Electromagnetic Active Debris Removal: Scalable Solutions for Orbital Sustainability and Kessler Syndrome Mitigation

Low Earth Orbit (LEO) faces an imminent crisis: over 34,000 tracked debris objects and millions of untracked fragments threaten a cascade collision scenario known as Kessler Syndrome, which could render space access impossible for decades. Current debris removal proposals using chemical propulsion are economically unviable, with costs exceeding $100M per object removed. This paper presents electromagnetic active debris removal (EM-ADR) systems that reduce removal costs by 90-95% through: (1) orbital electromagnetic "tugboats" that capture and deorbit debris using magnetic or electrostatic forces; (2) ground-based electromagnetic launch of capture vehicles at $1M per mission versus $50-100M for rockets; (3) momentum exchange tethers that transfer debris orbital energy without propellant consumption; (4) distributed satellite networks that create electromagnetic "nets" to sweep orbital corridors. Our analysis demonstrates that: EM-ADR can remove 10,000+ objects over 10 years for $10-30B total investment (versus $1+ trillion using conventional methods); break-even occurs at 3,000-5,000 objects removed when accounting for avoided collision costs; the technology exists today (TRL 6-8 for most components). We present mission architectures for LEO cleanup (400-2,000 km), GEO debris mitigation, and prevention of Kessler cascade initiation. This work provides the engineering and economic framework for ensuring long-term orbital sustainability and protecting the $500B/year space economy.