Catcher's Mitt

Catcher's Mitt is the name of a study conducted by the United States Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to "better understand the issues and challenges involved with removing man-made debris from earth orbit." DARPA's goal was to use the study to determine both if DARPA should invest more resources in orbital debris removal and, if so, how to best do so.

History

The study consisted of three primary aspects; an open Request for Information, an International Conference, and a series of utility studies conducted by DARPA, NASA, and the United States Air Force.

Request for Information

On 17 September 2009, DARPA released a public Request for Information through the website. The RFI called for possible technical approaches to removing a wide range of low Earth Orbit and Geosynchronous Earth Orbit debris. The request looked for system level concepts that addressed several issues, including "Physics-based approaches to debris removal as a system level solution", "The response time of the removal concept", and "An estimate of an economic metric ".
The solicitation period ended on 30 October 2009. The ASTROS concept was published the following August in Popular Science Magazine. Using Adhesive Synthetic Trash Recovery Orbital Spheres, presented at the conference by Sean Shepherd.

International Conference on Orbital Debris Removal

DARPA and NASA hosted the International Conference on Orbital Debris Removal December 8-10 2009 near DARPA headquarters in Chantilly, Virginia. Topics discussed at the conference ranged from tracking and predicting orbital debris to exotic removal techniques such as using tethers or solar sails to move debris to less populated orbits. The keynote speakers included both NASA and European Space Agency program heads. While the conference addressed technical issues, the conference also considered wider concerns, like economic and legal issues.