Abstract Space debris, such as abandoned rocket bodies, defunct satellites, and space rocks, poses an ever-increasing risk to satellites and spacecraft, threatening the long-term security and stability of the space environment. Active debris removal has become a critical task for the spaceflight community. Traditional rigid manipulators for capturing debris are heavy and lack adaptability, often causing unwanted collisions during interactions with fragile objects. This paper presents a novel lantern-like manipulator actuated by smart materials, capable of shape deformation via shape memory alloys (SMAs) and variable stiffness modulation using polycaprolactone (PCL). Experimental results demonstrate the manipulator’s ability to capture non-cooperative targets with irregular shapes, offering a promising solution for compliant active debris removal in future space missions.
Yang et al. (Wed,) studied this question.
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