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Jeanne Longlune (Thermo and Fluid Dynamics (FLOW), Faculty of Engineering, Vrije Universiteit Brussel & Aerothermomechanics department, Ecole Polytechnique de Bruxelles, Université libre de Bruxelles)17/06/2026, 14:15Numerical modelling and validation of destructive re-entryPresentation
Accurate aerothermodynamic modelling of space debris reentry is critical both for ground
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casualty risk assessment and for quantifying ablation-driven mass deposition in the
upper atmosphere. Operational tools, such as ESA’s DRAMA software suite,
rely on engineering correlations with simplified chemical assumptions, while high-fidelity
CFD, though resolving some of these limitations,... -
Alexey KLIMKO (CNES)17/06/2026, 14:51Numerical modelling and validation of destructive re-entryPresentation
In 2008, France adopted the French Space Operation Act (LOS), which regulates the space activities of French operators. Among many topics covered, the LOS act also addresses the reentry of spacecraft and their debris, by imposing a maximum acceptable probability of a fragment to survive and pose a risk to populations.
As the number of satellites in orbit continues to grow, the importance of...
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Bayrem Zitouni (OHB)17/06/2026, 15:09Numerical modelling and validation of destructive re-entryPresentation
Assessing spacecraft demisability during atmospheric re‑entry is essential for ensuring compliance with Space Debris Mitigation Requirements. Today, ESA’s DRAMA‑SARA toolchain is the de‑facto standard for such analyses. However, its empirical modelling assumptions and legacy conservatism increasingly drive major design decisions, often leading to unnecessarily constrained propulsion...
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Ms Anca-Maria Stan (Indra Space), Andreea Sabau (Indra Space), Federico Bariselli (von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics), Marco Fossati (University of Strathclyde), Valentin Ledermann (R.Tech Engineering)17/06/2026, 15:27Numerical modelling and validation of destructive re-entryPresentation
Ensuring safe and sustainable re-entry of space systems has become an increasingly important topic within European space debris mitigation efforts, especially with the evolution of Design for Demise (D4D) techniques increasingly demanding physically representative aerothermodynamic, fragmentation, and material modelling.
Existing re-entry tools, such as ESA’s DRAMA suite, provide robust...
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Tommy Williamson (University of Strathclyde Aerospace Centre for Excellence)17/06/2026, 16:20Numerical modelling and validation of destructive re-entryPresentation
As the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite population increases, methods for computation of space debris re-entry footprints are an increasingly important part of assessing the impact of a spacecraft on humanity. Unfortunately, methods for forward and backward propagation of uncertainty and state estimation in uncontrolled re-entry struggle with a great deal of the common complicating factors on...
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Lukas Lemaitre (DLR)17/06/2026, 16:38Numerical modelling and validation of destructive re-entryPresentation
Over the past decades, near-Earth space is becoming increasingly congested thus increasing the risk of inter-collision between satellites and generating thousands of space debris. To keep the near-earth orbit usable, it is necessary to deorbit the satellites at the end of their lives. However, during atmospheric reentry, parts of the satellite might not burn up completely and thus pose a...
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Dr David Riley (European Space Agency - Future Launchers Preparatory Programme (STS-FF))17/06/2026, 17:00
ESA’s Future Launchers Preparatory Programme (FLPP) is dedicated to advancing Europe's space transportation capabilities: to, from and in space. It supports the development and testing of new technologies and system concepts that will shape the next generations of European space transportation systems. From reusable launchers and in-space transportation to advanced propulsion, the future...
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Mr Grégoire LAUR (CNES)17/06/2026, 17:18
The increasing number of space operations and orbital objects raises growing concerns regarding the risk of ground casualties associated with atmospheric re-entries and other space activities. Within the French regulatory framework, safety assessments and risk mitigation measures play a central role in the authorization and oversight of space operations.
This presentation will provide an...
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Mr Gabriel Merlaud (Université de Bordeaux)18/06/2026, 09:00
Tightly coupled simulations between ablative materials and hypersonic flow solvers are essential for reliable demise-oriented design. The traditional use of B′ tables to couple material response and flow behavior was an effective strategy to address the computational limitations of the 1960s, but it remains limited in both accuracy and flexibility. This work proposes a generic coupling...
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Savio Poovathingal (University of Kentucky)18/06/2026, 09:18
Charring ablators protect spacecraft by coupling low thermal conductivity and endothermic pyrolysis with porous outgassing to produce transpiration cooling. This work establishes an end-to-end multiscale modeling framework for these TPS materials. At the pore scale, we performed detailed DSMC simulations of high-temperature rarefied gas flow through reconstructed fibrous preform geometries....
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Quentin Taupin (CNES - IRAP - LATMOS)18/06/2026, 09:36
Over the last twenty years, space activities have expanded rapidly, marked by a threefold increase in launch rates and a thirtyfold increase in the number of satellites deployed (Taupin et al., 2025). In 2025, the mass of anthropogenic material re-entering the atmosphere was estimated to represent between 10% and 32% of the natural cosmic influx, with aluminum contributions alone exceeding...
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Timothy Minton (University of Colorado Boulder)18/06/2026, 09:54
An end-of-life scenario for the demise of a LEO satellite might start with deceleration from drag, followed by heating, ablation, and breakup as the satellite descends into the dense atmosphere. Some key physical and chemical processes would be gas-surface energy transfer, ablation reactions on high-temperature surfaces, and pyrolysis of polymeric materials. We have used molecular beam methods...
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Pedro Jorge (University of Colorado Boulder)18/06/2026, 10:12
Spacecraft end-of-life mitigation strategies are increasingly important to tackle the space debris problem. Among these, drag-driven de-orbiting solutions such as deployable drag sails rely on increasing aerodynamic drag to accelerate orbital decay. Alternatively, operating satellites in very low Earth orbit (VLEO) offer a passive de-orbiting approach, where the denser atmosphere rapidly leads...
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Dominik Kuenstler (High Enthalpy Flow Diagnostics Group (HEFDiG), Institute of Space Systems (IRS), University of Stuttgart)18/06/2026, 10:50
There is a substantial lack of knowledge about the environmental effects to the upper atmosphere by the continuously increasing number of satellites that are brought to re-entry after operation. The main constituent of satellite structures is aluminum. Aluminum is injected into the Earth’s atmosphere as a rather new element, as it is only a minor constituent in micrometeorites [1]. However,...
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Tom Schwartzentruber (University of Minnesota)18/06/2026, 11:08
Reentry spacecraft experience extreme heating and surface chemistry that heatshield materials must withstand or that can lead to the demise of spacecraft materials and release of product species into the atmosphere. A common assumption made in such analysis is equilibrium surface chemistry. While this may be accurate for carbon recession rates under certain conditions, it does not accurately...
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Alexandre Martin (University of Kentucky)18/06/2026, 11:26
Accurate prediction of spacecraft demise during atmospheric re-entry requires tightly coupled modeling of aerothermal loading, material response, and structural failure. This work presents the capability of the Kentucky Aerothermal and Thermal-response Solver framework (KATS) to address this challenge through an integrated, multi-physics approach. The methodology combines KATS-FD for flowfield...
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Dr Benton Greene (NASA ODPO (JETS-II Contract))18/06/2026, 11:44
In NASA’s Object Reentry Survival Analysis Tool (ORSAT), aerodynamic drag and aerothermal heating coefficients are computed for each of the free-molecular, continuum, and transitional flow regimes using analytical and semi-analytical methods. These heating coefficients were derived for typical metallic materials that melt and do not have a strong gas-phase contribution to the flow in the...
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Céline Baranger (CEA)18/06/2026, 12:02
During atmospheric hypersonic re-entry, the heat distribution within the thermal protection system (TPS) is dampened by the in-depth chemical degradation of materials - called pyrolysis -, and by a surface physico-chemical degradation - called ablation. The aim of this work is to enhance pyrolysis modeling by considering solid deformations in order to describe more accurately the solid...
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Ella Barakhovskaia (1 Faculty of Engineering, Thermo and Fluid Dynamics (FLOW), Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium; 2 Brussels Institute for Thermal-fluid Systems and Clean Energy (BRITE), Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) and Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium)18/06/2026, 14:30Material characterization for re-entry applicationsPresentation
The rapid increase in space activities has led to a growing number of objects re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere, raising safety and sustainability concerns. Thus, reliable prediction of re-entry behaviour, including aerothermal loads, ablation, fragmentation, and survivability, depends strongly on accurate material characterisation. However, accurate data remain limited for materials exposed...
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Benoit Fer (ONERA)18/06/2026, 14:48Material characterization for re-entry applicationsPresentation
Hydrazine tanks for Low Earth Orbit satellites are nowadays constituted of Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloys. The constitutive alloy is subjected to constraints of different order. First of all, it must support the inner pressure without breaking. Then, it should be demisable during atmospheric reentry. Indeed, at the end of a satellite life, an atmospheric reentry operation is mandatory to limit the...
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Carlo Zanardi (Politecnico di Milano)18/06/2026, 15:06Material characterization for re-entry applicationsPresentation
In the context of Design for Demise (D4D), there have been multiple attempts at incorporating energetic thermite powders inside hard-to-demise spacecraft components, to provide additional energy during re-entry. This philosophy is called Thermite for Demise (T4D).
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Those attempts highlighted a multitude of problems and inefficiencies arising from the use of thermite in the form of loose... -
Alexandre Martin (University of Kentucky)18/06/2026, 16:00Experimental capabilities and ground testingPresentation
Design-for-demise strategies require accurate understanding of the thermal, mechanical, and fluid environments experienced by spacecraft during uncontrolled atmospheric re-entry. However, in-flight data characterizing the internal conditions of a disintegrating host vehicle remain extremely limited. The KREPE-3 mission, part of the Kentucky Re-entry Universal Payload System (KRUPS) program,...
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Dr Bernd Helber (von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics)18/06/2026, 16:18Experimental capabilities and ground testingPresentation
DRACO (Destructive Re-entry Assessment Container Object) is an ESA Space Safety mission designed to obtain the first in-situ measurements of a spacecraft’s fragmentation and demise during atmospheric re-entry. A washing machine-sized satellite will be intentionally deorbited, carrying approximately 200 sensors and multiple cameras to monitor structural breakup, thermal loads, and...
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Olivier Chazot (VKI)18/06/2026, 16:36Experimental capabilities and ground testingPresentation
See document attached
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gregory pinaud (ArianeGroup)18/06/2026, 16:54Experimental capabilities and ground testingPresentation
More and more objects are present in space, but what happens to them when entering the atmosphere? With the exponentially increasing number of satellites, it is essential to minimize the risk of falling elements in habited areas. To best predict what happen, it is necessary to predict with the highest accuracy the behavior of objects during their atmospheric reentry and destruction. Models...
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Ian Holbrough (Belstead Research Limited)18/06/2026, 17:12Experimental capabilities and ground testingPresentation
There are a number of design-for-demise methodologies which can be employed to increase the demisability of spacecraft components, which reduces the ground risk from re-entry. One of the less used concepts is to increase the heating to a component. Active methods, such as the use of energetic materials, and passive methods such as the use of lattice structures have been attempted with varying...
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Arnaud Francois (Cenaero)19/06/2026, 09:00
At the end of their operational lifespan, uncontrolled spacecraft re-enter Earth's atmosphere and undergo total or partial destruction through interaction with the surrounding flow. The growing population of debris in Earth's orbits has prompted space agencies to address the space debris issue by imposing increasingly stringent requirements over the years. The published ESA standard Space...
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Tommy Williamson (University of Strathclyde Aerospace Centre for Excellence)19/06/2026, 09:18
With the ever increasing number of re-entries occurring year-on-year, accurate modelling of the entry process is a vital part of the drive for space sustainability. Both in terms of reducing the many unknowns of destructive re-entry and applications in satellite design according to the Design-For-Demise (D4D) paradigm. Of particular interest for D4D efforts is accurate resolution of explosive...
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Eddy Constant (R.Tech)19/06/2026, 09:36
Design-for-Demise methodologies are becoming increasingly important in spacecraft development as regulatory requirements and casualty risk constraints continue to evolve. In this context, structural components must simultaneously satisfy mechanical performance requirements during mission operations while maximizing their destructibility during atmospheric re-entry. This paper presents a newly...
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Clemens Mueller (HEFDiG, Institute of Space Systems, University of Stuttgart)19/06/2026, 09:54
Destructive atmospheric re-entry has become a major focus of current research, as it serves as the primary disposal strategy for satellites after their end of operation. The fragmentation of the satellite remains a key area of investigation, since its underlying mechanisms are not well understood. Observation data from multiple airborne observation campaigns conducted over the past decade...
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Valentin Ledermann (R.Tech Engineering)19/06/2026, 10:52
This paper presents recent developments implemented in the High Fidelity Branch of Pampero spacecraft demise assessment tool, aimed at improving the physical realism and predictive capability of re-entry survivability analyses.
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The first major enhancement concerns the aerodynamic and aerothermal modeling framework. Previous implementations relied primarily on engineering correlations to... -
Martin Spel (RTECH)19/06/2026, 11:10
The accurate prediction of spacecraft demise behavior during atmospheric re-entry is essential for assessing ground casualty risk and supporting Design-for-Demise strategies. This paper presents recent developments introduced in the CNES Debrisk software version 4, focusing on improved aerothermal fidelity through geometric shadowing effects and enhanced surface chemistry modeling.
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A first... -
MARTIN SPEL (RTECH)19/06/2026, 11:28Numerical modelling and validation of destructive re-entryPresentation
The VKI free-flying ring test case has become an important benchmark for hypersonic shock-body interaction and six-degree-of-freedom free-flight prediction. Several independent CFD rebuilding efforts, including those from DLR, CIRA, Strathclyde, and RTECH, have reproduced the flow physics of the experiment but have consistently predicted a drag coefficient higher than that inferred from the...
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Valentin GOLLIET (ONERA)Presentation
Simulations of hypersonic reentry flows remain a challenging task when it comes to developing robust yet accurate numerical methods. The presence of shock waves and the stiffness of the governing equations regarding thermochemistry are very demanding numerically. Furthermore, the different length and time scales of associated physical phenomena bring the need for efficient methods to make...
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