E.Deorbit

{{Short description|Cancelled mission to remove space debris}} {{lowercase title}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2015}} {{Infobox spaceflight | name = e.Deorbit | names_list =  | image =  | image_caption =  | image_alt =  | image_size =

| mission_type = Active debris removal | operator = ESA | Harvard_designation =  | COSPAR_ID =  | SATCAT =  | website =  | mission_duration =  | distance_travelled =  | orbits_completed =  | suborbital_range =  | suborbital_apogee =

| spacecraft =  | spacecraft_type =  | spacecraft_bus =  | manufacturer =  | launch_mass = {{convert|1600|kg}} | BOL_mass =  | landing_mass =  | dry_mass =  | payload_mass =  | dimensions =  | power =

| launch_date = 2025 (planned)<ref name="NewMission" /> | launch_rocket = Vega | launch_site = ELA-1, Guiana Space Centre | launch_contractor = Arianespace | deployment_from =  | deployment_date =  | entered_service =

| disposal_type = Deorbit (planned) | deactivated =  | destroyed =  | last_contact =  | recovery_by =  | recovery_date =  | decay_date =  | landing_date =  | landing_site =

| orbit_reference =  | orbit_regime =  | orbit_longitude =  | orbit_slot =  | orbit_semimajor =  | orbit_eccentricity =  | orbit_periapsis =  | orbit_apoapsis =  | orbit_inclination =  | orbit_period =  | orbit_RAAN =  | orbit_arg_periapsis =  | orbit_mean_anomaly =  | orbit_mean_motion =  | orbit_repeat =  | orbit_velocity =  | orbit_epoch =  | orbit_rev_number =  | apsis =

| docking =  {{Infobox spaceflight/Dock | docking_target = derelict satellite  | docking_type = capture  | type_override = berth  | docking_port =  | docking_date =  | undocking_date =  | capture_date =  | release_date =  | time_docked =  }}

| payload_items =  | cargo_mass =  | cargo_mass_press =  | cargo_mass_unpress =  | cargo_mass_fuel =  | cargo_mass_gas =  | cargo_mass_water =

| programme = | previous_mission = | next_mission =

| insignia =  | insignia_caption =  | insignia_alt =  | insignia_size =  }} '''e.Deorbit ''' was a planned European Space Agency active space debris removal mission developed as a part of their Clean Space initiative.<ref name="ESAconference1">{{cite web|url=https://indico.esa.int/indico/event/46/|title=e.Deorbit Symposium|publisher=ESA|date=6 May 2014|access-date=2 June 2015|archive-date=1 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150701150318/https://indico.esa.int/indico/event/46/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="GizmagFishing">{{cite web|url=http://www.gizmag.com/esa-clean-space-junk-edeorbit/30972/|title=Space fishing: ESA floats plan to net space junk|publisher=Gizmag|date=28 February 2014|access-date=2 June 2015}}</ref> The launch was planned for 2025 on board a Vega launch vehicle.<ref name="NewMission">{{cite web |last=Pultarova |first=Tereza |url=https://www.space.com/43157-e-deorbit-new-refuel-repair-mission.html |title=European Space Junk Cleanup Concept Gets New Mission: Refuel and Repair |work=Space.com |date=29 January 2019 |access-date=16 October 2019}}</ref><ref name="e.Deorbit">{{cite news|url=https://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Engineering_Technology/Clean_Space/e.Deorbit/|title=E.DEORBIT Mission|publisher=ESA|date=12 April 2017|access-date=6 October 2018}}</ref><ref name="ESAheading">{{cite news|url=https://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Engineering_Technology/Clean_Space/ESA_heading_towards_removing_space_debris|title=ESA heading towards removing space debris|publisher=ESA|date=2 June 2015|access-date=2 June 2015}}</ref> Funding of the mission was stopped in 2018<ref>{{cite web|url=https://blogs.esa.int/cleanspace/2018/11/26/from-active-debris-removal-to-in-orbit-servicing-the-legacy-of-e-deorbit/|title=From Active Debris Removal To In-Orbit Servicing: THE LEGACY OF e.Deorbit|date=26 November 2018}}</ref> in favor of the ClearSpace-1 mission, which is now under development.<ref name="esa.int">[https://www.esa.int/Safety_Security/Clean_Space/ESA_commissions_world_s_first_space_debris_removal ESA commissions world’s first space debris removal]</ref>

==Overview== A {{convert|1600|kg|adj=on}} spacecraft was to be launched on board a Vega rocket into a polar orbit at an altitude of {{convert|800-1000|km|mi}}. Once on orbit, the spacecraft would rendezvous with the derelict satellite Envisat which is in an unknown condition, inoperative, and probably tumbling.<ref name="GizmagFishing" />

Capture would be conducted in one of two ways: either by using mechanical tentacles or nets. The tentacles option included equipping the spacecraft with robotic arms, one of which will first capture a holding point, before the remaining arms embrace the derelict and secure it with a clamping mechanism. The net option included equipping the spacecraft with a deployable net on a tether, that will envelop the target derelict before the spacecraft will begin changing orbit.<ref name="CDFstudy2013">{{cite web|url=http://iaassconference2013.space-safety.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2013/06/1200_Biesbroek_Innocenti.pdf|title=The e.Deorbit CDF Study|author=Robin Biesbroek|date=22 May 2013|access-date=2 June 2015}}</ref>{{Reference page|pages=13,24–25}} The net option has the advantage of being able to capture objects with a wide range of sizes and spins.<ref name="VOnets">{{cite web|url=http://blogs.voanews.com/science-world/2015/03/23/fishing-in-outer-space-for-bigger-junk/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150327000557/http://blogs.voanews.com/science-world/2015/03/23/fishing-in-outer-space-for-bigger-junk/?|url-status=dead|archive-date=27 March 2015|title=Fishing in Outer Space for Bigger Junk|publisher=Voice of America|author=Rick Pantaleo|date=23 March 2015|access-date=2 June 2015}}</ref>

After successfully capturing the targeted derelict, the spacecraft would deorbit itself, performing a controlled atmospheric reentry.<ref name="ESAheading"/>

==History== The mission was developed at ESA's Concurrent Design Facility, with studies for the Clean Space programme on de-orbiting techniques being carried out in 2009.<ref name="ESAheading" /><ref name="CDFcleanSpace">{{cite web|url=http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Engineering_Technology/CDF/Clean_Space|title=Clean Space|publisher=ESA, Concurrent Design Facility|date=3 October 2012|access-date=2 June 2015}}</ref> The first symposium about the mission took place in May 2014.<ref name="ESAconference1"/> Early testing included successful attempts at capturing scale model satellites by shooting nets from compressed air ejectors.<ref name="VOnets" /> The first design stage was completed in June 2015, with a systems requirements review being conducted in May–June 2016 and a final mission approval taking place in December 2016.<ref name="ESAheading" />

==See also== *RemoveDEBRIS, a similar concept that combined four experiments for future Active Debris Removal technology: a net, a harpoon, a Vision-Based Navigation (VBN) system and a dragsail.<ref>"The active space debris removal mission RemoveDebris". Parts 1 and 2 (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actaastro.2019.09.002, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actaastro.2019.09.001)</ref> *ClearSpace-1, the follow-up of e.Deorbit: a mission that will use e.Deorbit's tentacles option to capture the PROBA-1 satellite.

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== * [http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Engineering_Technology/Clean_Space ESA Clean Space] website * [http://www.esa.int/spaceinimages/Images/2013/09/Space_debris_removal_mission Space debris removal mission] ESA illustration * [http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Engineering_Technology/Clean_Space/Readying_ESA_s_garbage_truck_Robin_Biesbroek_interview Interview with Robin Biesbroek], e.Deorbit study manager

Category:Space debris Category:Proposed European Space Agency spacecraft