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

FAQ:


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. 

An old diagram from a concept using plasma, OrbitSweeper uses other "fuels"

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

Why has this 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.  If water is used for fuel, then additional fuel is very inexpensive.  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

Mobirise

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

What is the business case?  Can this be profitable?

A Large OrbitSweeper Cubesat (LOSC =100 kg wet, 20 kg dry, 2000s ISP) is estimated to cost $2M to build, test, launch and operate.  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 LOSCs can clear 1000s of objects over time. We estimate that $16M worth of LOSCs (8) can reduce the need for collision avoidance by 50% with a one time sweeping.  This may save Starlink $24M 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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