Related papers: Removing Orbital Debris with Lasers
This paper investigates the mission planning problem for spacecraft confronting orbital debris to achieve autonomous avoidance. Firstly, combined with the avoidance requirements, a closed-loop framework of autonomous avoidance for orbital…
Large networks of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites are being built using inter-satellite lasers. These networks promise to offer low-latency wide-area connectivity, but reliably routing such traffic is difficult, as satellites are very…
We introduce a new method to perform preliminary orbit determination for space debris on low Earth orbits (LEO). This method works with tracks of radar observations: each track is composed by $n\ge 4$ topocentric position vectors per pass…
The development of a Low-Earth-Orbit (LEO) based solar-shade system, as part of a technically- and financially-viable multipurpose system to provide long-term solutions to global warming and the energy crisis is discussed. The proposed…
The collinear Lagrange points of the Sun-Earth system provide an ideal environment for highly sensitive space science missions. Consequently many new missions are planed by ESA and NASA that require satellites close to these points. For…
Space Debris (SD) consist of non-operational artificial objects orbiting around the Earth, which could possibly damage space vehicles, such as the International Space Station (ISS) or other manned spacecrafts. The vast majority of such…
The plasma brake is a thin negatively biased tether which has been proposed as an efficient concept for deorbiting satellites and debris objects from low Earth orbit. We simulate the interaction with the ionospheric plasma ram flow with the…
Space safety and astronomy are at odds. The problem posed by space debris and derelict satellites in the low Earth orbit is an existential threat to all space operations. These dangerous objects in space are more easily tracked with…
Owing to the exceptional sensitivity of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, we predict that its upcoming LSST images will be contaminated by numerous flares from centimeter-scale space debris in Low Earth Orbits (LEO). Millisecond-duration…
The earth's orbit is becoming increasingly crowded with debris that poses significant safety risks to the operation of existing and new spacecraft and satellites. The active tether-net system, which consists of a flexible net with…
The rapid advancement and miniaturization of spacecraft electronics, sensors, actuators, and power systems have resulted in growing proliferation of small-spacecraft. Coupled with this is the growing number of rocket launches, with…
With debris larger than 1 cm in size estimated to be over one million, precise cataloging efforts are essential to ensure space operations' safety. Compounding this challenge is the oversubscribed problem, where the sheer volume of space…
Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites are crucial for communications, navigation, and Earth observation. However, their operational lifetimes are strongly influenced by orbital decay due to atmospheric drag. This work presents a simplified…
There are many indications that anthropogenic global warming poses a serious threat to our civilization and its ecological support systems. Ideally this problem will be overcome by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Various space-based…
The growing number of man-made debris in Earth's orbit poses a threat to active satellite missions due to the risk of collision. Characterizing unknown debris is, therefore, of high interest. Light Curves (LCs) are temporal variations of…
This paper addresses the problem of planning successive Space Debris Collecting missions so that they can be achieved at minimal cost by a generic vehicle. The problem mixes combinatorial optimization to select and order the debris among a…
The volume of space debris currently orbiting the Earth is reaching an unsustainable level at an accelerated pace. The detection, tracking, identification, and differentiation between orbit-defined, registered spacecraft, and rogue/inactive…
The rising population of artificial satellites and associated debris in low-altitude orbits is increasing the overall brightness of the night sky, threatening ground-based astronomy as well as a diversity of stakeholders and ecosystems…
Very low Earth orbits (VLEO), typically classified as orbits below approximately 450 km in altitude, have the potential to provide significant benefits to spacecraft over those that operate in higher altitude orbits. This paper provides a…
The increasing number of Anthropogenic Space Objects (ASOs) in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) poses a threat to the safety and sustainability of the space environment. Multiple companies are planning to launch large constellations of hundreds or…