Related papers: Debris Engine: A Potential Thruster for Space Debr…

We present a concept for a spacecraft that can controllably alter the trajectory of an Earth threatening asteroid using gravity as a towline. The spacecraft hovers near the asteroid with thrusters angled outward so the exhaust does not…

Young and forming planetesimals experience impacts from particles present in a protostellar disk. Using crater scaling laws, we integrate ejecta distributions for oblique impacts. For impacts at 10 to 65 m/s, expected for impacts associated…

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…

Approaching a tumbling target safely is a critical challenge in space debris removal missions utilizing robotic manipulators onboard servicing satellites. In this work, we propose a trajectory planning method based on nonlinear optimization…

Gravity-Assisted maneuvers have been used as a technique to reduce fuel consumption in deep space missions for several decades now. It opened the doors of the exterior solar system. The literature shows those results, as well as new…

Current rocket technology can not send the spaceship very far, because the amount of the chemical fuel it can take is limited. We try to use dark matter (DM) as fuel to solve this problem. In this work, we give an example of DM engine using…

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…

Asteroid mining can become an enabling technology to establish a sustainable manned colony on Mars, which requires metallic materials more often than they are readily available in shipments from Earth. This paper describes a feasibility…

In this work, the orbital evolution of these objects that are located in the geostationary orbit (GEO) is analyzed. Knowing this, the possibility of using a solar sail is considered to help to clean the space environment. The main natural…

This paper investigates a swarm-based concept in which a number of nanosatellites, referred to as NanoTugs, are deployed by a mother spacecraft to capture and cooperatively stabilize and de-orbit space debris. The study focuses on the…

Orbital debris is a nonlinear control problem in a stratified orbital environment, not a static inventory. This paper develops a reduced-order shell-and-size framework that connects collision-rate scaling, fragment-production gain, natural…

We present a novel concept to impart a continuous thrust to an Earth threatening asteroid from a hovering spacecraft without need for physical attachment nor gravitational interaction with the asteroid. The concept involves an ion thruster…

We examine the use of the interplanetary substance as a possible fuel for spacecraft plasma thrusters for interplanetary flights. The solar radiation is considered as an energy source for the ionization and the acceleration of particles of…

Small-satellites and CubeSats offer a low-cost pathway to access Low Earth Orbit at altitudes of 450 km and lower thanks to miniaturization and advancement in reliability of commercial electronics. However, at these low altitudes,…

Proposals for ground-based laser remediation of space debris rely on the creation of appropriately directed ablation-driven impulses to either divert the fragment or drive it into an orbit with a perigee allowing atmospheric capture. For a…

A method for asteroid deflection that makes use of a spacecraft moving back and forth on a segment of a Keplerian orbit about the asteroid is studied with the aim of optimizing the initial gross mass of the spacecraft. The corresponding…

We analyze the combined effect of Poynting-Robertson and solar wind drag on space debris. We derive a model within Cartesian, Gaussian and Hamiltonian frameworks. We focus on the geosynchronous resonance, although the results can be easily…

We focus on preventing collisions between debris and debris, for which there is no current, effective mitigation strategy. We investigate the feasibility of using a medium-powered (5 kW) ground-based laser combined with a ground-based…

A novel non-reactive thrust principle based on controlling the angular momentum of a material body is proposed. Theoretically, it is shown that asymmetric emission/absorption of low-energy particle fluxes with spin in a direction…

Interests in exploration of new energy resources are increasing due to the exhaustion of existing resources. To explore new energy sources, various studies have been conducted to improve the drilling performance of drilling equipment for…