Enhancing Orbital Debris Remediation with Reconfigurable Space-Based Laser Constellations

TL;DR

The paper addresses the growing challenge of orbital debris by introducing a Reconfigurable Laser-to-Debris Engagement Scheduling Problem (R-L2D-ESP) that enables dynamic reconfiguration of a space-based laser constellation. It formalizes the problem as an ILP and tackles its complexity with a receding horizon scheduler, using pulsed laser ablation and time-expanded graphs to model L2D engagements and orbital transfers. Through two case studies and sensitivity analyses, the authors demonstrate that reconfigurable constellations substantially improve debris remediation capacity and deorbit rates, especially for time-sensitive events like on-orbit breakups. The work highlights the value of adaptability and scalability in laser-based debris remediation and points to future work on laser system variability and trajectory uncertainty.

Abstract

Orbital debris poses an escalating threat to space missions and the long-term sustainability of Earth's orbital environment. The literature proposes various approaches for orbital debris remediation, including the use of multiple space-based lasers that collaboratively engage debris targets. While the proof of concept for this laser-based approach has been demonstrated, critical questions remain about its scalability and responsiveness as the debris population continues to expand rapidly. This paper introduces constellation reconfiguration as a system-level strategy to address these limitations. Through coordinated orbital maneuvers, laser-equipped satellites can dynamically adapt their positions to respond to evolving debris distributions and time-critical events. We formalize this concept as the Reconfigurable Laser-to-Debris Engagement Scheduling Problem (R-L2D-ESP), an optimization framework that determines the optimal sequence of constellation reconfigurations and laser engagements to maximize debris remediation capacity, which quantifies the constellation's ability to nudge, deorbit, or perform just-in-time collision avoidance maneuvers on debris objects. To manage the complexity of this combinatorial optimization problem, we employ a receding horizon approach. Our experiments reveal that reconfigurable constellations significantly outperform static ones, achieving greater debris remediation capacity and successfully deorbiting substantially more debris objects. Additionally, our sensitivity analyses identify the key parameters that influence remediation performance the most, providing essential insights for future system design. These findings demonstrate that constellation reconfiguration represents a promising advancement for laser-based debris removal systems, offering the adaptability and scalability necessary to enhance this particular approach to orbital debris remediation.

Figures (14)

• Figure 1: Proposed R-L2D-ESP's key functionalities.
• Figure 2: Illustration of TEGs for platforms $\{0,\dots,P-1\}$.
• Figure 3: Illustration of debris $d$'s TEG. The circles represent orbital slots $j \in {\mathcal{J}}_{td}$, with blue indicating those selected, and green indicating that an orbital slot represents that debris is deorbited. The dashed lines represent transfer opportunities, and the solid ones those selected. The upper-right block shows a collaborative engagement at time step $t$ from the set of platforms ${\mathcal{(PS)}}_{1,dj}=\{(1,3),(5,14)\}$, encoding platforms $p=1$ and $p=5$ at orbital slots $s=3$ and $s=14$, respectively. They generate orbital slot $j \in {\mathcal{J}}_{2,d,0}$. Similarly, the right-lower block encodes at time step $T-2$ the transfer to slot $k \in {\mathcal{J}}_{T-1,d}$, which encodes deorbiting, generated by platform $p$ at orbital slot $s$ defined in set ${\mathcal{(PS)}}_{T-2,dk}=\{(p,s)\}$.
• Figure 4: Illustration of the RHS approach taken to solve the R-L2D-ESP.
• Figure 5: Plane change orbital slots for platform $p=1$ defined at the epoch.