pelton explores the new forms of technology that are being developed to actively remove the defunct space objects from orbit and analyzes their implications in the existing regime of international space law and public international law. This authoritative review covers the due diligence guidelines that nations are using to minimize the generation of new debris, mandates to de-orbit satellites at end of life, and innovative endeavours to remove non-functional satellites, upper stage rockets and other large debris from orbit under new institutional, financial and regulatory guidelines. Commercial space services currently exceed 100 billion USD business per annum, but the alarming proliferation in the population of orbital debris in low, medium and geosynchronous satellite orbits poses a serious threat to all kinds of space assets and applications. There is a graver concern that the existing space debris will begin to collide in a cascading manner, generating further debris, which is known as the Kessler Syndrome. Scientific analysis has indicated an urgent need to perform space debris remediation through active removal of debris and on-orbit satellite servicing.

Download or read book Tethered Space Robot written by Panfeng Huang and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2017-10-29 with total page 318 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tethered Space Robot: Dynamics, Measurement, and Control discusses a novel tethered space robot (TSR) system that contains the space platform, flexible tether and gripper. TSR can capture and remove non-cooperative targets such as space debris. It is the first time the concept has been described in a book, which describes the system and mission design of TSR and then introduces the latest research on pose measurement, dynamics and control. The book covers the TSR system, from principle to applications, including a complete implementing scheme. A useful reference for researchers, engineers and students interested in space robots, OOS and debris removal. Provides for the first time comprehensive coverage of various aspects of tethered space robots (TSR) Presents both fundamental principles and application technologies including pose measurement, dynamics and control Describes some new control techniques, including a coordinated control method for tracking optimal trajectory, coordinated coupling control and coordinated approaching control using mobile tether attachment points

Download or read book Space Debris written by Heiner Klinkrad and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2006-09-01 with total page 438 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The future evolution of the debris environment will be forecast on the basis of traffic models and possible hazard mitigation practices. The text shows how large trackable objects will have re-entry pinpointed and predictions made on related risk assessment for possible ground impact. Models will also be described for meteoroids which are also a prevailing risk.

Download or read book A New Approach to Active Removal of Space Debris written by Houman Hakima and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As a result of human space activities for over sixty years, there exist numerous man-made debris objects in the Earth orbits. Such objects not only jeopardize current operations of important space assets, but can also seriously hinder future space missions through a potential chain reaction of colliding space debris. This research addresses mitigation and remediation of the space debris environment. The thesis entails research in four critical subject areas: i) characterization of the debris environment, ii) assessment of the active debris removal methods proposed in the literature, iii) detailed engineering of a novel removal concept using a CubeSat spacecraft, called Deorbiter CubeSat, for sizable debris objects in low-Earth orbit, and iv) design of attitude and orbit controllers for the proposed spacecraft. The research first develops a probabilistic method for the prioritization of debris objects to be consid- ered in near-future removal missions. Then, a comparative study and in-depth analysis is conducted on the removal methods proposed in the literature to investigate their viability, through a number of multi- criteria assessment techniques. A Monte Carlo analysis is used in the study to quantify the intrinsic uncertainty associated with the space debris population. Next, a new debris removal mission utilizing Deorbiter CubeSats is conceptualized, and the design of CubeSat subsystems is detailed. A mothership spacecraft carries and deploys a number of Deorbiter CubeSats into designated orbits near their target debris. Each CubeSat uses an eight-unit form factor, and consists of commercially-available components with substantial space heritage. The actual performance specifications of the components are used to examine the proposed space debris removal approach. Finally, control schemes are synthesized for the critical maneuvers in the mission, using a unilateral low-thrust propulsion and a three-axis reaction wheel systems onboard the CubeSat, namely, i) concurrent rendezvous and attitude synchronization maneuver for approaching and attaching to the debris, ii) detumbling maneuver for stabilizing the debris attitude motion, and iii) deorbiting maneuver for transferring the debris from its original orbit to a deorbit altitude along a time-optimal trajectory. Several numerical simulations verify and validate the proposed approach as well as the control schemes.

Download or read book Space Debris and Other Threats from Outer Space written by Joseph N. Pelton and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-03-27 with total page 85 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The mounting problem of space debris in low earth orbit and its threat to the operation of application satellites has been increasingly recognized as space activities increase. The efforts of the Inter Agency Space Debris Coordinating Committee (IADC) and UN COPUS have now led to international guidelines to mitigate the creation of new debris. This book discusses the technical studies being developed for active removal processes and otherwise mitigating problems of space debris, particularly in low earth orbit. This book also considers threats to space systems and the Earth that comes from natural causes such as asteroids, coronal mass ejections, and radiation. After more than half a century of space applications and explorations, the time has come to consider ways to provide sustainability for long-term space activities.

Download or read book Deployment and Capture Dynamics of Tether nets for Active Space Debris Removal written by Eleonora Botta and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "For containing the growth of space debris, which jeopardizes operation of spacecraft, the active removal of large and massive derelict satellites and launcher upper stages is needed. A promising technology for this endeavor is the use of tether-nets. In this concept, a tether-net is thrown from a chaser spacecraft in the proximity of a target debris towards this target; the net entangles the target or closes around it, and the tether connecting the net to the chaser provides a link to tug debris to its disposal orbit.The aim of this research is to gain insight into the dynamics of tether-nets in space: the focus is on the deployment and capture phases of the mission. This is done primarily through numerical simulation, with tools expressly developed in MATLAB and in Vortex Dynamics. The latter simulation tool is representative of the main components of the system, flexible, and computationally efficient.The first part of this study is dedicated to the deployment phase. A standard lumped-parameter model of the net is introduced and its implementation in the two simulators is verified. Results of deployment simulations reveal a snapping behavior of tension. The effect of taking into account the bending stiffness of the threads of the net on the deployment dynamics is analyzed, thanks to the implementation of an augmented lumped-parameter model. Further, analytical derivations based on work-energy and linear momentum principles allow to identify bounds for centroidal velocities during deployment and key parameters leading this dynamics; a sensitivity study shows that more lasting deployment and safer capture can be obtained by employing moderately heavy corner masses, moderate shooting angles, and low shooting velocities. The effect of tensioning of the main tether on the quality of deployment is also investigated.The second part of this work deals with the dynamics of net-based capture of space debris. Continuous compliant models for the normal contact force and micro-slip models for friction are used to represent contacts; the effect of contact modeling choices is evaluated in a simple capture scenario. Analysis of the effect of representing the bending stiffness of the threads of the net on capture shows that, notwithstanding visible differences in the dynamics, the success of capture remains similar. It is ascertained that capture of realistic tumbling debris is robust to multiple non-nominal deployment conditions; however, the need to include a closing mechanism is recognized. The working principle of a possible closing mechanism based on spooling-in of the main tether is verified through modeling and simulation, following analysis of the effect of tether tensioning on capture dynamics. Simulations with simple closing mechanisms, independent of the spooling of the main tether, help identify safer scenarios for capture. Modification of the net model allows to overcome limitations of the lumped-parameter model and to detect collisions with thin elements, such as solar arrays. Finally, it is suggested that tether-nets could be used to capture small asteroids." --

Download or read book Incentivizing Active Debris Removal Following the Failure of Mitigation Measures to Solve the Space Debris Problem written by Adam Mudge and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Since the beginning of the Space Age in 1957, mankind has greatly benefited from the free exploration and use of outer space. Satellites placed in Earth orbit have enabled navigation, communication, weather prediction, disaster relief, and national security, among many other applications. Significant decreases in launch and satellite costs have spurred the introduction of many new space-faring nations, as well as a rapid increase in space activities by non-governmental entities, some of which are actively pursuing enormous constellations of thousands of satellites. However, usable Earth orbits are not unlimited, and with this increase in space activity has come space congestion, in the form of operational and defunct satellites, expended rocket bodies, and leftover debris from fragmentation events. The number and mass of space objects in Earth orbit have increased at an alarming rate since the 1980s. Worryingly, international efforts to mitigate this trend since the 1990s have failed, stoking fears of a runaway ‘domino effect’ of space collisions. To preserve space for future generations, debris must be actively removed from space, but the international legal landscape poses serious challenges to such activities. This paper examines the problem of space debris, the failure of international efforts to mitigate additional debris, and the need for and legal challenges surrounding the active removal of debris from space.The introduction to this thesis previews the major issues involved and its overall objectives, while explaining certain limitations and the methodology employed. Part I examines the causes, characteristics, and scope of the space debris problem. Part II reviews the national and international mitigation efforts taken to tackle the debris problem, arguing that they have ultimately failed, necessitating active debris removal. Part III describes several remediation technologies and then identifies and closely analyzes various legal and policy challenges complicating active debris removal. Finally, Part IV identifies and suggests potential national and international means to ameliorate some of these identified challenges"--

Download or read book Active Debris Removal written by Tyler A. Way and published by . This book was released on 2021 with total page 12 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The proliferation of commercial entrants into the space economy has led to a growing concern about space debris and the danger it poses to satellites and space activities. Active debris removal (ADR) might be one of the tools for remediating existing debris, but such a proposal faces seemingly insurmountable legal challenges in addition to its technical and economic challenges. Permitted and legal ADR does not have to be prohibitively complicated. The legal framework in this paper establishes a method by which the United States can demonstrate its commitment to the remediation of space debris, set up pathfinder missions, and contribute to long-term sustainability of outer space.

Download or read book Using lasers in space laser orbital debris removal and asteroid deflection written by Jonathan Wesley Campbell and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 2000 with total page 35 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: