Advancing the SmallSat Digital Twin for Active Debris Removal Simulations

The growing density of orbital debris threatens active spacecraft and future missions. While nets, harpoons, and robotic arms show promise for cleaning up debris, they are costly and demand precise control, motivating interest in space-based lasers that use ablation to impart small velocity changes for just-in-time collision avoidance and deorbiting. To mature this approach, we extend the SmallSat Digital Twin (SSDT) to provide a high-fidelity, spacecraft-focused simulation that integrates avionics, dynamics, core Flight System (cFS) flight software, ground control (OpenC3), and new radar/optical sensor and debris models. The enhanced SSDT supports realistic detection logic (Sun/Earth exclusion, field of view, limiting magnitude), representative tumbling debris with size/reflectivity parameters, and a laser engagement model based on an impulsive momentum transfer.