JPH07251799A - Spacecraft - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To facilitate the work of removing objects floating in outer space by providing a floating object capturing means for capturing objects floating in outer space using a capturing net and a recovery means for recovering the capturing net released into outer space and for mooring the objects to a flooring object mooring portion. CONSTITUTION:To capture objects 16 floating in outer space, first a spacecraft main body 10 is controlled to grip a net releasing portion 12 opposite to the objects 16 floating in outer space, and then the releasing device 15 of the releasing portion is operated to release a capturing net 14 from the net releasing portion 12. The capturing net 14 is exerted with torque as well as with the releasing force and released into the outer space by pushing a lid 13 open, and its couplings 14a are spread apart into a square shape by the torque to capture the floating objects 16 in outer space. Thereafter, the capturing net 14 traps the floating objects 16 in its center with its separated couplings 14a coupled to one another again so as to capture the floating objects 16 in outer space.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a spacecraft used for collecting space suspended matter such as space dust and artificial waste flying in space.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the field of space development, more than 30 years have passed since the development was promoted, and a large number of space navigation vehicles such as artificial satellites have been used by humans in space to transport vehicles such as rockets. It has been launched by using them, and the number is said to exceed several thousand. In such a spacecraft, the ones that have already reached the end of their life, including transportation means, simply fly as a space floating object that floats in space.

In addition to the above-mentioned artificial space-borne objects, space-borne objects such as space dust are simultaneously flying in space, and when the two are combined, the number of them is hundreds of movable spacecraft. It is said that there exist double to several thousand times.

Such a space floating object is called "debris", and flies in orbit at a speed substantially equal to or higher than that of a spacecraft, and its shape and size are also several centimeters to several meters. It covers a wide variety. In general, since the space floating objects generally have a relatively small mass but a very large momentum, when they collide with a moving spacecraft, they may disable the motion of the spacecraft. Have it. And, this space floating object is considered to increase more and more in outer space in the future, and there is a safety problem.

In the field of space development, of course, there is a strong demand for ensuring safety. Therefore, the existence of space floating objects, which are expected to increase more and more in the future, will contribute to the future space development.
It is necessary to take anti-collision measures including its removal.

[0006]

As described above, the existence of a space floating object has a possibility of collision with a spacecraft, which is problematic in terms of safety. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a spacecraft that has a simple structure and that facilitates the work of removing a space floating object and that can be easily executed. To do.

[0007]

The present invention relates to a main body of a spacecraft having a floating object mooring portion for flying in outer space, and a body mounted on the main body of the spacecraft, in which a trapping network can be released freely. Floating object capture means, which is folded and housed in the space, radiates the capture network toward space floating objects flying in the space, and captures the space floating objects in the capture network unit, and capture emitted in the space. A spacecraft is provided with a collecting means for collecting the net and mooring the floating object mooring portion.

[0008]

According to the above-mentioned structure, the floating object capturing means discharges the capturing network aiming at the space floating object, captures the space floating object by the capturing network, and collects the capturing network by the collecting means. Then, it is moored at the floating object mooring portion of the body of the spacecraft and is transferred to a desired location to remove the space floating object.
As a result, it becomes possible to easily and easily remove a space floating object existing in outer space, a collision is prevented, and safety in outer space is secured.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a spacecraft according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 10 is a body of the spacecraft, which is equipped with a propulsion device 11 for flight so as to freely fly in outer space. .. In this spacecraft body 10, a plurality of tubular net discharge parts 12 are arranged at predetermined intervals. As shown in FIG. 2, the net discharging portion 12 has substantially the same structure, and an opening / closing lid 13 is provided on the front surface thereof so as to be openable and closable. In the net discharging part 12, for example, a quadrilateral trapping net 14 is folded and housed via a discharging device 15.

The discharging device 15 is formed of, for example, a pyrotechnic, a spring mechanism, or the like, and discharges the catching net 14 folded and accommodated in the net discharging part 12 toward outer space while applying a rotational force. For example, the connecting portion 14a is detachably attached to a corner of the catching net 14, and as shown in FIG. Then, the opening / closing lid 13 of the net discharging unit 12 is pushed away and discharged into the outer space. The coupling portion 14a is separated into four directions by the rotational force in the discharged state of the capture net 14 and sets the capture net 14 in a quadrilateral shape to allow the space floating object 16 to be captured. The action of 16 couples with each other to prevent the space floating object 16 from leaving.

The spacecraft body 10 is provided with a floating object mooring section 17, and the floating object mooring section 17 includes:
The captured net 14 is moored as described later. Further, the spacecraft body 10 includes a recovery manipulator 1
8 are provided. The manipulator 18 is operated, for example, remotely to grab and capture the trapping net 14 released into the outer space and moor it to the floating object mooring section 17.

In the above structure, when the space floating object 16 is captured, first, the spacecraft body 10 is operated to capture the net discharging part 12 so as to face the space floating object 16, and then the discharging device 15 is operated. Then, the trapping net 14 is discharged from the net discharging unit 12. Here, the capture net 14 is discharged to the outer space by being given a rotational force and pushing the opening / closing lid 13 together with the discharge force, and is separated by the rotational force so that the coupling portion 14a is scattered. As shown in FIG. 4, the space floating object 16 is captured in a quadrilateral shape. After that, the capture net 14 wraps the space floating object 16 around the space floating object 16 (see FIG. 5), and the separated connecting portions 14a are connected again (see FIG. 6) to allow space floating. Capture the object 16.

Next, the manipulator 18 is operated to grab and capture the capture net 14 after capture by the manipulator 18 and moor it to the floating object mooring portion 17 of the spacecraft body 10. In this way, the plurality of net discharging units 12 are sequentially controlled in operation in a substantially similar procedure, the space netting objects 16 are respectively captured by the nets 14, and after the nets are captured, the nets 14 are captured.
Is collected by the manipulator 18 and the floating object mooring unit 17
Moored to. And when the floating object capture is completed,
The spacecraft body 10 is driven by the propulsion device 11 to fly and is transferred to a predetermined place such as a space station.

As described above, in the spacecraft, the net discharging part 12 is provided in the spacecraft main body 10, and the catching net 14 is foldably accommodated in the net discharging part 12 so as to be discharged. The capture net 14 of the above is discharged to the space floating object 16 by using the discharge device 15, the space floating object 16 is captured by the capture net 14, and the capture net 14 after the capture is recovered and the space navigation body. The floating object mooring portion 17 of the main body 10 is moored, and it is configured to be transferred to a desired place.

According to this, it becomes possible to easily perform the space floating object 16 existing in the outer space with a simple work, the safety in the outer space can be improved, and the collision with the space floating object 16 can be achieved. It can be prevented.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the trapping net 14 is collected by using the manipulator 18 has been described as the collecting means. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, the trapping net itself is equipped with a propulsion device. Then, the nets are folded and housed in the net discharging unit 12, and the catching nets 14 are discharged to cause a space floating object 16
It is also possible to control the operation of the propulsion device after the capture of the vehicle to fly the capture network 14 in a self-propelled manner and moor it to the floating object mooring portion 17 of the spacecraft body 10.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the net discharging unit 12 is configured to discharge the trapping net 14 into the outer space while applying a rotational force to trap the space floating object 16 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, a linear discharge output may be applied to the space floating object 16 and discharged without applying a rotational force to the capture net 14.

Further, in the above embodiment, the case where the trapping net 14 is formed in a quadrilateral shape has been described. Is possible.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the case where the net discharger 12 is arranged to face the space floating object 16 and the spacecraft body 10 is operated and captured is described, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, it is also possible to provide a catching device in each of the net discharging parts 12 and to catch the space floating object 16 with this catching device. Therefore, it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0020]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, there is provided a spacecraft which has a simple structure and can easily carry out the work of removing a space floating object and can be easily executed. be able to.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a spacecraft according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the details of a net discharging unit in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a release state of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram shown for explaining the capture operation of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a diagram shown for explaining the capture operation of FIG. 1.

6A and 6B are views for explaining the capture operation of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 ... Spacecraft body. 11 ... Propulsion device. 12 ... Net discharge part. 13 ... Open / close lid. 14 ... Capture net. 15 ... Discharge device. 16 ... Space floating object. 17 ... Floating object mooring section. 18 ... Manipulator.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A spacecraft body having a floating object mooring portion for flying in outer space, and a spacecraft body mounted on the spacecraft body. Floating object capturing means for irradiating the space floating object flying in the outer space to capture the space floating object in the capture network section; and the floating object for collecting the capture network emitted in the outer space. A spacecraft provided with a recovery means moored in a mooring section. 2. The floating object capturing means captures the space floating object by imparting a rotational force to the trapping net at the time of discharge to expand the trapping net by the rotational force. The spacecraft according to item 1. 3. The manipulator is operably provided on the body of the spacecraft, and the collecting means holds the discharged trapping net by the manipulator to collect the manipulator and moor it to the floating object mooring portion. The spacecraft according to claim 1 or 2, which is characterized in that. 4. The recovery means is provided with a propulsion device on the trap net, and is propelled by the propulsive force of the propulsion device to the space object mooring portion for mooring. The spacecraft according to claim 1 or 2.