Analysis of the space debris problem: tracking, control and removal

Abstract

The amount of space debris currently orbiting the Earth poses a risk to all spacecraft, and is a particular concern for vehicles with humans on board suchas the International Space Station, space shuttles and other manned spacecraft. ESA estimates that there are currently more than 26000 objects in space, of which only 2800 have any function. However, despite technological evolutions and scientific advances, there is still no definitive method to solve the space debris problem by capturing end-of-life satellites still in orbit around the Earth. The activities that have been carried out so far and will be analysed in this project are divided into monitoring, mitigation and disposal. The intention of this work is to expose the importance of knowing and analysing our space past and then to move on to the understanding of why it is so important to eradicate space debris by studying some possible theoretical solutions proposed during the last decades that focus on reduction and eliminatio

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