Design of Fly-Around Orbit for Space Debris Capturing

Abstract

The growing debris cloud in orbit has caused concern in many countries,the number of space objects which are cataloged has increased by more than 2 times with in 30 years.If they are not cleared actively, the number will grow rapidly in the next 200 years and cause great threat. Uncontrolled fly-around orbit can stay near the target for a long time, provide long time to observe and capture debris. This paper proposed a plan of fly-around orbit,inferred two methods based on C-W equation and orbital elements, and designed an orbit planusing 5 orbit maneuvers aimed at hypothetical target, which fits for any initial position, and has practical value for engineering.

Keywords

space debris / close range / capture / fly-around