A team at the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) in Daejeon are working on an orbital device capable of partially separating itself to catch space debris and bring it into the atmosphere to be burnt up.
The burgeoning space industry has left a phenomenal amount of debris in Earth’s orbit, with approximately 54,000 objects larger than 10 cm according to the ESA, and smaller objects in their millions. This debris is all travelling at 8km a second, meaning any collision with new satellites or space excursions can have catastrophic impacts.
Retrieving and disposing of space debris is proving to be an incredibly expensive undertaking, with several organisations developing new and innovative solutions. The latest of these comes from KARI in Korea.
Making space debris removal more cost-effective
One of the more common methods of space debris removal so far involves cleanup satellites capturing objects and then re-entering the atmosphere to be incinerated. Obviously, this is an extremely expensive investment for a single-use device.
KARI’s solution instead utilises multiple small orbital departure devices onto one single satellite platform. This platform can remain in orbit for several rounds of cleanup, whilst the smaller devices target specific debris to be burned up in the atmosphere.
The institute said this approach can drastically improve reusability and cost-effectiveness of cleanup operations. The smaller device is a similar size to a rice cooker and has four grippers to secure debris that it pulls towards itself with an adhesive towing plate. After the debris is secured, a drag sail is deployed, increasing the object’s size to roughly 25 square metres. The sail operates on elastic energy and does not rely on a propeller or separate power source. Drag is generated through friction with fine atmospheric particles in low Earth orbit which slows the device and attached debris, lowering its orbit into the atmosphere.
The technology could be applied to other areas of spaceflight
Before application in orbit, the team tested the device’s performation on towing, capture and deployment of the drag sail. Removal of the debris was confirmed under a non-powered method by minimising the use of electric actuators.
Whilst designed for the removal of space debris, the team believe the technology could have application in other space-related processes such as rendezvous, docking and deep-space solar sail propulsion.
“Space debris around Earth continues to increase,” said Kim Min-ki, a principal researcher at KARI. “This research marks a major achievement in confirming the potential of a new technology for space debris removal offering both reusability and cost-effectiveness.”