Abstract
Space debris have become exceedingly dangerous over the years as the number of objects in orbit continues to increase. Active debris removal (ADR) missions have gained significant interest as effective means of mitigating the risk of collision between objects in space. This study focuses on developing a multi-ADR mission that utilizes controlled reentry and deorbiting. The mission comprises two spacecraft: a Servicer that brings debris to a low altitude and a Shepherd that rendezvous with the debris to later perform a controlled reentry. A preliminary mission design tool (PMDT) was developed to obtain time and fuel optimal trajectories for the proposed mission while considering the effect of J2, drag, eclipses, and duty cycle. The PMDT can perform such trajectory optimizations for multi-debris missions with computational time under a minute. Three guidance schemes are also studied, taking the PMDT solution as a reference to validate the design methodology and provide guidance solutions to this complex mission profile.
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Abbreviations
- ADR:
-
active debris removal
- DC:
-
duty cycle
- LEO:
-
low Earth orbit
- PMDT:
-
preliminary mission design tool
- RAAN:
-
right ascension of the ascending node
- TOF:
-
time of flight
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Acknowledgements
This project was partially supported by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) study: Astroscale/Rocket Lab/Te Pūnaha Ātea-Space Institute Active Debris Removal Study.
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Minduli C. Wijayatunga received her B.Sc. and B.Eng degrees in aerospace engineering, physics, and mathematics from the University of Sydney, Australia, in 2020. She is pursuing a Ph.D. at the Te Pūnaha Ātea Space Institute in the University of Auckland, New Zealand. Her research interests include trajectory design, proximity operations, and space debris removal. Email: mwij516@aucklanduni.ac.nz.
Roberto Armellin received his M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in aerospace engineering from Politecnico di Milano, Italy, in 2003 and 2007, respectively. Since November 2020, he has been a professor at Te Pūnaha Ātea — Space Institute at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. His current research interests include space trajectory optimization, spacecraft navigation and guidance, and space situational awareness. E-mail: roberto.armellin@auckland.ac.nz.
Harry Holt received his M.Sc. degree in natural sciences (physics) from the University of Cambridge, UK, in 2018. He completed his Ph.D. at the University of Surrey, UK, in 2022, working on trajectory design using Lyapunov control laws and reinforcement learning. He is now working as a research fellow at Te Pūnaha Ātea — Space Institute, at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. His research interests include trajectory design, Lyapunov control, and reinforcement learning. E-mail: harry.holt@auckland.ac.nz.
Laura Pirovano received her M.Sc. degree in aerospace engineering (space exploration track) from TU Delft, the Netherlands, in 2015. She completed her Ph.D. at the University of Surrey, UK, in 2020, on methods for cataloging space debris with optical observations. She is now a research fellow at Te Pūnaha Ātea — Space Institute, at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. Her research interests include space situational awareness and uncertainty propagation. E-mail: laura.pirovano@auckland.ac.nz.
Aleksander A. Lidtke graduated from the University of Southampton, UK, with an M.Eng. degree in aerospace engineering in 2013. He then obtained his Ph.D. degree in the field of space debris in 2016, also from the University of Southampton. He then proceeded to work in the industry as a lead systems and lead satellite test engineer for several years. He currently works at Astroscale Japan, bringing all this experience together with the aim of improving the sustainability of spaceflight by deploying active debris removal missions. His research interests include spacecraft guidance, navigation and control, space surveillance and tracking, and model-based systems engineering. E-mail: a.lidtke@astroscale.com.
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Wijayatunga, M.C., Armellin, R., Holt, H. et al. Design and guidance of a multi-active debris removal mission. Astrodyn 7, 383–399 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42064-023-0159-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42064-023-0159-3