Numerical Study on Ejection and Deployment of Space Net

Space debris in Earth’s orbit, increasing annually, poses a major challenge for the space industry. To address this issue, there has been significant growth in research on active debris removal (ADR) techniques. This study presents a contact-type space debris removal method using space net. The ejection and deployment behavior of the space net is analyzed, considering design variables such as material, ejection velocity, and ejection angle. Finite element-based nonlinear structural analysis is conducted to examine the deployment of a square space net, including its folding configuration. Considering uncertainties during net ejection, different ejection speeds at the vertices of the space net are considered. Finally, capture performance is evaluated by comparing the behavior of the deployed net.