Overview
The space debris issue is becoming serious as space development becomes more intense. We must not only control the generation of future space debris, but also establish mitigation technologies to remove existing ones to ensure the sustainable utilization of near-Earth orbits. Debris removal technologies are collectively called Active Debris Removal (ADR). The capturing and rendezvous processes are among the most important and difficult processes involved in ADR. These processes are critical because an unexpected collision with the target may cause not only the mission to fail, but also additional generation of space debris. In practice, the high cost of ADR systems is a major obstacle to their implementation. There has been so far not enough impetus to fund space debris mitigation. In order to effectively realize it, we need both public awareness and a significant reduction in development costs. One of the most important factors in reducing the cost of space systems is the utilization of terrestrial technologies, especially Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) components. Even though the space environment is different from the terrestrial environment, devices can be qualified using simulations. If we can utilize COTS devices with proper qualifications, we can develop space equipment with a high functionality and a very low cost. The orbit of an ADR satellite can be approximately controlled using orbit information, but the ADR satellite needs to identify the target debris orbit precisely to achieve a fine-tuned and safe rendezvous with the target debris. To autonomously access the target debris safely and reliably, an ADR satellite needs to have “eyes” to find the target debris and a “brain” to control the rendezvous process autonomously. This project focuses on the development of low-cost high-performance intelligent space cameras for guidance and navigation system of ADR satellites by effective utilization of COTS that will enable reliable mitigation of space debris.
