Benefits and Risks of using Electrodynamic Tethers to De-Orbit Spacecraft - Space Tether Survivability Concerns

The status of the Action Item 19.1 of the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee was reported. Three agencies, to date, participated in the study,: ASI, JAXA, and NASA. The fatal impact rate of meteoroids and orbital debris on single strand tethers of different widths and at different orbital altitudes and inclinations was estimated. Results were highly dependent on the chosen meteoroid and orbital debris background models used by each group. The survivability analysis of single and double strand electrodynamic tethers during a de-orbiting mission was also reported. The existing results agreed in kind, that double strand tethers with the highest number of knots were the most likely to survive intact through the decay process. Additional work on this action by the agencies involved is required before a final consensus and report can be completed. This work will continue this year.