Speaker
Description
Atmospheric re-entry of debris could pose significant risks. Debris fragments that survive and reach the surface of the Earth can represent an impact risk to people and property. A number of existing guidelines and regulations in several countries fix the probability at 10-4 as the threshold for the maximum allowed re-entry casualty risk. The French Space Operation Act (FSOA) is specific in France and has been adapted in 2008.
The French Space Agency (CNES) is in charge of ensuring the right application of the technical regulation introduced in the FSOA, by evaluating the prospective risk on ground. In this context, CNES is developing its own certification tool, DEBRISK, since 2008. At the beginning of 2023, the qualification review of DEBRISK v3 took place and has been successful, considering that this version is at state-of-the-art (in terms of modelling and methodology). In consequence, DEBRISK v3 has been released on the website ConnectByCNES (https://www.connectbycnes.fr/en/debrisk) by July 20223, accompanied by an updated handbook.
DEBRISK version 4 is a new project accepted by CNES for the period 2024-2026. The objectives of this new version are in the continuity of DEBRISK v3: reduce the uncertainties of the tool’s physical models and propose a handbook as complete as possible. In the frame of this conference, the DEBRISK v4 roadmap will be presented, highlighting the activities / topics that will be addressed over the next 3 years.
