SPACECRAFT FOR CLEANING NEAR-EARTH SPACE FROM SPACE DEBRIS Russian patent published in 2022 - IPC B64G1/24 F03H1/00 H05H1/00 H01J27/00 

FIELD: space technology.

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to the field of space technology, and specifically to spacecraft for cleaning near-Earth space from space debris (SD) The spacecraft contains a housing with power elements, a power plant, a system for non-contact action on the removed object of the SD, containing a gas-discharge ion injector with a three-electrode electrostatic ion acceleration system, and a control electric rocket propulsion system. The non-contact exposure system is equipped with an ion beam converter in the form of a cylindrical nozzle installed at the outlet of the ion injector, enclosing the ion beam, galvanically connected to the spacecraft body. The length of the nozzle is selected from the condition of the given coefficient of conversion of the high-energy ion beam into the high-energy atomic beam. The spacecraft contains a control system for the conversion factor of an ion beam into a beam of fast atoms in the form of a feedback between the current in the converter circuit and the ion beam current.

EFFECT: increase in the efficiency of transmission of the force impulse by the ion beam to the removed SD at large distances of the spacecraft from the SD, as well as the possibility of controlling the movement of the SC-OCM bundle.

3 cl, 7 dwg