From Design to Deorbit: A Solar-Electric Autonomous Module for Multi-Debris Remediation

TL;DR

The paper tackles the challenge of escalating orbital debris by proposing a solar-powered autonomous module that couples a secure clamping mechanism with a NEXT ion thruster to enable multi-debris removal. The design integrates solar arrays, a xenon propellant tank, a lithium-ion energy storage, edge AI perception, and robust CCSDS/DTN communications to support autonomous capture and deorbit. High-fidelity simulations in GMAT and MATLAB demonstrate a retrograde deorbit from 800 km to 100 km and radar-based navigation achieving sub-10 m RMS errors, with DTN delivering 93% of data within 1 s. The results suggest a fuel-efficient, scalable framework for sustainable debris remediation with potential extension to fleets and reinforcement learning-based planning, informing future hardware-in-the-loop validation and multi-agent deployment strategies.

Abstract

The escalating accumulation of orbital debris threatens the sustainability of space operations, necessitating active removal solutions that overcome the limitations of current fuel-dependent methods. To address this, this study introduces a novel remediation architecture that integrates a mechanical clamping system for secure capture with a high-efficiency, solar-powered NASA Evolutionary Xenon Thruster (NEXT) and autonomous navigation protocols. High-fidelity simulations validate the architecture's capabilities, demonstrating a successful retrograde deorbit from 800 km to 100 km, <10m position Root Mean Square Errors (RMSE) via radar-based Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) navigation, and a 93\% data delivery efficiency within 1 second using Delay/Disruption Tolerant Network (DTN) protocols. This approach significantly advances orbital management by establishing a benchmark for renewable solar propulsion that minimizes reliance on conventional fuels and extends mission longevity for multi-target removal.

Figures (13)

• Figure 1: Schematic representation of Space debris distribution around Earth esa2025kessler.
• Figure 2: Component-wise Architecture of the Space Debris Removal Module.
• Figure 3: Device layouts under different operating conditions.
• Figure 4: GMAT simulation results under different operating conditions.
• Figure 5: Radial distance of debris relative to Earth over time.