Design and evaluation of an Orbital Debris Remediation system

Over the last 10 years the number of satellites has grown 59% from 819 to 1305, and revenues have risen 92% from $105.5 billion to $203 billion. Threatening this industrial sector is orbital debris, including rocket bodies and defunct satellites. Current orbital debris mass ranges from <;1 kg to 8300 kg and has grown 124% between 2006 and 2010. It is estimated that population of debris objects >10 cm in diameter will have grown to over 15,000 by year 2100. This paper describes an analysis of the Utility vs. Life-cycle Cost for seven Active Debris Removal (ADR) design alternatives with the goal of removing five space debris objects per year for ten years. The Design Alternatives include three physical capture mechanisms, (1) a robotic arm, (2) throw net, and (3) harpoon, and four contactless capture mechanisms, (4) COBRA IRIDES, (5) three-coordinated electromagnetic spacecraft, (6) eddy currents, and the (7) ElectroDynamic Debris Eliminator (EDDE). The Utility Analysis considered the attributes of Performance, Risk, and Political Viability, each further decomposed into sub-attributes. Performance included measures of effectiveness and delta-v cost. Effectiveness is determined via linear decreasing functions for mass E(x) = 1 - max-x/max-min, and exponential decreasing functions for velocity and rotation, E(x) = e^-λx, where λ=mean value (velocity or rotation) acceptable. Delta-v cost is determined by calculating the fuel burns required to change velocity in order to maneuver between derelicts: ΔV = Σ|V_i-V_j|, ∀i, ∀j, i ≠ j, where Vi is the velocity of derelict i and V_j is the velocity of derelict j. The throw net has the highest overall utility, but the harpoon has the highest utility per dollar. Reducing the cost of the net by a factor of 10 would make it more competitive with the throw net. In addition, a significant weight of the utility stems from the political viability of the design. If the viability of any of the designs could be improved, then they would quickly become a contender for the optimal design.