SPACE_DEBRIS_FLEET: Autonomous Orbital Debris Removal via Spiralverse Protocol

Executive Summary

This document specifies a production-grade, patent-aimed system for autonomous space debris removal using satellite swarms coordinated via the Spiralverse Protocol. Each operation—from trajectory planning to docking—is secured by the Six Sacred Languages acting as domain-separated authentication and policy enforcement layers.

Core Innovation: By mapping KO/AV/RU/CA/UM/DR to control, messaging, policy, compute, security, and schema domains respectively, we create a fail-safe orchestration layer where critical maneuvers require multi-signature approval (Roundtable) and all commands are replay-protected via RWP2.1 envelopes.

1. System Architecture

1.1 Fleet Composition

Shepherd Satellites: 10–50 kg spacecraft with ion thrusters, proximity sensors, robotic arms/nets
Ground Segment: Mission control, telemetry processing, policy server
Relay Network: Laser/RF crosslinks for inter-satellite coordination

1.2 Six Tongues Mapping

Tongue	Domain	Role in SPACE_DEBRIS_FLEET
KO	Control	Thruster commands, attitude adjustments, delta-v burns
AV	Messaging	Inter-satellite coordination, status broadcasts, telemetry streams
RU	Policy	Burn authorization, collision avoidance rules, deorbit clearance
CA	Compute	Trajectory optimization, rendezvous planning, debris classification
UM	Security	Envelope signing, replay detection, key rotation
DR	Schema	Message formats, orbital elements encoding, sensor data structures

2. RWP2.1 Envelope Structure for Fleet Operations

2.1 Standard Envelope

{
  "ver": "2.1",
  "primary_tongue": "KO",
  "aad": {
    "sat_id": "SHEPHERD-07",
    "mission_id": "DEBRIS-2025-Q1",
    "orbit_epoch": "2025-01-15T08:30:00Z"
  },
  "ts": 1736934600000,
  "nonce": "a1b2c3d4e5f6",
  "kid": "KO-FLEET-KEY-001",
  "payload": {
    "command": "DELTA_V_BURN",
    "delta_v_ms": 2.5,
    "burn_duration_s": 45,
    "direction_eci": [0.707, 0.707, 0.0]
  },
  "signatures": {
    "KO": "<HMAC-SHA256-control-sig>",
    "RU": "<HMAC-SHA256-policy-sig>",
    "UM": "<HMAC-SHA256-security-sig>"
  }
}

2.2 Replay Protection

Timestamp Window: 300 seconds (5 minutes)
Nonce Storage: Rolling 10-minute cache per satellite
Rejection: Any envelope outside window or with duplicate nonce is rejected

3. Roundtable Multi-Signature Policies

3.1 Policy Tiers

Operation	Policy Tier	Required Signatures	Replay Window
Status telemetry	`standard`	AV	300s
Trajectory adjustment (<1 m/s)	`standard`	KO, RU	300s
Delta-v burn (>1 m/s)	`strict`	KO, RU, UM	180s
Docking maneuver	`critical`	KO, RU, UM, CA	60s
Deorbit command	`critical`	KO, RU, UM, CA + ground approval	60s

3.2 Example: Critical Docking Envelope

{
  "ver": "2.1",
  "primary_tongue": "KO",
  "aad": {
    "sat_id": "SHEPHERD-12",
    "target_debris": "NORAD-99999",
    "approach_vector": "radial-plus"
  },
  "ts": 1736935200000,
  "nonce": "dock-99-alpha",
  "kid": "KO-FLEET-KEY-002",
  "payload": {
    "command": "DOCK",
    "closure_rate_ms": 0.05,
    "contact_force_limit_n": 10
  },
  "signatures": {
    "KO": "<control-approval>",
    "RU": "<policy-clearance>",
    "UM": "<security-verification>",
    "CA": "<compute-validated-trajectory>"
  }
}

Enforcement: The on-board flight software verifies all four signatures before arming the docking mechanism. Missing CA signature = abort.

4. Operational Workflow

4.1 Mission Initialization

Ground uploads debris catalog and priority list (DR schema)
Fleet broadcasts availability via AV messages
CA computes optimal rendezvous trajectories
RU policy server pre-approves low-risk maneuvers

4.2 Debris Engagement Sequence

Detection: Optical/radar sensors identify debris (DR encodes TLE data)
Planning: CA generates approach trajectory, encodes in RWP2.1 envelope
Authorization: RU validates collision probability <1e-6, signs envelope
Execution: KO signs thruster commands; UM adds replay protection
Docking: Critical tier requires all four tongues (KO/RU/UM/CA)
Deorbit: Ground operator adds fifth signature; satellite executes burn

4.3 Anomaly Handling

Lost signature: Command rejected; satellite enters safe hold
Replay attack detected: UM logs event, blacklists nonce, alerts ground
Policy violation: RU refuses to sign; mission aborted

5. Six-Dimensional Vector Coordination

5.1 Mapping Directions to Tongues

Direction	Tongue	Swarm Role
+X (velocity)	KO	Pro-grade maneuvers, orbit raising
-X (velocity)	RU	Retro-grade burns, deorbit policy
+Y (cross-track)	AV	Formation flying messages
-Y (cross-track)	CA	Collision avoidance compute
+Z (radial out)	UM	Security handshakes, key exchange
-Z (radial in)	DR	Telemetry downlink, schema updates

5.2 Swarm Coordination Example

Scenario: 5 satellites form a “net” around a tumbling rocket body.

+X (KO): Lead satellite performs pro-grade burn to match debris velocity
+Y (AV): Wingman #1 broadcasts position updates every 10s
-Y (CA): Wingman #2 computes optimal grapple trajectory
+Z (UM): All satellites exchange fresh session keys before final approach
-Z (DR): Ground receives real-time telemetry stream in standardized schema
-X (RU): Once captured, policy server signs deorbit clearance for retro-burn

Result: Each direction/tongue combination enforces a specific security or operational boundary, preventing unauthorized commands and ensuring coordinated action.

6. Patentable Innovations

Domain-Separated Multi-Signature for Spacecraft: Using six cryptographic domains (tongues) to enforce hierarchical control policies in autonomous satellite fleets.
Replay-Protected Orbital Maneuver Protocol: RWP2.1 envelopes with millisecond timestamps and per-satellite nonce caches to prevent command replay attacks in high-latency space environments.
Six-Dimensional Vector Mapping: Assigning ECI coordinate axes to security/policy domains for swarm coordination with built-in access control.
Roundtable Policy Tiers for Safety-Critical Space Operations: standard/strict/secret/critical tiers mapped to signature count requirements, enabling flexible yet fail-safe authorization.

7. Implementation Notes

7.1 On-Board Software

Language: C++ or Rust (flight-proven, deterministic)
Libraries:
- libsodium for HMAC-SHA256 (UM domain)
- Custom RWP2.1 parser/validator (DR schema)
- Policy engine (RU logic)

7.2 Ground Segment

Mission Control: Python-based GUI for fleet visualization
Policy Server: Node.js API enforcing Roundtable rules
Telemetry Archive: PostgreSQL with Drizzle ORM (reusing AI Workflow Architect patterns)

7.3 Testing & Validation

Hardware-in-Loop: Simulate satellite attitude dynamics; inject fault envelopes
Replay Attack Drills: Attempt to resubmit valid commands with old timestamps
Multi-Signature Audits: Verify that removing any required signature prevents execution

8. Compliance & Safety

FCC Licensing: All RF transmissions comply with ITU space spectrum allocations
Orbital Debris Mitigation: Fleet follows NASA/ESA 25-year deorbit guidelines
Cybersecurity: Six Tongues act as air-gapped authentication layers; even if one key leaks, multi-sig requirement prevents single-point compromise

9. Future Enhancements

AI-Driven Trajectory Optimization: Integrate Ollama/local LLM on CA domain for on-board planning
Laser Crosslinks: Upgrade AV messaging to optical inter-satellite links (10 Gbps)
Quantum-Resistant Signatures: Migrate UM domain to post-quantum HMAC variants

10. Conclusion

SPACE_DEBRIS_FLEET demonstrates how the Spiralverse Protocol’s Six Sacred Languages and RWP2.1 envelopes can secure high-stakes, autonomous space operations. By treating each tongue as a domain-specific security lock and enforcing Roundtable multi-signature policies, we achieve:

Fail-safe control: No single compromised key can authorize critical maneuvers
Replay immunity: Timestamp + nonce prevents command re-injection
Operational flexibility: Standard/strict/critical tiers adapt to mission phase
Patent-ready architecture: Novel mapping of cryptographic domains to orbital mechanics

This is not science fiction—it’s a deployable, testable system ready for prototype development and regulatory review.