Plug-and-Play Drag Sail Module for LEO Satellites: Feasibility and Early Testing of AirDragMod

Space debris has become an increasingly critical subject, with its amount in orbit now exceeding the number of active operational satellites, posing significant risks to the sustainability of space activities. A major constituent of debris is a payload or rocket body discarded in orbit post-mission with no orbital control capacity (OCC) in LEO. The Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (IADC) guidelines recommend limiting the post-mission presence of a rocket body or payload in a protected region to 25 years. Recently, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) introduced stricter regulations, reducing the allowable post-mission stay to no more than 5 years for satellites in LEO. These changes necessitate the integration of deorbiting systems in satellite designs. Adding extra fuel and engines for active thrust-induced deorbiting poses significant challenges. LEO satellites, especially those in large constellations or small CubeSats, i.e., the major composition of LEO_IADC, are launched with strict mass and volume limitations. The limited payload capacity of launch vehicles necessitates prioritizing mission-critical components over supplementary systems like deorbiting mechanisms. Therefore, alternative approaches, such as passive deorbiting techniques or international regulatory measures, are often explored to address the issue of space debris in LEO. A well-known cost-effective passive deorbiting solution in the field is drag sails, owing to their effective method of deorbiting small and medium-sized satellites in LEO. In this paper, we propose a plug-and-play design of a drag sail module, different from the mechanical boom and electrical deployment methods for drag sails currently used, using commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) components for CubeSats and satellites under 700 kg in mass for LEO. A conceptual scalable design is proposed, the dimensions of which are derived keeping the mission requirements from two standard sample missions and trajectory analysis results in focus. In the process, a technique was devised to assist in quicker de-orbiting via active control at a specific orbital Local Time of Ascending Node (LTAN). The objective is to develop a ready-to-use, scalable solution for the problem, with COTS components and standard processes for trustworthy acquisition. The deployment mechanism suggested in the paper is based on residual angular momentum inspired by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) IKAROS mission and was devised along with a standard deployment sequence. A cost analysis was also estimated to infer the breakeven point for such a system. Then, a 3D-printed embodiment of the previously devised deployment system with an inverted stepper motor assembly was incorporated into the prototype to simulate its viability. Following this, tests were conducted over an adjusted version of the standard deployment sequence. The results from these tests were compared and reproduced using a numerical model of the stepper motor. A need was identified to produce a model of the tension varying in the sail extension petals throughout the deployment sequence; the model was thereby created. Curve fitting techniques were employed to generate a resembling model from the data obtained during test runs. The SIMULINK multibody models thus obtained can be used to perform software simulations on the module in a computer-generated environment. Further experimentation is needed, followed by a working prototype, to gauge its working in a real environment. The analysis also presented the requirements of a control system, which was found to be of high priority in the development process.