High Power Laser and Particle Beams, Volume. 36, Issue 4, 043028(2024)
Experimental study on mechanism of removing hazardous space debris based on strong electromagnetic irradiation
This study aims to address the issue of the rapidly increasing quantity of space debris by investigating the feasibility of active debris removal by strong electromagnetic irradiation. A multi-layer insulation structure was employed as a typical model for hazardous space debris, and feasibility validation experiments were conducted in a complex physical environment incorporating multiple environmental factors under strong electromagnetic irradiation in the S-band and vacuum conditions. The experimental results demonstrate that, in a vacuum environment at the order of 10-3 Pa, strong electromagnetic pulses interact with the multi-layer insulation structure, triggering discharge phenomena and generating plasma, accompanied by changes in macroscopic dynamic characteristics. Through observation and analysis, possible physical processes were explored, including strong field breakdown leading to point discharge in materials, surface flashover causing mesh discharge and coating to damage, particle absorption of microwave energy resulting in material deformation or expansion, as well as plasma ablation leading to material destruction. This study provides important technical support for the active removal of hazardous space debris using strong electromagnetic irradiation.
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Nuoci Huang, Eryan Yan, Hao Yang, Xiangyang Bao, Xingchen Liu, Hu He. Experimental study on mechanism of removing hazardous space debris based on strong electromagnetic irradiation[J]. High Power Laser and Particle Beams, 2024, 36(4): 043028
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Received: Oct. 25, 2023
Accepted: Mar. 22, 2024
Published Online: Apr. 22, 2024
The Author Email: Yan Eryan (yaneryan_2002@163.com)