There is no organized program to remove existing debris from orbit. Recent events such as the Chinese ASAT test of 2007 and the collision of Iridium 33 and Cosmos 2251 of 2009 have increased the risk of debris collisions with operational satellites and raised the level of urgency for more aggressive management of orbiting junk. The consensus of opinion is that a requirement for debris population reduction is inevitable if space is to remain freely available for commercial, scientific and security applications. Current debris mitigation efforts are limited to minimizing new debris production. Clearly, space-faring nations must intensify mediation activities and move toward a comprehensive remediation programs in which debris removal is an active part. Many solutions have been suggested, but few will prove viable in terms of technology limitations and cost issues. Additional concerns will contribute to future decisions, such as political and legal issues. However, technical viability and relative cost are of major focus here. The Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) of Johns Hopkins University has been investigating debris removal methods and has conducted a comprehensive survey of potential technological approaches and operational concepts for dealing with the reduction of existing and future discarded orbiting objects. This work represents a first step in the evolution of a practical solution to one of the most challenging and complex issues facing the future of space flight. The work presented here is intended to be an early step toward framing the problem space, identifying realistic options and identifying preliminary metrics for later decision processes.