Green in-Space Transportation with Tether Technology

Revitalized by recently concerns related to space debris and pollution, scientific research in the field of in- space transportation is continuously evolving. Space tethers hold the potential to address traditional propellant consumption limitations and to reduce the ecological footprint of space exploration, providing adaptable and efficient solutions for debris removal, reboost and station-keeping operations. Notwithstanding space tethers have enjoyed a longstanding status as a promising propellant-free technology, the central challenge lies in their transition from experimental and scientific apparatuses to dependable, resilient, and efficient spaceborne assets to usher in a new era of space activity in low Earth orbits wherein tethers play a central role in recurrent missions. Ongoing research, development, and thorough testing are imperative to address the challenge by unraveling the technical intricacies in both space tether design and system operation. This work focuses on establishing a deeper understanding of the critical processes and technologies and includes analyses on different tether configurations, spanning from momentum exchange tethers for satellite deorbiting to electrodynamic tethers for both orbit lowering and orbit raising. By addressing into topics such as tether mechanical properties, deployment dynamics, hardware design and control strategies, the multifaceted research effort proposes to optimize the performances and reliability of space tether systems, with the overarching goal of overcoming limitations inherent in existing propulsion strategies and technologies, advancing tether technology toward operational readiness and opening avenues for green in-space transportation with tether technology.