Speaker
Description
Active debris removal is increasingly recognized as a necessary complement to mitigation measures to preserve the long-term sustainability of the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) environment. In this context, the ERASE Phase 0 activity investigates a technically feasible, safe, and cost-effective mission and system concept capable of delivering an active debris removal (ADR) service for large, unprepared, non-cooperative satellites.
The mission concepts developed within ERASE are required to be robust not only for the two reference targets but also scalable to a broader class of similar spacecraft, ensuring compatibility with the evolution of ESA’s debris mitigation standards.
As such, the study focuses on MetOp-A and Sentinel-1B as representative reference cases. These spacecrafts are treated as distinct study cases, each analyzed with respect to geometry, mass properties, residual attitude dynamics, and re-entry constraints, while systematically identifying design commonalities and opportunities for standardization. Both satellites exemplify the class of multi-ton platforms whose mass, geometry, and long orbital lifetimes make them disproportionate contributors to long-term collision risk in protected LEO regions. The study uses these two reference missions as concrete pathfinders for a future recurring European service, ensuring that the resulting concepts are transferable and operationally relevant beyond the specific cases considered.
A dedicated chaser-based mission concept is defined, capable of rendezvous, capture, detumbling, and controlled re-entry of non-cooperative targets. The proposed architecture relies on rigid robotic capture, combining vision-based relative navigation with a compliant capture interface that transitions from soft capture to a rigidized mechanical configuration suitable for controlled deorbiting. Capture strategies are tailored to the structural features of each target, ensuring safety, controllability, and effective load management despite uncertainties in target attitude, geometry, and residual dynamics.
The mission concept is developed with controlled disposal as a primary design driver. Operational phases, from far-range rendezvous and inspection to synchronized flight, capture, stabilization, and controlled re-entry, are defined with explicit consideration of collision risk during proximity operations, passivation, disposal success probability, and re-entry casualty risk. Compliance with Zero Debris performance objectives is addressed at both system and operational levels and fully integrated into the mission design.
ERASE Phase 0 establishes a coherent system concept and preliminary technology roadmap for the active removal of large, unprepared LEO satellites, grounded in current European capabilities, and aligned with ESA’s Zero Debris policy objectives. By integrating capture, guidance, and controlled disposal considerations from the outset, the activity provides a structured basis for assessing feasibility, identifying key design drivers, and highlighting the critical technologies and operational challenges associated with removing non-cooperative legacy objects. The outcomes are intended to inform subsequent development phases and support the prioritization and maturation of future active debris removal missions, contributing to the long-term sustainability goals of ESA’s Clean Space initiative.