Over the last 60 years, Space Debris has accumulated to one of the main challenges for the safe operation of satellites in low Earth orbit. To address this threat, guidelines that include a limited debris release during normal operations, minimization of the potential for on-orbit break-ups and post mission disposal have started to be implemented. However, for the long-term, the amount of debris will still increase due to fragments created by collisions of objects in space. The active removal of space debris of at least five large objects per years is therefore recommended, but not yet implemented in those guidelines. Even though various technical concepts have been developed over the last years, the question on how to make them reliable and safe or how to finance such mission has not been answered. This paper addresses the first two topics. With Space Debris representing an uncooperative and possibly tumbling target, close proximity becomes absolutely critical, especially with an uninterrupted connection to the ground station not ensured. This paper therefore defines firstly a mission to remove at least five large objects and secondly introduces a preliminary autonomy concept fitted for this mission.    «

Over the last 60 years, Space Debris has accumulated to one of the main challenges for the safe operation of satellites in low Earth orbit. To address this threat, guidelines that include a limited debris release during normal operations, minimization of the potential for on-orbit break-ups and post mission disposal have started to be implemented. However, for the long-term, the amount of debris will still increase due to fragments created by collisions of objects in space. The active re...    »