Result: ElectroDynamic Debris Eliminator (EDDE): Design, Operation, and Ground Support

The ElectroDynamic Debris Eliminator (EDDE) is a low-cost solution for LEO space debris removal. EDDE can affordably remove nearly all the 2,465 objects of more than 2 kg that are now in 500-2000 km orbits. That is more than 99% of the total mass, collision area, and debris-generation potential in LEO. EDDE is a propellantless vehicle that reacts against the Earth's magnetic field. EDDE can climb about 200 km/day and change orbit plane at 1.5?/day, even in polar orbit. No other electric vehicle can match these rates, much less sustain them for years. After catching and releasing one object, EDDE can climb and change its orbit to reach another object within days while actively avoiding other catalog objects. Binocular imaging allows accurate relative orbit determination from a distance. Capture uses lightweight expendable nets and real-time man-in-the-loop control. After capture, EDDE drags the debris down and releases it and the net into a short-lived orbit safely below ISS, or takes it to a recycling facility for reuse. EDDE can also sling debris into controlled reentry, or can include an adjustable drag device with the net before release, to allow later adjustment of payload reentry location. A dozen 100-kg EDDE vehicles could remove nearly all 2166 tons of LEO orbital debris in 7 years. The estimated cost per kilogram of debris removed is on the order of a few percent of typical launch costs per kilogram. This supports shifting the focus on debris from simply maintaining the status quo by limiting the introduction of new debris to active, wholesale removal of all large debris objects in LEO with EDDE.
Presented at the Advanced Maui Optical and Space Surveillance Technologies Conference, held in Maui, HI, on 14-17 Sep 2010. Prepared in cooperation with Tether Applications, Inc. Sponsored in part by AFRL. U.S. Government or Federal Rights License. The original document contains color images.