• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.43 no.9
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• pp.845-857
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• 2015

Recently, deterioration of space environment due to space debris is getting a lot of international attention and advanced countries in space technology are willing to comply with their space debris mitigation guidelines. With these efforts to reduce the number of space debris, active space debris removal technology means to try and to get rid of space debris directly. In this paper, the background and recent status on active space debris removal technologies of overseas agencies are presented. Also, cases of technology development and patents are introduced. Thus, this paper can be usefully referred to by the colleagues who are willing to start the research and development of active space debris removal technologies.

• Journal of Space Technology and Applications
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.165-198
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• 2023

According to the studies recently published through advanced maui optical and space surveillance technologies (AMOS) Conference 2021, LEO conjunction assessment revolves around not on operating satellites but space debris such as rocket bodies and non-operational satellites, hence suggesting a solution through space traffic management. Against this backdrop, the issue of active debris removal (ADR) has emerged to the surface as an international challenge throughout the globe. In step with this, the United Nations General Assembly approved a resolution calling on nations to halt tests of direct-ascent anti-satellites, to which U.S. and twelve other nations included Republic of Korea were original signatories. ADR techniques are also actively being researched in the civil sector, and these commercial services, if successfully developed, could possibly be utilized for military use as well. As such, this paper will help readers' understanding for the current status of ADR techniques, space threat assessments, on-orbit rendezvous and proximity operations by looking at previous cases, reflecting on space-faring nations' ADR techniques and its development probability in relation to space weapons. As a conclusion, this study will propose the needs of developing space propulsion system by understanding Space Maneuver Warfare in preparation for the future space battlefield.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.50 no.6
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• pp.435-444
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• 2022

This study conducts capture simulations of space debris using a space-net. The present capture simulations are performed using ABAQUS, a nonlinear structural dynamics analysis code. A square space-net with 1 m × 1 m and a space debris with a cube configuration(0.3 m × 0.3 m × 0.3 m and 30 kg) are considered as baseline models. Using the baseline models, the capture simulation using ABAQUS is conducted to understand the capture process and establish the criteria of capture success or fail. In addition, the capture simulations are performed when various properties of the space-net are considered, and it is investigated that major design factors of the space-net are recognized to capture successfully the space debris.

• Journal of Space Technology and Applications
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.101-117
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• 2023

Active debris removal, a technology that approaches and removes space debris in orbit, and the on-orbit service, a technology for extending the mission life of satellites by fuel charging or by exchanging the battery, are gaining interest with the growth of the space community. SaTReC plans to develop a satellite capable of capturing and removing Korean satellites orbiting in space after the end of their missions. In contrast to the previously launched satellites by Korea, which were mainly intended to observe Earth and the space environment, rendezvous/docking technologies, as required in the future during, for instance, space exploration missions, will be implemented and demonstrated. In this paper, an orbital transition method for next-generation small satellites that will capture and remove space debris will be introduced. It is assumed that a small satellite with a mass of approximately 200 kg will be injected into the mission orbit through Korea Space Launch Vehicle-II in 2027. Because the satellite must access the target using a minimum amount of fuel, an approaching technology using Earth's J2 perturbation force has been developed. This method is expected to enable space debris removal missions for relatively lightweight satellites and to serve as the basis for carrying out a new type of space exploration in what is termed the 'Newspace' era.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.45 no.9
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• pp.794-806
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• 2017

It is essential to protect the national space assets and space environment safely as a space development country from the continuously increasing space debris. And Active Debris Removal(ADR) is the most active way to solve this problem. In this paper, we studied the Artificial Neural Network(ANN) for a stable recognition model of vision-based space debris tracking system. We obtained the simulated image of the space environment by the KARICAT which is the ground-based space debris clearing satellite testbed developed by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, and created the vector which encodes structure and color-based features of each object after image segmentation by depth discontinuity. The Feature Vector consists of 3D surface area, principle vector of point cloud, 2D shape and color information. We designed artificial neural network model based on the separated Feature Vector. In order to improve the performance of the artificial neural network, the model is divided according to the categories of the input feature vectors, and the ensemble technique is applied to each model. As a result, we confirmed the performance improvement of recognition model by ensemble technique.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.50 no.8
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• pp.559-572
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• 2022

Recently, with the success of the world's first On-Orbit service (OOS) mission MEV (Mission Extension Vehicle)-1 in 2020, interest in OOS is increasing at home and abroad. In particular, the mission of OOS and active debris removal (ADR) service, which was difficult to find in the old space era in the past, is expected to enter the new space industry in the near future. Therefore, this paper examines the development cases of domestic and foreign OOS technologies, and describes the characteristics of major technologies required, domestic status and development potential, and the possibility of future OOS mission development. The technology trends and future prospects of OOS described in this paper are expected to be useful reference materials for further researching related fields in domestic situations where related research is insufficient.