ANAHEIM, California – Dealing with the messy facts of orbital debris circling the Earth is receiving the attention of researchers here at SPACE 2010, a major meeting of the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).
A look at how to deal with derelict space junk was presented by Marshall Kaplan and his colleagues at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland. The work concludes that not all debris can, or should, be removed. Technologies and systems for capturing very small debris do not exist.
Furthermore, only the largest of the objects can be effectively addressed with current technology.
Kaplan has looked into all types of solutions proposed to date, from nets, harpoons and lassos to inflatable fluff balls and even “debris tenders” – with each having their own set of issues.
“Artificial satellites and launch vehicles have created an ever growing number and variety of orbiting debris objects ranging in size from a few microns to several meters,” Kaplan reported. “The urgency of the situation has been exacerbated by the 2007 Chinese anti-satellite test and the 2009 collision of Iridium and Cosmos satellites.”
Kaplan pointed out that sometime in the next one or two decades a space debris reduction program may be needed to assure continued access to, and use of, space for applications and exploration.
Among a range of findings, Kaplan noted that current technology capabilities will allow “selective” removal of certain very large debris objects in low Earth orbit in the short-term. Resident space objects up higher — in geosynchronous orbits that are expired — can be moved to graveyard orbits through the use of special tender satellites. However, the cost will be, literally, sky-high, he added.
In short, Kaplan advised, significant work is ahead in identifying engineering issues for all major modes of on-the-spot space debris capture.
By Leonard David