As proved in several missions, the Lorentz force acting on the electric current carried by a space electrodynamic tether (EDT) can be used to propel spacecraft without using propellant. State-of-the-art EDTs involve a bare tape for passive electron collection (anodic contact) and an active device, or a tether segment coated with a low-work-function material, for electron emission (cathodic contact).

During this Phase 0 maturation study, ASUK, with the support of Thales Alenia Space (TAS), Nammo, MDA and GMV, performed a programmatic, business and technical assessment of a future low-Earth orbit (LEO) refuelling mission. The mission concept proposes developing and demonstrating core technologies in a preliminary service offering to enable a commercial in-orbit refuelling service. Such a service will swiftly redefine how satellites are designed and operated, launching a dynamic and sustainable in-orbit ecosystem with significant potential.

In the frame of an In Orbit Servicing Maturation Phase (IOSMP) contract, this maturation study has been realised on the START-€ solution which is proposed to extend the lifetime of geostationary orbit (GEO) communication satellites. The START-€ servicer spacecraft will first demonstrate on a GEO communication satellite its ability to perform the critical operations related to its mission, before proceeding with several commercial life extension missions by capturing and taking the AOCS control of aged client spacecraft.

The results of the IOSPR maturation phase study done by D-Orbit (UK) are presented.

The objective of the Landmark ClearSpace-1 mission will be to demonstrate the complete value chain of active debris removal by removing an ESA-owned object (a VESPA upper part orbiting at an altitude of 500 km) by 2025.

The increase of space debris means that active space debris removal is becoming more relevant. An active debris removal mission would have a positive effect (or risk reduction) for all satellites in the same orbital band. This leads to a dilemma: each space agency has an incentive to delay its actions and wait for others to respond. We model this scenario as a non-cooperative game between self-interested agents in which the agents are space agencies.

The Thales Alenia Space study team completed a 13 month contract to study the feasibility of Active Debris Removal within mega-constellations. Within the Clean Space initiative, ESA searches for proactive answers to the environmental challenges which are faced both on Earth and in space. The Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (IADC) has already highlighted the important topic of mega-constellations, which represent a step change in the future space environment due to the proliferation of small satellites.

The main objective of this study 'DETUMBLING – Investigation of Active Detumbling Solutions for Debris Removal' was to propose and investigate a contact-based de-tumbling strategy using a robotic arm. Realistic models were developed for the chaser with robotic-arm, target and composite systems. Specific GNC strategies were developed for the different phases of the mission: robotic-arm deployment synchronisation with the target de-tumbling the composite.

The objective of this document is the presentation of the final synthesis of the activity “HIPNOS”, Development of a representative HW/SW solution for a high-performance processing platform for Active Debris Removal missions. Implement COTS-based solution as Demonstration of the activity.
HIPNOS includes trade-off study of processing technologies, processing space-grade and COTS devices, processing architectures, trade-off for computer vision algorithms, and demonstrator of the selected solution.
The scope and objectives of the activity are:

The population of non-operational objects in the space environment is raising, increasing concern about the safety of operations for current and future space activities. In this respect, space agencies and in particular ESA with its ESA/ADMIN/IPOL (2014) have established policies to mitigate space debris creation. Please refer to the compendium of space debris mitigation standards adopted by states and international organizations, [RD.5], for additional information. This basically implies that satellites in LEO and GEO shall perform an End Of Life (EOL) disposal with a reliability of 90%.