Speaker
Description
Working towards a sustainable future in space requires a multifaceted approach. To realise ESA’s Zero Debris goals, we need to develop compliant spacecraft platforms and demonstrate removal services in parallel. While improving the ability of satellites to remove themselves from orbit is still a key pillar of these efforts, there is a growing need to develop services and technologies to remove objects which failed to do so themselves. Design for removal is the first critical step to ensuring we can rendezvous and dock safely with future satellites.
At Astroscale, we have a customer-centric approach to developing End-of-Life (EOL) and Active Debris Removal (ADR) services. This presentation will focus on highlighting the value proposition in preparing satellites and will emphasise the benefits of several novel removal interfaces from a service provider perspective, including our own docking plate. Equipping spacecraft with affordable, low-impact interfaces with have a significant influence on the overall cost of the service and the types of services available to the client. To ensure removal services are widely adopted, we need the coordination of several stakeholders, and are co-engineering solutions with partners and customers. This includes efforts to keep our designs mission agnostic and designing our services to be compatible with a range of interfaces. For example, as part of the ELSA-M in-orbit demonstration, we will be docking magnetically to a non-Astroscale docking plate.
In the recently published ESA Space Debris Mitigation Requirements (2023), design for removal implementations and associated analyses are now requested within the Space Debris Mitigation Plan and there is a chapter dedicated to how to prepare your satellite for external servicing. The aspirational Zero Debris Charter (2024) encourages the use of external means, when necessary, for the timely clearance of orbits. Other organisations such as CONFERS, the World Economic Forum, and the Secure World Foundation, have all published recommendations which calls for the continued support of ADR services and encourage the implementation of removal interfaces.
With the recognition that mitigation actions alone are not enough to guarantee a sustainable future, there has been a positive trend towards incorporating design for removal. If we can capitalise on this momentum, we not only improve debris remediation, but have a solid foundation for future in-orbit services.
