TY - GEN
T1 - EDDE spacecraft development for active LEO debris removal
AU - Pearson, Jerome
AU - Carroll, Joseph
AU - Levin, Eugene
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2014 by Mr. Jerome Pearson.
PY - 2014
Y1 - 2014
N2 - EDDE, the ElectroDynamic Debris Eliminator, is a persistently maneuverable propellantless "taxi" vehicle for low Earth orbit (LEO). EDDE allows affordable wholesale removal of large LEO debris, preventing collisions that is otherwise likely to be the main future source of untracked debris lethal to spacecraft, and the main driver of debris costs. EDDE can also distribute secondary payloads to custom orbits, and deliver service modules to serviceable spacecraft throughout LEO. EDDE consists mostly of a multi-kilometer reinforced aluminum foil tape that collects and conducts electrons, plus solar arrays to drive the current. Hot wires emit electrons back into the ambient plasma, allowing external closure of the current loop. EDDE's maneuver force comes from current in the tape crossing geomagnetic field lines. EDDE slowly rotates to tension and stabilize itself. Adjusting the current around each rotation and each orbit lets EDDE adjust all 6 orbit elements plus rotation axis and rate. Rotation allows persistent directable net thrust even in polar orbit. Accurate control enables capture of large debris in expendable gossamer nets. If EDDE captures ton-class objects at 750-1000 km altitude and releases them below ISS, debris throughput can approach EDDE's own mass per day, or nearly 30 tons/year for an 80 kg EDDE. Two such EDDEs can fit in one ESPA secondary payload slot on any Delta 4, Atlas 5, or Falcon 9 launch with enough payload margin. A full ESPA ring with 12 EDDEs can deorbit most LEO debris mass in <10 years. We matured EDDE design, components, and operating concepts under a recent 2-year contract with the NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate at Langley Research Center. This paper describes EDDE's design and operations, rendezvous and capture concepts, the costs of orbital debris and challenges associated with removing it, and plans for a 12U EDDE flight test. The test can include both payload delivery and imaging of selected US-owned debris, to quantify rendezvous errors.
AB - EDDE, the ElectroDynamic Debris Eliminator, is a persistently maneuverable propellantless "taxi" vehicle for low Earth orbit (LEO). EDDE allows affordable wholesale removal of large LEO debris, preventing collisions that is otherwise likely to be the main future source of untracked debris lethal to spacecraft, and the main driver of debris costs. EDDE can also distribute secondary payloads to custom orbits, and deliver service modules to serviceable spacecraft throughout LEO. EDDE consists mostly of a multi-kilometer reinforced aluminum foil tape that collects and conducts electrons, plus solar arrays to drive the current. Hot wires emit electrons back into the ambient plasma, allowing external closure of the current loop. EDDE's maneuver force comes from current in the tape crossing geomagnetic field lines. EDDE slowly rotates to tension and stabilize itself. Adjusting the current around each rotation and each orbit lets EDDE adjust all 6 orbit elements plus rotation axis and rate. Rotation allows persistent directable net thrust even in polar orbit. Accurate control enables capture of large debris in expendable gossamer nets. If EDDE captures ton-class objects at 750-1000 km altitude and releases them below ISS, debris throughput can approach EDDE's own mass per day, or nearly 30 tons/year for an 80 kg EDDE. Two such EDDEs can fit in one ESPA secondary payload slot on any Delta 4, Atlas 5, or Falcon 9 launch with enough payload margin. A full ESPA ring with 12 EDDEs can deorbit most LEO debris mass in <10 years. We matured EDDE design, components, and operating concepts under a recent 2-year contract with the NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate at Langley Research Center. This paper describes EDDE's design and operations, rendezvous and capture concepts, the costs of orbital debris and challenges associated with removing it, and plans for a 12U EDDE flight test. The test can include both payload delivery and imaging of selected US-owned debris, to quantify rendezvous errors.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84937716577&partnerID=8YFLogxK
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AN - SCOPUS:84937716577
T3 - Proceedings of the International Astronautical Congress, IAC
SP - 1551
EP - 1565
BT - 65th International Astronautical Congress 2014, IAC 2014
PB - International Astronautical Federation, IAF
T2 - 65th International Astronautical Congress 2014: Our World Needs Space, IAC 2014
Y2 - 29 September 2014 through 3 October 2014
ER -