ION BEAM SHEPHERD SATELLITE FOR SPACE DEBRIS REMOVAL

A novel contactless debris removal strategy has been recently proposed in which the debris orbital motion is actively controlled by exploiting the momentum transmitted by a collimated beam of quasi-neutral plasma impinging against its surface. The beam can be generated with state-of-the art ion engines from a “shepherd spacecraft” coorbiting nearby with no need for physical attachment with the body. The spacecraft, placed at a distance of 10-20 meters from the object would need an ion thruster pointed at the its surface as well as a second propulsion system to compensate for the ion engine reaction and to keep a constant distance between the debris and the shepherd satellite throughout the orbit maneuvering process. The key aspects of the concept are discussed.

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