Potential benefits and risks of using electrodynamic tethers for end-of-life de-orbit of LEO spacecraft

By using electrodynamic drag to greatly increase the orbital decay rate, an electrodynamic space tether can remove spent or dysfunctional spacecraft from LEO rapidly and safely. Moreover, the low mass requirements of such tether devices make them highly advantageous compared to conventional rocket-based de-orbit systems. However, a tether shall be designed to assure its correct deployment and dynamical stability against the perturbing electrodynamic torque as well. In addition, a tether system is much more vulnerable to space debris impacts than a typical spacecraft and its design must prove to be safe to a certain confidence level before being adopted for a wise range of promising applications. Therefore, the aim of this presentation will be to assess and show the main potential advantages, difficulties and risks related to the use of electrodynamic tether to de-orbit spacecraft.