Catcher’s Mitt Final Report

by | Jun 27, 2019

The Catcher’s Mitt study was conducted to evaluate the need for, and the technical feasibility of, reducing the amount of orbital debris via active removal. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) with support from the Orbital Debris Office at NASA...

Taxonomy of LEO Space Debris Population for ADR Selection

by | Jun 27, 2019

The following paper presents a novel taxonomy method for LEO space debris population. The goal of the method is to provide a new way of classifying low Earth orbit (LEO) space debris objects to support future ADR missions and aid decision making. The method is...

Pay Me Now or Pay Me More Later

by | Jun 27, 2019

The objective of this paper is to examine when the aerospace community should proceed to develop and deploy active debris removal solutions. A two-prong approach is taken to examine both (1) operational hazard thresholdsand (2) economic triggers. Research in the paper...
There Is More to DFR Than Handles

There Is More to DFR Than Handles

by | Jan 8, 2019

While handles, grapple posts, or similar features are important in the recovery of satellites, design for recovery (DFR) does not begin and end there.  DFR asks the overarching question: what is the ultimate disposal of this object and how do we design, document, and...
The Tragedy of the Common Orbits

The Tragedy of the Common Orbits

by | Jul 23, 2015

With apologies to Garrett Hardin The tragedy of the common orbits develops in this way. Picture an orbit open to all. It is to be expected that each operator will try to keep as many satellites as possible in the orbit. Such an arrangement may work reasonably...