Speaker
Description
Based on current projections of launch rates, the global threat of space debris reentering Earth's atmosphere, primarily caused by the use of highly durable spacecraft components, necessitates the adoption of multiple complementary mitigation strategies. To address this issue effectively, integrating a dedicated Design for Demise approach during the early stages of spacecraft design enables a gradual and efficient solution.
This presentation outlines a comprehensive research level method for evaluating composite material demise and integrating it into a spacecraft atmospheric reentry risk assessment analysis model. It summarizes the work conducted under a Network Partnering Initiative research project between EPFL and ESA, supported by several industrial partners, to identify innovative composites systems to improve spacecraft overall demisability. Following an extensive evaluation of demise-relevant properties through dedicated test campaign, an experimental-to-model correlation method has been developed specifically tailored for DRAMA’s reentry risk assessmenttool-SARA.Thisapproachshouldfacilitateintegrationofnewlytestedmaterialintothisanalysistool, thereby reducing uncertainties related to casualty risk by performing more realistic reentry simulations.
This multi-collaborative project aims to get a step forward towards the casualty risk mitigation of reentry surviving space debris by novel demisable material implementation.
