This paper presents the mission concept and engineering design of a debris-removing nanosatellite called Deorbiter CubeSat, within the framework of NASA’s Pre-Phase A studies. The spacecraft is designed based on the utilization of an eight-unit form factor, and is intended for the removal of predetermined sizable debris objects from the low Earth orbit. A number of attitude and orbit determination sensors and control actuators are included on the CubeSat, which are employed during the rendezvous, attachment, and deorbiting operations. Upon attaching to a debris, the CubeSat stabilizes the rotational motion of the debris, and then proceeds to reducing the debris orbit size, in order to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere and burn up due to the high atmospheric density. The engineering design of Deorbiter CubeSat is outlined, and the selected components are detailed. The selected components are commercially available and have long space heritage. System’s mass budget is analyzed, and preliminary component costs are estimated. Three scenarios for the Deorbiter CubeSat mission operations are considered, and the spacecraft power budget and components duty cycles are investigated for each scenario. In light of the results, the feasibility of each scenario for the Deorbiter CubeSat mission is discussed.

本文介绍了在美国宇航局（NASA）的Pre-A相研究框架内，一种名为Deorbiter CubeSat的清除碎片的纳米卫星的任务概念和工程设计。该航天器是基于利用八单元形状因数设计的，旨在从低地球轨道移走预定的可观碎片物体。CubeSat上包括许多姿态和轨道确定传感器以及控制执行器，它们在集合，附着和绕轨道运行过程中使用。附着到碎片上后，CubeSat稳定了碎片的旋转运动，然后继续减小碎片轨道的大小，以重新进入地球大气层并由于高大气密度而燃烧。概述了Deorbiter CubeSat的工程设计，以及所选组件的详细信息。所选组件可商购获得，并且具有悠久的历史。分析系统的大量预算，并估计初步的组件成本。考虑了Deorbiter CubeSat任务操作的三种情况，并针对每种情况研究了航天器的功率预算和组件工作周期。根据结果​​，讨论了Deorbiter CubeSat任务每种方案的可行性。