Active Debris Removal (ADR) in congested orbits is considered a promising method to mitigate the increase of secondary space debris generated in orbit. JAXA has proposed deorbiting such debris using satellites equipped with electric propulsion (EP) as one of the removal technologies for large-scale debris, such as the upper stage of launch vehicles in congested orbits, and is advancing research toward its practical application. Meanwhile, it is believed that both the debris and the debris removal satellite become charged due to the space environment plasma. If there is a potential difference between the two, electrostatic discharge failures could occur when the debris removal satellite captures the debris. This phenomenon is also a concern in on-orbit services, such as refueling satellites in orbit. Therefore, our research group is investigating technologies to mitigate the charging of debris using the plasma produced by EP operation in the low Earth orbit. In this presentation, we will report on the status and challenges of our research, including the risk assessment of debris charging through numerical calculations and the charging mitigation method using the EP-produced plasmas.
Muranaka et al. (Thu,) studied this question.