OrbitSweeper is a working name for the effort to create a detailed design of the first general purpose Orbital Debris Object Management System.

It is based on a the "CODMS" US Patent granted in 2025 (Click for PDF)

OrbitSweeper is a simple concept

A cubesat with two opposing thrusters with one thruster close to and pointed at the Orbital Debris Object (ODO) the can impart significant momentum, essentially creating an artificial wind that slows the object.  No capture of the ODO is needed, so mass of capture components (such as arms, nets or harpoons) is not needed.  It also does not need to "detumble" the ODO (that is often found tumbling), so OrbitSweeper is more general purpose.  These OrbitSweeper Cubesats (OSC) will use Solid Iodine Ion or Water Ion Thrusters or Water Hall Effect Thrusters.  The final design will likely be at least 6U (shown below) or over 16U (making it a small sat).

Notional OrbitSweeper Cubesat Using EPIC 6U - CubeSat Platform

Why two opposing thrusters? 

You need to keep the OSC close to the ODO for days or weeks while momentum is applied.  Without the thruster that is not pointing at the ODO, the cubesat would move away from the ODO when thrust is applied. 

The basic concept ... any type of thruster can be used.

Leading Thruster Options (Remember that you need 2 per OrbitSweeper)

Top Thruster Performers (ISP + Momentum Transfer Efficiency at 1 m)

Top performers at 1 m: FEEP (ENPULSION Nano series) and ion thrusters (Pale Blue PBI, ThrustMe NPT30, Busek BIT-3, Ariane RIT μX) — narrow plumes (~10–20° half-angle) keep high flux on target. Based on the thrusters rated "High" in momentum transfer efficiency at 1 m (primarily ion and FEEP types with narrow plumes ~10–20° half-angle). These are ideal for contactless debris removal due to focused beams. For each, I've suggested an optimal satellite configuration tailored to OrbitSweeper's CubeSat-like design (bi-directional thrusters, water/iodine/indium propellant, proximity ops at ~1 m). Suggestions assume a minimal system (chassis, power, avionics, ~50–80% propellant load for total impulse utilization), scaled to thruster size/power:

Size in CUs: Cube Units (e.g., 3U = 10×10×30 cm); >6U for larger variants.
Mass: Wet mass (including propellant); dry ~30–50% of wet.
Price: Estimated total satellite build/assembly cost (excluding launch; includes thruster pair, COTS components like solar panels/batteries; based on industry averages ~$50k–$200k/U for commercial CubeSats, plus thruster cost estimates from sources). Prices are approximate (2026 estimates, often not publicly listed—e.g., ~$50k–$100k/unit for these micro-thrusters).
Examples of Use: Flight heritage or planned missions (e.g., CubeSat demos).

Top Thrusters and resultant cubesat.

Minimizing launch cost on an F9 Transporter Mission (SSO)

A SpaceX Falcon 9 Transporter Mission launch is currently the best value to launch to orbit, but you need a compliant Dispenser. Falcon 9 Transporter missions (dedicated rideshare to SSO or mid-inclination orbits) use SpaceX's proprietary rideshare plates with standardized ports (e.g., 15-inch or 24-inch ESPA-compatible interfaces) for deployment. Dispensers are typically third-party systems mounted to these plates, or SpaceX-provided as nonstandard services. Based on the satellites in the top performers table (primarily 3U–12U CubeSats or smallsats, 1–20 kg wet mass), there are compatible dispensers. These are selected for compliance with SpaceX's Payload User's Guide and Rideshare Payload User's Guide, which emphasize vibration isolation, electrical interfaces, and CG limits (e.g., max 5 cm RSS shift for multi-deploy).

Compatibility: Must fit SpaceX's rideshare plates (e.g., via bolt patterns, <500 kg/port for ESPA Grande-like).
Multi-Satellite Potential: Many dispensers can hold multiple smaller sats (e.g., 3U units in a 12U canister), reducing per-sat cost by sharing a port. 
Fit for OrbitSweeper Sats: Low-mass, compact designs like those with Pale Blue PBI or ENPULSION Nano (3U–6U, <10 kg) suit CubeSat dispensers; larger (6U–12U, 10–20 kg) may need microsat separators.

Multi-Satellite Potential: Excellent for cost-sharing—e.g., a 12U QuadPack can deploy 4 of your 3U sats (like Pale Blue PBI) from one slot, treating them as one payload for billing. For fleets, use Surfboard/Ring to co-manifest 10+ units on a single mission (e.g., Transporter-14 in 2025 had multi-dispenser stacks).

And the winner is (as of known and best estimate pricing and availability in February 2026) ... Busek BIT-3 (Iodine).

Factoring in all elements —thruster performance (high momentum transfer efficiency at 1 m via narrow plumes), total impulse (Ns as proxy for momentum potential, assuming bi-directional setup with forward thruster delivering to debris), satellite configs (size/mass/price from top performers), dispensers (multi-sat capability to share costs), and launch economics (SpaceX Transporter ~$10k/kg avg rate, min 50 kg billable) there is a winner.
Key assumptions in calcs:

Momentum transfer potential: Effective total impulse from forward thruster (Ns); high-efficiency thrusters ensure ~90%+ delivery at 1 m.
Costs: Sat build (incl. dual thrusters ~10% markup), dispenser, launch (billable mass = max(actual, 50 kg)).
Multi-sat: Dispensers allow packing (e.g., 2–3 small sats per unit) to hit/exceed 50 kg, minimizing $/kg effective.
Optimization: Highest Ns per $ (total impulse / total cost); used averages for ranges, focused on top performers.

From the analysis, the best combination is:

Thruster: Busek BIT-3 (Iodine) — High total impulse (~25,000 Ns avg per thruster), iodine's safe/non-toxic storage, TRL 7 with deep-space heritage (e.g., Lunar IceCube on SLS EM-1; iSAT CubeSat mission). Narrow RF ion plume (~15–20° half-angle) ensures high efficiency at 1 m.
Satellite Config: 6U–12U (avg ~9U), ~15 kg wet mass, ~$880k build price (incl. dual thrusters for bi-directional). Compact for clustering, supports ~80 L water-equivalent iodine load for extended ops.
Dispenser: EXOpod Nova (Exolaunch) — $200k est., up to 16U capacity, high multi-sat potential (e.g., ~2 of these 9U sats per dispenser, total ~30 kg actual but billed as 50 kg min).
Launch: SpaceX Transporter (SSO), ~$500k launch cost (50 kg min at $10k/kg). Total cost per launch (2 sats + dispenser): ~$2.26M.
Performance Metrics:
Total Impulse (2 sats): ~44,444 Ns (effective for multiple debris drops, e.g., 5–10 km altitude changes on 1–10 kg objects).
Momentum Transfer per $ : ~0.02 Ns/ $ (highest; ~2x better than lower-impulse options like Pale Blue PBI at ~0.01 Ns/$).

Why Best? Balances high impulse (for max transfer potential) with cost efficiency via multi-sat packing (hits min billable without waste). Iodine's density allows more impulse per mass vs. water, and Busek's rugged design suits LEO debris missions. Alternatives (e.g., same thruster with QuadPack: ~0.017 Ns/$, still top-tier) are close if EXOpod unavailable.

Note that a 8U version is being considered as well, and it has lower cost per Ns than the 6U.

Please note that implementing OrbitSweeper with a Busek BIT-3 (or similar iodine ion thruster) falls squarely within the granted CODMS patent's scope—it's a compatible implementation of the patented capture-less approach. 

The BIT-3 on 6U LunaH-Map Mission

All the components for an efficient OrbitSweeper fleet is still a few years from being fully "Ready to Acquire"

FAQ:

Why has a concept like OrbitSweeper not been proposed, developed or patented before?

OrbitSweeper requires ~50% more fuel than other concepts that use various forms of capture.  Previously this would have added $Ms to a mission, but with low cost SpaceX Rideshares to orbit, cubesats can now carry significant fuel with no cost penalty.   We were also surprised that this had not been proposed before, but after some research it was felt it was truly unique.  Being granted a US Patent proved it.

You wrote "Orbital Debris Management" vs Removal, what is up with that?

Removal is one of a number of services that can the applied to an ODO.  But is the broader goal is to remove as much ODO risk to a given altitude and inclination band. So the system can also rotate ODOs to both face in the max drag, and reduce their cross-sectional area to other passing object.  If applied to a number of ODOs, there might be greater overall risk reduction than simply removing one ODO.  The following diagrams (from the patent) shows the mission flow and possible services that can be combined.

Various OrbitSweeper Services

What is the business case?  Can this be profitable?

An OrbitSweeper Cubesat is estimated to cost $2M to build, test and launch for a pair with combined total impulse of around 50,000 Ns.  While some companies might contract to remove a single object, it is more likely that a companies with large constellations will pay to reduce collision risk in an orbital shell, reducing the need for collision avoidance maneuvers and thus extending the operational life of their satellites.  SSO is place to start, as SpaceX Transporter offers low cost launches to this orbital family, and there is a lot of debris here. In the diagram below the combination of Altitude and Inclination label "High ROI Objects" are ones that will cross both Starlink and Kuiper mega constellations.

All you need to do is sweep out a thin shell, dropping ODOs say 5 km under a specific shell (full deorbit not needed), this means a small set of OSCs can clear 100s of objects over time. We estimate that $4M worth of OSCs (8) can reduce the need for collision avoidance by 10% with a one time sweeping.  This may save Starlink or Amazon LEO $10M per year, every year.

Next, add an Orbital Debris Collector to complete the deorbit for 100s of objects ...

The ODC may potentially act as fuel depot for the OrbitSweeper Cubesats.

Starship can place a empty and refueled new OCD (after releasing a different large payload ... so OCD would be a small part of a larger paying mission) and then collect the ODC and full debris container and safely return it the Earth's surface.  This eliminates the risk of orbital debris hitting a plane or something on the ground.  It also eliminates possible risk of chemicals being added to the upper atmosphere.  Finally, the ODC can be refurbished, refueled and later reused.

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