Current Status of Research and Development on Active Debris Removal at JAXA

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is investigating a cost effective active debris removal (ADR) system to remove large debris objects such as rocket bodies in crowded orbits. A small satellite to rendezvous, capture and deorbit debris using an electrodynamic tether (EDT) has been studied. As the first step toward realizing a debris removal system, a flight experiment on using EDT as a key technology for cost-effective ADR was conducted in 2017, followed by a study on removal of the upper stage of a Japanese rocket by a small satellite as the next step. This paper describes the required technologies, scenario and roadmap for realizing ADR, such as non-cooperative rendezvous and motion estimation using optical cameras, and the attachment of the end of the tether using an extensible boom mechanism to the payload attachment fitting of the rocket’s upper stage, and deorbiting using EDT. It also introduces the current status of research and development regarding these key technologies and system studies, such as the results of numerical simulations and onground experiments.