Removing Space Debris and Deflecting Asteroids with Ion Beams

Аuthors

Bombardelli C.

e-mail: claudio.bombardelli@upm.es

Abstract

The tasks of actively removing space debris and deflecting asteroids are greatly simplified by the use of contactless actuation, in which linear and angular momentum is transferred to a target without a direct mechanical interaction. The recently proposed ion beam shepherd (IBS) concept enables contactless actuation in a very efficient way by using the beam momentum of an ion engine or space plasma thruster pointed towards the surface of a target. This article summarizes the main aspects of the IBS technology and its applicability to the space debris removal and asteroid deflection problems.

Keywords:

ion beam shepherd; asteroid deflection; space debris

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