Speaker
Description
The work presents the achievements of DRACO (Destructive Re-entry Assessment Container Object) during phases A-B1. This ESA mission aims to enhance the understanding of the multi-disciplinary physics governing the destructive re-entry of a LEO-representative small satellite.
Several trade-offs have been conducted during these phases, including mission and system architecture, mission analysis, sensors selection and placement, identification of objects of interest and their locations, capsule external interfaces and separation mechanism, thermal protection system design, materials selection, and definition of operations with a focus on the separation from the launcher and capsule activation. All these aspects were supported by re-entry simulations run in DRAMA and PAMPERO to assess the impact of design modifications on the satellite's demisability.
A glimpse on the outcomes will be presented, highlighting the relevant results that are currently driving the subsequent phases of the mission.
