SURVEY OF SPACE DEBRIS DISPOSAL AND ORBIT TRANSFER CONCEPTS WITH EXTENDED-LENGTH TETHERS

摘要

Large-scale tethered systems can provide significant velocity impulses to payloads in orbit. Such systems can support many applications including transferring payloads from one orbit to another and removing debris from geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO). While GEO space is not currently nearly as cluttered as low Earth orbit (LEO) space, it continues to collect spacecraft with limited operational lives. Over time, repetitive collisions will generate an increasing number of objects of smaller and smaller size. All current methods considered for object disposal in GEO involve the expenditure of propellant either to maneuver satellites at their end-of-life above the geostationary altitude or to use a dedicated space tug to rendezvous with and collect dead objects for de-orbit. A shorter, unanchored, dirigible version of the well-known space elevator could be used for this purpose, removing debris from GEO by expending little or no propellant other than that required by a free-flying collector deployed to rendezvous with non-cooperative objects and deliver them for disposal. These and other approaches to debris collection must be examined and assessed regarding practicality, cost, and efficiency before a viable design for a complete collection and disposal system can be defined. This paper presents a survey of information related to long, space-based tethered systems and their application for propellant-free space transportation.