No abstract

The use of CubeSats for space debris removal represents a possible avenue for enabling non-governmental operators to become involved in the maintenance of space. While their small size and inexpensive components reduce barriers to entry for universities and companies, certain technical challenges are magnified by CubeSats' low inertia and power limitations. One such area is target capture, in which an approaching CubeSat must establish a secure contact point with a debris object prior to beginning the detumbling or deorbiting process. This paper discusses nets, harpoons, and robotic arms as three possible strategies for target capture. Each method is examined to identify key regimes of possible feasibility for CubeSat applications. A dynamics model is introduced and utilized to simulate the relative motion of a CubeSat tethered to a debris object, a situation encountered with both harpoon and net capture. Di erences in potential operating regimes are highlighted for the three methods, and conclusions are drawn about their possible realms of e ectiveness. I. Nomenclature Abbreviations ADCSAttitude determination and control subsystem ADR Active debris removal CONOPS Concept of operations TeRBoDOT Tethered Rigid Body Dynamics Observation Tool Subscripts and Superscripts AE (.) Vector (.)| C Indicates quantity (.) at time C

Recent events such as the 2009 Iridium-Cosmos collision and multiple anti-satellite weapon (ASAT) tests have propelled the increasingly urgent topic of space debris management to the forefront of current engineering inquiry. Simultaneously, the so-called "CubeSat Revolution" has significantly reduced barriers to entry for commercial and scientific space missions. Cube-Sats have demonstrated an ever-increasing potential to offer useful capabilities for a fraction of the size, mass, and power of their larger counterparts. This paper explores the relevance and effectiveness of CubeSat architectures in active space debris removal by propulsive methods. The chosen target of interest is the Zenit-2 second-stage rocket body, representative of a particularly large and prevalent family of debris objects. The debris removal mission design problem is approached from a fundamental level. First, the CubeSat architecture design tradespace is defined and outlined, including the proposed design vector, constraints, and objective function. Next, a system model and optimization methods are presented and implemented in MatLab. Given a set of mission requirements, the algorithm arrives at an optimal or near-optimal architecture design by iterating through combinations of commercially available CubeSat components stored in a database. Results are examined for various sizes and numbers of deorbiter CubeSats, and key tradeoffs between architecture options are identified and explored. Finally, considering the optimized results, a discussion of the most effective propulsive solutions for Zenit-2 rocket body removal using CubeSat clusters is presented.