RU2772496C1 - Space debris collector - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: space debris disposal.

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to spacecraft with means of removal and disposal of space debris (SD). The spacecraft contains a rocket engine (1), energy (2), residential (3) and docking (4) modules, an airlock (5) for the entry/exit of astronauts and a garbage collector (6). Electromagnetic traps (7) for small and medium SD fragments are placed on the surface of the latter. A shield (8) covered with an antifriction film, a powerful solenoid trap (10) for large SD objects and lasers (9) for cutting these objects are installed in front. Behind the shield there is a rotary shredder (11) for grinding SD. Such a SD can be pressed (with sintering) into briquettes and accelerated by a railgun to enter the atmosphere or to be removed to a disposal area. The spacecraft can be supplemented by satellites - deliverers of large spacecraft objects. On board the spacecraft, astronauts can conduct scientific research and observations of the planet.

EFFECT: creation of an effective multifunctional apparatus for cleaning and disposal of SD.

4 cl, 4 dwg

Description

Debris in space is any man-made object in orbit around the Earth that no longer fulfills its function. For example, stages of launch vehicles and "dead" satellites. 95% of space objects are garbage, which is 8000 tons [1,2]. Debris more than 1 cm - 750 thousand. Any collision with debris is dangerous for working space devices. There is a lot of information on the Internet about space debris, but there are no effective means of destroying it.

Existing ways to deal with space debris:

- when the ISS comes close to a space debris object, the station is maneuvered;

- for autonomous search and detection of dangerous objects at altitudes up to 50 thousand km, optical-electronic complexes with telescopes are placed all over the Earth;

- it is supposed to transport garbage objects to distant stationary orbits (creating problems in the future) or into the Earth's atmosphere;

- destruction of an object by an explosion or burning (evaporation) by a laser beam;

- shredding debris in orbit and recycling it into fuel.

All of humanity is actively exploring space for military and scientific purposes, and huge funds are allocated for this, but few people want to sponsor the cleanup of space debris. Sponsors can be interested in the creation of a multifunctional space garbage collector with the possibility of carrying out scientific research and rescue operations (in particular, the evacuation of astronauts in the event of an accident on the ISS), as well as for short-term visits by tourists. Such a device can freely move to other orbits, unlike the ISS.

Some firms in Russia and other leading space nations are making feeble attempts to create space debris cleanup devices. The British company SST has developed a cleaning satellite weighing 100 kg, which is thrown from the ISS station at a distance of 7 m and a net is ejected from it to capture debris. Another satellite uses a harpoon to catch the debris, which can operate at a distance of no more than 1.5 m from the satellite. After the operation is completed, the cleaning satellite will deploy a sail to enter the upper atmosphere, after which it will burn up in it [3]. How many satellites, and possibly the rockets that delivered them, will need to be burned in order to clear outer space?

Private companies are working on Velcro satellites and electrodynamic traps to reduce the velocity of space debris [4]. The Roskosmos firm is developing a project for a space cleaner that can blow off (evaporate) space debris with a jet engine jet [5].

The Institute of Applied Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, together with Japanese specialists, plans to install a powerful laser on the ISS to deflect the trajectory of a dangerous object. For centuries, a broom was enough for garbage, and now we need to invent something simple but effective.

Known spacecraft for disposal of space debris, containing a power plant, made in the form of a thermionic reactor-converter, a detection system for bodies to be destroyed, a device for generating and directed energy transfer, made in the form of a laser equipped with a cooling system, and a propulsion system for maneuvering and correcting the orbit [6]. On such a unit, only catching gold bars in space is too expensive. The use of an impact laser will lead to the formation of smaller debris, how does such a hulk wake them up?

Known spacecraft for disposal of space debris with an engine capable of processing debris into fuel, first grinding them into powder, using a planetary ball mill, which is ground with tungsten needles and turns into plasma [7]. It raises doubts about the method of turning debris into plasma, especially the method of grinding, because the balls of the mill in space have no weight. And in general, the use of terrestrial technologies and mechanisms in space turns into complex problems.

Known spacecraft for disposal of space debris with an engine capable of processing debris into fuel [8.9]. The main difference from the above analogue is the use of pseudo-liquid fuel instead of plasma.

The space debris disposal system ensures its processing into powder, which, mixing with oxygen and hydrogen, forms pseudo-liquid fuel for spacecraft engines.

The device includes a debris trap, a disposal system, and a space debris search system.

The space debris trap consists of deformable dome-shaped and cone-shaped networks, converging - diverging relative to each other and interconnected by cables, which are tightened with the help of a telescopic hoop of the dome-shaped network and telescopic beams of the cone-shaped network, forming a closed cavity.

The recycling system uses a two-roll grinder and a drum-ball mill to produce a fine powder, which, when mixed in a fuel tank with oxygen and hydrogen obtained from water using a water regenerator and a membrane-electrode unit, forms a pseudo-liquid fuel.

The idea is good and such devices will be created on distant planets in order to obtain fuel from local rocks. The project is beautiful, but utopian. How can pieces of metal be crushed to a fine powder with the indicated earth equipment? Metal is only cut or melted. The balls of the windmill are weightless in space. Garbage will not crawl under the mill rolls without coercion .... How can dust be fed into the mixer without a pneumatic blower? Fine metal dust, hydrogen and oxygen are explosive substances, and in the mixture - no matter how the apparatus flew to the moon! The problem is garbage collection, and the question of its disposal as fuel is not worth it. The Earth is only 400 km away, isn't it easier to deliver fuel from there? Garbage dust is heterogeneous, it is difficult to use it as jet fuel - special scientific research is needed. A rocket engine is not a steam locomotive firebox to burn garbage in it in some form.

For lack of a better, we will take this device as a prototype. Rocket engine selection:

Spacecraft and debris move around the Earth at approximately the same speed. To catch debris, small accelerations or decelerations of the apparatus are required. To transport waste into the atmosphere, an increased power of the apparatus is required. By increasing the thrust, more fuel can be burned, or a higher velocity of the jet of hot gases from the nozzle can be achieved. Many space engines have been created with different technical and economic characteristics and the ability to maneuver, gain speed and brake: RS-68 rocket engine, American F1 engine, Soviet RD-170. These engines are designed to carry hundreds of tons of payload into space. They are not for our device.

Since the mid-1960s, the Soviet KDU-414 rocket engine has been used to correct the orbit of spacecraft. Its length is only 70 cm, and it gives a thrust of about 200 kg. But it does not guarantee the long and reliable operation required in our case. Russian upper stages DM and Fregat have a failure rate in the region from one to three percent. For a GARBAGE COLLECTOR, this figure is more than acceptable. However, rocket engines are extremely uneconomical. Their efficiency is inferior to that of a locomotive, they consume huge reserves of fuel with an oxidizer [10]. Near the Earth, as in our case, refueling is possible and such engines are acceptable to us.

Low-power, but more economical and reliable, capable of operating in space for years, are ion and plasma installations, which are currently used on many satellites to keep them in orbit. The essence of the ion engine is that first the gas turns into a plasma, a mixture of positively charged ions by electrons. Then the charged particles are accelerated by the electromagnetic field and thrown out. Interplanetary missions will require powerful ion or plasma thrusters powered by a large array of solar arrays or a nuclear reactor. There are projects of "solar" and "electric" sails, etc. But this does not apply to the problem of cleaning up space debris. Guidance of the device is carried out from the ground. When approaching the object, control is transferred through the locator - ACS of the GARBAGE COLLECTOR to the control unit of the energy module.

The purpose of our invention: the creation of an efficient multifunctional apparatus for cleaning up space debris.

This goal is achieved by the fact that the apparatus, in addition to the jet engine and the power module, has a residential module with a docking module and an airlock for the entry / exit of astronauts, designed for scientific research and for rescuing ISS astronauts. GARBAGE COLLECTOR is docked with the habitation module, its body is plastered with electromagnetic traps for small and medium-sized debris; a hemispherical shield is installed on the end part, covered with a film with a low coefficient of friction: when a large object of debris comes into contact with it, the latter slides to the center of the shield under the influence of kinetic energy, where it is cut by lasers into smaller pieces, which are attracted by a powerful electromagnetic trap and are pushed through for shredding onto the shredder rotors . Further, the shredded garbage is fed by a scraper conveyor with a chute of electromagnets to a feeder, which pours the garbage into square chutes (or cylinders), in which the garbage is pressed into briquettes of a certain length. At the same time, the volume of garbage is reduced by 80%. To increase the strength, the briquettes are sintered in an induction electric furnace at a temperature of 900 degrees. Then the cannon is charged (automatically or by a robot) with briquettes - an electrodynamic mass accelerator with a square barrel - the Indian version (if the barrel is round, then the briquettes must be cylindrical), and is fired into the Earth's atmosphere, where the garbage briquettes burn out. If the electromagnetic gun, as promised, accelerates the projectile to 10-12 km / s, then when fired from a spacecraft, the projectile speed will exceed the second space one and it will be possible to send garbage briquettes into interplanetary space for eternal storage.

Types of electromagnetic guns:

1. Electrodynamic mass accelerator or plasma railgun.

The main parts of the gun are a powerful power source, electrical cables, various equipment and the launcher itself. The gun consists of two parallel electrodes (rail) connected by strength amplifiers and an electrically conductive object (projectile) that closes the electrical circuit.

An instantaneous current pulse of enormous power is applied to the rails. The gas between the electrodes is heated to several thousand degrees and turns into plasma - a substance capable of conducting current.

The electromagnetic field, acting on the plasma, accelerates it to a huge speed (about 50 km / s) and turns it into the so-called "plasma piston". The plasma piston plays the role of a powder charge. The projectile receives an impulse from the piston and flies out of the barrel at a speed of several kilometers per second.

There is neither gas nor air in space, this railgun is unacceptable to us.

2. Railgun on a jet stream.

In this case, shells are used that may have impurities of substances that do not conduct electric current. The arc discharge, which occurs as a result of a powerful current pulse, accelerates the object along the rail. The back of the projectile under the action of the discharge quickly evaporates, and a jet stream is formed. It is she who accelerates the projectile to ultra-high speeds. The option is acceptable. Both options are expensive, but they can solve our problem of space debris disposal. The railgun and powerful power sources are being actively developed. Railguns are already firing, but no positive effect comparable to modern weapons has been obtained.

3. Gauss gun.

The Gauss cannon, developed by a German scientist, is a kind of electromagnetic mass accelerator. The gun consists of a solenoid (coil) with a barrel made of dielectric material located inside it. It is charged with a ferromagnetic projectile. To make the projectile move, an electric current is applied to the coil, creating a magnetic field, due to which the projectile is drawn into the solenoid.

The idea of creating an electromagnetic gun was far ahead of its time. At the beginning of the last century, everything was limited to prototypes, which, moreover, showed very modest results. So, the French model barely managed to disperse a 50-gram projectile to a speed of 200 m / s, which did not go to any comparison with conventional artillery systems in force at that time. Its Russian counterpart, the magnetic-fugal gun, remained in the drawings altogether. And yet the main result is the embodiment of the idea into real hardware, and true success was a matter of time.

Unfortunately, that time has not yet come. True, we cannot compete with rockets, we have the opposite task: to reduce the speed of a briquette - a projectile to a certain value in order to enter the atmosphere at a certain angle without crashing into the Earth and without bouncing off the atmosphere into boundless space. Therefore, we are ready for the latest achievements in technology, and if real electromagnetic guns do not appear, then our cleaning ship will have to periodically move into the atmosphere and unload there like an ordinary machine.

A GARBAGE COLLECTOR in space, just like a GARBAGE COLLECTOR in a city, will have to work forever. All operations must be automated and robotized

Repair work on equipment and electronics must be carried out by special robots - repairmen, who must be controlled by an on-board computer and their own intelligence. By “downloading” programs from the Earth, a robot can be trained in many professions, and it will become a jack of all trades. There is no up or down in space, so the robot doesn't need legs. The robot needs laser or wave beacons for orientation inside the ship. It is proposed to give the robot the appearance of a turtle with four arms and fingers, like a Japanese robot musician, with a control and tracking head at the end of the body, and the abdomen and back of the robot are magnetic plates that act as a magnetic table when installing and repairing equipment. He will move like an astronaut - with his hands, clinging to the ledges.

After our improvements, the device turned into a full-fledged spacecraft. It is not economical for him to chase individual large objects of garbage. It is proposed for this purpose to have many satellites with devices for capturing large debris objects. The main feature of the devices is high adaptability to different positions of objects. The device is attached to the body of the satellite, with the possibility of rotation and consists of a monorail, along which a manipulator with a telescopic rod and an electromagnet with grippers at the end moves. The debris is transferred to a magnetic pad located on the satellite body. When it is filled, the satellite approaches the hemispherical shield of the spacecraft and unloads large debris objects, which are cut by lasers and drawn in by a powerful electromagnetic field and fed to a shredder for grinding. Work on the capture of large debris objects is carried out under the control and supervision of the observation and communication unit, which is attached to the end of the monorail. It has video cameras and radar for communication with the onboard control system and with the ground tracking system.

In FIG. 1 shows a general view of the spacecraft, where:

1 - rocket engine, 2 - power module, 3 - accommodation module with docking module - 4 and lock chamber for entry/exit of cosmonauts - 5; 6 - GARBAGE COLLECTOR, 7 - electromagnetic traps - solenoids that draw in small and medium-sized garbage; 8 - hemispherical shield covered with a film with a low coefficient of friction; 9 - lasers that cut large objects, 10 - a powerful solenoid trap for large pieces of debris, 11 - a shredder for shredding debris.

In FIG. 2 shows the space debris disposal system:

11 - shredder, 12 - scraper conveyor with electromagnetic chute, 14 - feeder, 15 - mold, 16 - hydraulic press, 17 - electric induction furnace, 18 - electromagnetic gun, 19 - control unit.

In FIG. 3 shows a satellite with a device for capturing large debris objects:

20 - satellite body, 21 - monorail, 22 - manipulator, 23 - telescopic rod, 24 - electromagnet with grippers, observation and communication unit - 25.

In FIG. 4 shows a repair robot:

26 - robot body, 27 - electromagnetic shields (front and back), 28 - two pairs of hands with a controlled palm - 29 and controlled fingers - 30, 31 - head of observation, control and communication, 32 - locator, 33 - range finder, 34 - battery compartment, 35 - tool storage, 36 - charger. The robot's arms should rotate so that the front and back work in the same way, or two in front - two in the back, depending on the situation. Similar robots should be created to go into space and carry out repair, assembly and dismantling work there.

In the current situation, whatever you offer is new.

The apparatus for cleaning up space debris includes: a GARBAGE COLLECTOR, a rocket engine, an energy module, a habitation module with a docking module and an airlock for the entry/exit of astronauts, and a space debris disposal system. There are 4 significant differences from existing devices and devices:

1. GARBAGE COLLECTOR, the side surface of which is covered with many electromagnetic traps - solenoids, at the end there is a protective hemispherical shield covered with a film with a low coefficient of friction, under the shield there are lasers that cut large-sized garbage objects into pieces that are captured by a powerful electromagnetic field of the solenoid located in the center shield, and are fed to the shredder rotors.

2. The space debris disposal system consists of a shredder, a scraper conveyor with an electromagnetic chute, a feeder, a mold, a hydraulic press, an induction electric furnace, an electromagnetic gun and a control unit.

3. GARBAGE COLLECTOR has a plurality of delivery satellites, each of which is docked with a device for capturing large debris objects, consisting of a monorail along which a manipulator with a telescopic rod moves, at the end of which an electromagnet with mechanical grippers is located.

4. In the modules of the apparatus (ship), repair work is carried out by robots, each of which has a body similar to the body of a turtle, covered in front and behind with electromagnetic shields, two pairs of hands with a controlled palm and fingers, an observation, control and communication head, a locator, a rangefinder, battery compartment, charger., tool storage. The presence of a habitation module with a docking module and an airlock for the entry/exit of astronauts turns the spacecraft into a multifunctional spacecraft, which allows, in addition to garbage collection, scientific research and work to rescue the ISS crew in emergency situations and in case of accidents of a spacecraft entering near-Earth orbit.

Work progress

In automatic autonomous mode, the device moves in a spiral, capturing small and medium-sized debris with electromagnetic traps. At the same time, many satellites, equipped with capture devices and directed by observation stations from the Earth, catch large-sized debris objects and deliver them for disposal to the GARBAGE COLLECTOR, where they are cut by lasers, shredded by shredder rotors. The crushed mass is pressed into briquettes using a technology close to the earth's, but taking into account weightlessness, which charges an electromagnetic gun, with the help of which briquette shells are delivered to the Earth's atmosphere, where they burn out or into deep space for eternal storage. The craft and the debris are flying at approximately the same speed and in the same direction. Sometimes the vehicle accelerates or slows down near the accumulation of debris, which does not require large amounts of energy. Such a flight can last for years.

Having a residential module, the apparatus (spacecraft) can receive astronauts for scientific research. In their interests, it can approach the Earth or enter a stationary orbit for long-term observations of a piece of land or ocean, it can be an indispensable tool for studying environmental problems and observing the migration of animals and birds.

The device, having a habitation module with a docking module and an airlock, can be a lifesaver in case of accidents on the ISS. The device is capable of docking with the ISS, providing technical assistance or picking up the crew.

I would like to hope that the device can also be used in the rescue of astronauts, when the rocket goes into orbit.

[1] //NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS).

[2] C.C. Veniaminov, A.M. Chervonov, Comic garbage is a threat to humanity.

M: IKI RAN, 2012, ISSN 2075-6836.

[3] //habr.com/ru/post/414989/.

[4] //scienceandtech..ru/artieles/musor-v-kosmose/.

[5] yandex/ru/efir, 2016.

[6] RU 2040448 C1 1995.07.25.

[7] //arxiv.org/abc/1511.07246 Lay et al. The Space Debris Collector: A Potential Space Debris Hunter, 2015.

[8] pikabu.ru/story/v_rossii_razrabotali_kompleks_musora_v_kosmose_6643670.

{9] //bnkomi.ru/data/news/93089.

[10] nauka.tass/ru/tech/6820950.

Claims (4)

1. Apparatus for cleaning space debris, including a garbage collector, a rocket engine, an energy module, a residential module with a docking module and an airlock for the entry/exit of astronauts and a space debris disposal system, characterized in that a plurality of electromagnetic traps-solenoids are placed on the side surface of the garbage collector , at the end there is a protective hemispherical shield covered with a film with a low coefficient of friction, under the shield there are lasers for cutting large-sized debris objects captured by the electromagnetic field of the solenoid, which is located in the center of the shield, and fed after cutting to the shredder rotors. 2. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that said space debris disposal system consists of a shredder, a scraper conveyor with an electromagnetic chute, a feeder, a mold, a hydraulic press, an induction electric furnace, an electromagnetic gun and a control unit. 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the garbage collector has a plurality of delivery satellites, each of which is docked with a device for capturing large debris objects, consisting of a monorail along which a manipulator with a telescopic rod moves, at the end of which an electromagnet with mechanical grippers is located . 4. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that it is equipped with robots for performing repair work in the modules of the device, each of which has a body similar to the body of a turtle, covered in front and behind with electromagnetic shields, two pairs of hands with a controlled palm and fingers, an observation unit , control and communications, locator, range finder, battery compartment, tool storage and charger.

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