TECHNICAL MECHANICS
ISSN (Print): 1561-9184, ISSN (Online): 2616-6380

HOME    ABOUT THIS JOURNAL    EDITORIAL BOARD    GUIDE FOR AUTHORS    CURRENT    JOURNAL ISSUES    CONTACTS

UDC 629.7

Technical mechanics, 2019, 2, 5 - 15

CHOICE ORBITS FOR SPACE DEBRIS UTILIZATION

DOI: https://doi.org/10.15407/itm2019.02.005

Alpatov A. P., Holdshtein Yu. M.

Alpatov A. P.
Institute of Technical Mechanics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and the State Space Agency of Ukraine

Holdshtein Yu. M.
Institute of Technical Mechanics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and the State Space Agency of Ukraine

      The increasing technogenic pollution of near-Earth space with space debris fragments of various sizes significantly limits the possibilities for space activity and is a great threat to objects on the Earth. Low orbits with altitudes up to 2,000 km are the most heavily polluted. The urgency of ensuring space flight safety in conditions of the technogenic pollution of near-Earth space and reducing the threat to objects on the Earth from the uncontrolled entry of space objects into the dense atmosphere and their fall to the Earth is rapidly growing. In accordance with the guidelines of the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee, space debris fragments must be removed from the area of operational orbits. Currently, the following methods are considered as promising ways to remove space debris: a direct descent from the orbit, a transfer to an orbit with a life shorter than twenty-five years, a transfer to a burial orbit, and in-orbit utilization. In accordance with the concept of in-orbit utilization, space debris is considered as a resource for the in-orbit industry. The aim of this paper is to assess the prospects for space debris in-orbit utilization and to develop a technique for choosing the number and spatial location of safe low-Erath utilization orbits. The paper overviews and analyzes modern approaches to cleaning near-Earth space from space debris and mathematical models of near-Earth space pollution. The technique developed made it possible to identify possible areas for safe space debris utilization orbits. The energy consumption for transferring space debris objects from their original orbits to utilization ones is estimated. What is new is the technique and recommendations for the choice of the number and spatial location of space debris utilization orbits. The results obtained may be applied in planning the in-orbit utilization of space debris.
     

space debris, removal, burial, utilization, mathematical simulation

1. Technogenic Pollution of Near-Earth Space. A. P. Alpatov (Ed.). Dnipropetrovsk: Porogi, 2012. 378 pp. (in Russian).

2. Space Debris. In two books. Book 1: Space Debris Observation Methods and Models. G. G. Raikunov (Ed.). Moscow : FIZMATLIT, 2014. 244 pp. (in Russian).

3. Klinkrad H. Space Debris Models and Risk Analysis. Berlin: Springer, 2006. 430 pp.

4. Nazarenko A. I. Space Debris Simulation. Moscow: Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 2013. 216 pp. (in Russian).

5. Flegel S. et al. Maintenance of the ESA MASTER Model : Final Report of ESA. Braunschweig, 2011. 323 ðp. Ñontract 21705/D/HK.

6. Gelhaus J. et. al. Upgrade of ESA's Space Debris Mitigation Analysis Tool Suite : DRAMA : Final Report. ESA/ESOC. Braunschweig, 2014. 272 ðp. Contract 4000104977/11/D/SR.

7. Liou J. C. A sensitivity study of the effectiveness of active debris removal in LEO. Houston, 2007. Pp. 1-7.

8. Alpatov A. P., Gorbulin V. P. Orbital space platforms for industrial complex: problems and prospects. Visn. Nac. Akad. Nauk Ukr. 2013. No. 12. Pp. 26-38. (in Russian). https://doi.org/10.15407/visn2013.12.026

9. Alpatov A. P. Space debris: the aspects of the problem. Teh. Meh. 2018. No. 2. Pp. 30-47. (in Russian).

10. Liou J. C., Alford R. A semi-analytic theory for the motion of a close-Earth artificial satellite with drag. 17th Aerospace Sciences Meeting New Orleans: AIAA paper No. 79-0123.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.15407/itm2019.02.005

Copyright (©) 2019 Alpatov A. P., Holdshtein Yu. M.

Copyright © 2014-2019 Technical mechanics