The Japanese space-sustainability firm Astroscale has unveiled a patent for what it describes as a brand new methodology for area particles elimination.
Astroscale has developed a distributed, reusable system that goals to be more cost effective and agile than conventional approaches to energetic particles elimination (ADR). The system is described in a U.S. patent for its “Methodology and System for Multi-Object House Particles Removing.”
The brand new methodology includes a single servicing spacecraft docking with a number of massive space debris objects, akin to defunct satellites and spent rocket phases — and transferring them to a separate car, dubbed a “shepherd,” for managed reentry into Earth’s atmosphere, away from populated areas.
This not solely makes particles elimination more cost effective and scalable but additionally reduces the danger of particles surviving reentry and threatening individuals or infrastructure on the bottom.
“This patented innovation provides a sustainable and cost-effective distributed structure method to energetic particles elimination, permitting for scalable, repeatable ADR operations and managed reentry of a number of particles objects,” Astroscale mentioned in a statement.
The system can also be extremely versatile, permitting totally different mission profiles relying on the item’s dimension and danger. The shepherd car can keep docked by reentry, detach and return to orbit, or be skipped altogether if the mission permits.
“Our distributed structure solves a key problem in orbital particles elimination by enabling the deorbit and reentry of a number of massive particles objects sustainably and economically,” Mike Lindsay, Astroscale’s chief technical officer, mentioned in the identical assertion.
“This method permits us to reuse our superior servicers, able to capturing and detumbling multi-ton objects, as a substitute of burning them up with the particles upon reentry,” Lindsay added. “This not solely saves price but additionally reduces the quantity of doubtless dangerous materials launched into the Earth’s higher
carried out a stunning up-close approach and surveillance of a discarded rocket stage as a part of its ADRAS-J mission. It’s making ready to launch the ELSA-M area junk collector in 2026 and also will quickly try refueling of U.S. Space Force satellites in geostationary orbit. Astroscale may even try and deorbit a bus-sized rocket stage with its ADRAS-J2 mission earlier than the tip of the last decade.
The corporate says its on-orbit servicing options help the safe and sustainable use of area for future generations.