The disposal of large infrastructures in space, like a Solar Power Satellite, poses a considerable problem. This project capitalises on recent advances in space robotics developed within the Peraspera initiative to study collaborative robotics solutions to dismantle, replenish and remanufacture large space infrastructures. The idea is to address two main general problems: 1) autonomous collaborative construction/dismantling of flexible large-scale structures in space; 2) recycling of existing space assets to replenish/repair an SPS or vice versa recycling an SPS to build new space assets. The former point will require the development of collaborative robotics (autonomous navigation and control, swarm intelligence, collaborative planning and scheduling) that accounts for the unique dynamics of large-scale flexible structures. In this context small perturbations can result in large displacements. The latter will require a coordination of the construction robots to identify defunct satellites that can be repurposed to repair/replenish an SPS, dismantle them and recover the necessary parts or vice versa an SPS design and a construction strategy that allow dismantling the SPS and building new satellites with its parts.
