Space debris currently poses a great threat to the future of space operations, accessibility, and exploration. Due to our increased dependency on satellites, if left unaddressed, space debris can cause damage to assets in space and to life on Earth. Detecting, cataloguing, and predicting Resident Space Objects (RSO) is the first step towards solving the problem of orbital debris and having a sustainable and accessible near-Earth orbit. Current technological capabilities allow for the tracking of objects larger than 10 cm. However, the current resolution of ground-based space surveillance systems leaves 96 per cent of the approximately 1 million lethal space objects untracked, and even for the tracked 4 per cent, complex metrics (object profile and error statistics) are unavailable, rendering the tracking data operationally irrelevant. Digantara is developing a two-pronged system to address the difficulties of space operations and situational awareness through the Space Mission Assurance Platform, aka Space-MAP. Space-MAP will serve as a one-stop solution for all space operations, with products offered through a data feedback loop using multi-modal data sets. This platform will be as powerful and sophisticated as Google Maps, serving as a foundational layer for space operations and astrodynamics research. Through Space-MAP, Digantara can track objects at 10x higher resolution in daylight and in eclipse, increasing the ability to track 20x more objects.

Benefits:

• One-stop portal for all space operations
• Common operational picture through data fusion using multimodal data sets
• Capability to track RSOs at 10x higher resolution in both daylight and eclipse
• Near-real-time in-situ monitoring of space weather

Water is abundant in the solar system. It can be found on the Moon, Mars, the icy moons of Jupiter and on smaller celestial bodies such as asteroids. Considering that it is a must for long-term human presence in space and that it can be used for many purposes, such as radiation shielding or energy storage, it is also conceivable to use it as a propellant or expellant in a propulsion system. It has ideal properties as an expellant: high density, a liquid state at low energy conditions, it is unharmful and simple to handle. Heating the water to plasma state and expanding it in a nozzle forms a highly effective, yet simple, type of electric propulsion system. The high achievable temperature enables a significant saving in propellant mass over chemical in-orbit propulsion systems. The author’s proposal is to make use of advancements in electronics and manufacturing to push this known concept to a new stage within a joint research project. Earlier laboratory demonstrators used bulky and inflexible magnetrons with a high voltage input. A new type of solid-state microwave generator enables a lightweight design and excellent tunability at a low voltage, yet with a high power level. Contactless, low-wear heating of a
green expellant such as water open up an excellent opportunity within propulsion technology. The simplicity of such a propellant also reduces the risk assessment of the system in general and on rideshare missions.

Benefits:

• Water as a cheap, green expellant
• Simple, long-term reliability due to contactless heating
• Uncomplicated approval process due to high safety
• Greater payload than for chemical propulsion systems