On the Design of an Active Debris Removal Architecture for Low Earth Orbit Space Debris Remediation

Abstract

Recent studies indicate a significant need for increased remediation efforts of the low Earth orbit (LEO) debris environment. Without active debris removal (ADR), the LEO debris population will grow at an ever-increasing rate, eventually preventing any form of sustainable space operations. Based on evolutionary debris field simulations from the literature in conjunction with available tracking data, a set of debris are selected for removal from the LEO population, and performance requirements for an ADR mission to LEO to