Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Hoyt, R.P.
• Smith, P.

Titel

The Remora Remover/sup TM/: a zero-debris method for on-demand disposal of unwanted LEO spacecraft

Ist Teil von

• 2000 IEEE Aerospace Conference. Proceedings (Cat. No.00TH8484), 2000, Vol.4, p.239-246 vol.4

Ort / Verlag

IEEE

Erscheinungsjahr

2000

Link zum Volltext

• IEEE_Xplore

Quelle

IEEE Electronic Library (IEL)

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• We propose combining an electrodynamic tether drag device with a small satellite rendezvous vehicle to create a cost-effective method for removing spent or adversarial spacecraft and large pieces of space debris from orbit without generating additional debris. An electrodynamic tether drag device can deorbit a spacecraft from most LEO orbits within several months. Because it does not require propellant or input power, such a device has very low mass requirements, and thus can be delivered to a target satellite by a small and relatively inexpensive launch system. We develop a system-level design for the "Remora Remover/sup TM/," a device which will combine a Terminator Tether/sup TM/ deorbit device with a Secondary Payload Orbital Transfer Vehicle (SPOTV) to provide a low-cost capability for on-demand spacecraft disposal. For most target spacecraft, the Remora Remover/sup TM/ could mass as little as 50 kg. We also present results of simulations of satellite deorbit using the electrodynamic drag device as well as simulations of deployment of the tether.