Hybrid electrostatic ion beam shepherd schemes for active space debris removal from GEO to disposal orbit

Abstract

The removal of large space debris from a geostationary orbit to a disposal orbit via an ion beam shepherd spacecraft was considered in this study, with attention given to the electrostatic effect. The generation of an ion force, which provides contactless thrust, occurs because of the transfer of momentum from the ions of the engine plume of the spacecraft to the space debris. This process is accompanied by the transfer of a positive charge to the space debris. As a result, electrostatic interactions occur between the spacecraft and space debris. The goals of this study were to assess the influence of this effect on the dynamics of space debris during contactless ion beam-assisted removal and to develop hybrid contactless transportation schemes based on the use of an ion beam and electrostatic interactions. A mathematical model describing the motion of space debris and spacecraft under the influence of ionic and electrostatic forces and torques was developed. The concepts of electrostatic ion beam shepherd, electrostatic tractor with ion beam, and charged ion beam shepherd were proposed and compared. The results of numerical simulations revealed that the electrostatic ion beam shepherd scheme is preferable from the perspective of minimizing fuel costs when solving the problem of removing space debris from a geostationary orbit. A control law for the spacecraft charge needed for space-debris detumbling during ion-beam transportation is proposed. A numerical simulation of space debris removal was performed via a hybrid scheme.