Protocol Cloacina
Inspiration
Space debris has become one of the biggest challenges for the future of space exploration. Every year, thousands of inactive satellites, rocket fragments, and other debris continue orbiting Earth, increasing the risk of collisions with operational spacecraft. We were inspired by the idea of combining artificial intelligence with autonomous spacecraft to create a scalable and efficient solution for cleaning Earth's orbit.
Our goal was to imagine a future where space cleanup is not only possible but also sustainable, using renewable energy and intelligent decision-making rather than constant human intervention.
What it does
Protocol Cloacina is a conceptual AI-powered orbital debris cleanup system.
The system consists of autonomous cleanup spacecraft equipped with AI-based vision and tracking algorithms. These spacecraft continuously analyze orbital data to detect, classify, and prioritize dangerous debris.
Instead of relying on a single satellite, multiple cleanup spacecraft communicate with one another through a relay communication network. This allows them to operate across much larger orbital regions while maintaining coordination and sharing mission data.
Each spacecraft is powered primarily by high-efficiency solar panels, enabling long-duration missions with minimal fuel consumption.
Once debris is identified, onboard AI calculates the safest interception trajectory. Robotic capture mechanisms then secure the debris before transporting it toward a controlled atmospheric re-entry corridor, where it burns up safely over designated ocean regions, minimizing risks to populated areas.
The AI system continuously optimizes routes, predicts orbital changes, avoids collisions, and distributes tasks among available cleanup spacecraft, making the overall network increasingly efficient over time.
How we built it
This project was developed as a concept rather than a physical prototype.
We first researched the growing problem of orbital debris and existing cleanup proposals. We then designed a conceptual architecture combining several technologies:
- Artificial intelligence for object detection and orbital prediction.
- Autonomous navigation algorithms for interception planning.
- Relay communication between multiple spacecraft to extend operational coverage.
- Solar-powered spacecraft for long-term sustainability.
- Cooperative mission planning where AI assigns cleanup tasks dynamically.
The system architecture was designed with scalability in mind, allowing additional spacecraft to join the network without major changes to the overall system.
Challenges we ran into
One of the biggest challenges was designing a realistic concept that balances efficiency, safety, and sustainability.
Another challenge was considering the unpredictable movement of orbital debris. Objects travel at extremely high speeds, making interception a difficult engineering problem. We also had to think about communication delays, power management, collision avoidance, and coordination between multiple autonomous spacecraft.
Since this project is currently at the conceptual stage, we focused on creating a technically reasonable system design rather than building a hardware prototype.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
We are proud of creating a comprehensive concept that combines multiple advanced technologies into a single coordinated system.
Instead of focusing only on debris detection, we designed an end-to-end cleanup workflow including:
- AI-based debris identification.
- Intelligent mission planning.
- Cooperative spacecraft communication.
- Solar-powered long-duration operation.
- Autonomous debris capture.
- Safe controlled atmospheric disposal.
We also believe the relay communication architecture makes the concept more scalable than relying on a single cleanup satellite.
What we learned
Working on Protocol Cloacina helped us better understand the complexity of orbital mechanics, satellite operations, and the growing importance of sustainable space technologies.
We learned that solving large-scale environmental problems in space requires interdisciplinary thinking, combining artificial intelligence, aerospace engineering, robotics, communication systems, and renewable energy.
We also realized that designing a realistic architecture is an important first step before moving toward simulation and physical implementation.
What's next for Protocol Cloacina
Our next goal is to transform the concept into a simulation-based project.
Future improvements could include:
- Training AI models using real orbital debris datasets.
- Simulating orbital interception missions.
- Developing optimized multi-spacecraft coordination algorithms.
- Evaluating energy consumption and mission efficiency.
- Testing autonomous navigation in a virtual environment.
- Exploring robotic capture mechanisms.
- Collaborating with aerospace researchers to validate the concept.
In the long term, Protocol Cloacina aims to become a scalable autonomous orbital cleanup network capable of helping protect Earth's orbital environment for future generations.
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