Solar Wind Based Space Debris Cleaner

Space debris cleaning requires huge distances to be covered. No satellite would have required fuel to maneuver that much to deorbit tiny space debris. I propose solar synchronous orbiting (SSO) space cleaners. The satellites in SSO see the sunlight continuously. Therefore, they can utilize solar sails to continuously locate small space debris. Deorbiting would be done using solar wind concentrators.

Solar radiation is the radiation from the sun which includes all wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation coming from the sun. The solar wind is a stream of charged particles (a plasma) released from the upper atmosphere of the Sun. It mostly consists of electrons and protons. Therefore, special solar wind concentrators need to be developed.

The concentrated solar wind would be used to deorbit the small particles. This would require less energy compared to melting the objects which has its own downfalls.

Compared to laser-based debris cleaners which require giant solar panel arrays to power the laser, solar wind-based cleaners require mainly mechanical concentrators and sails that are less affected by the micro meteoroids compared to solar panels.

As a result, a solar wind-based space debris cleaner can operate for many years without needing refueling and cover large distances.