Space Avalanche Debris Cleaner

I would like to share my latest idea on space debris removal. My inspiration comes from the atmospheric drag experienced by the orbiting objects. Most LEO satellites orbit below 500 km. If you look at the composition of Earth's atmosphere with elevation you would see very high oxygen concentration between 150 to 600 km. My proposition for space debris removal is to spray warm RP1 over the orbiting debris area.

The concept will work like this. A two staged liquid propulsion rocket will be modified to conduct this task. The second stage of the rocket will have no payload section. It will only have LOX and RP1 tanks. RP1 tank will be much larger than the LOX tank. The amount of LOX will be just enough to reach the second stage close to its orbiting velocity. The remaining RP1 will be used as warm gas propulsion during navigation.

The second stage will be orbiting the earth at a higher elevation than the space debris’ orbit. The nose of the second stage will point towards the earth. This nose will carry a heated chamber and a spray nozzle. The RP1 will be pre-heated before being sprayed towards the earth. The trajectory of the spray will be calculated to intercept with the debris’ orbit. RP1 auto ignite at 220 °C at 1 Atm. At lower pressures this temperature is much lower. As a result, the RP1 molecules will combine with the Oxygen atoms on their way toward the earth. Creating an avalanche like effect. Even though they will be dispersed, their momentum will push the debris towards earth slightly. Therefore, reducing the debris fall out time. This method would be more effective for smaller debris which are the most dangerous ones for the satellites.

The spraying of RP1 will continue until all the fuel is consumed. Then, the second stage will be directed towards Point Nemo. This method is quite easy to implement and execute based on the current rocket designs. It also allows larger areas to be cleaned on every launch.