Active Debris Removal mission concepts

With the increasing number of satellites in orbit around the Earth, the amount of space debris is rising. Active Debris Removal (ADR) is becoming very important, and several research groups are now looking into the pros and cons of various methods of ADR. This image compares the mission phases for two different ADR methods. The top mission (Mega1000) uses a net to capture space debris, whilst the bottom mission (TAS3200) uses a robotic arm.