Clean Space Days 2026

29 Jun 2026, 14:00 → 3 Jul 2026, 14:30 Europe/Amsterdam

Clean Space Days 2026: Pioneering Sustainable Space Solutions

 

We, ESA’s Clean Space team, are proud to invite you to join the 2026 Clean Space Days, which will take place from June 29th to July 3rd at ESTEC, in The Netherlands. This event is a must-attend gathering for all space professionals and enthusiasts dedicated to the sustainability of space mission. 

 

This five-day event will focus on the advancements in the fields of eco-design, zero debris and in-orbit servicing. Alongside inspiring presentations, you’ll have the chance to connect with fellow space enthusiasts and dive into a range of engaging workshops.

Call for Abstracts 

We invite you to submit abstracts on the following topics: 

 

Eco Design:

• Simplified LCA
• Methodology and Tools
• Greener Technologies
• Environmental Impacts of Launch and Reentry (Marine and Atmospheric impact)

 

Zero Debris:

• Zero Debris Platforms

• Space Debris Mitigation requirements compliance & evolution

• Design for Demise

• Design for Removal

• Design for Robustness

• Dark and Quiet Skies

• Deorbiting & Passivation Technologies 

• Collision Risk Management

• Enhanced health monitoring & reliability

 

In-Space Servicing, Assembling and Manufacturing:

• European Strategy and ISAM coordination
• Space Safety Missions Preparation
• Space Safety Missions Implementation
• In-Space Logistic Missions Support
• Technologies for Robotics, GNC and Interfaces
•  Legal Aspects
• Future Use Cases and Market investigation

 

Submit your abstract for the CSD 2026 here.

 

If your abstract is selected, you will be invited to give a presentation during the clean space days 2026 (no paper needed). 

 

Please note the following deadlines:

 

• 15 April 2026: Abstract submission deadline 
• May 2026: Announcement of the abstracts selected
• 15 May 2026: Event Registration closed
• 29 May 2026: Event Registration confirmed
• 29 - 3 June/ July 2026: Presentations at CSD 2026 

Side-events

 

• Clean Space Networking Dinner 
  Date: Tuesday 30th June 2026
  Location: ESTEC Restaurant 
  Details: Connect with peers, forge new partnerships, and discuss the day's insights in a relaxed atmosphere. 
• Poster Session & Networking Event 
  Date: Thursday 2nd July 2026 
  Location: ESTEC 
  Details: Explore cutting-edge research and projects at our poster session. This interactive event is the perfect place to exchange ideas and spark collaborations over light refreshments.

Registration

 

Participation is free of charge. However, registration is required. If you wish to attend the event, please register here. 

 

Don't miss this opportunity to contribute to the global effort for sustainable space activities. Register now for the Clean Space Days 2026 and join us at ESTEC for this exciting event! 

ESA Acceleration Days 2026 privacy notice.pdf

OPS-SM - Clean Space Days Privacy Notice.pdf

Monday 29 June

General: Welcome

15:30 Coffee Break

Eco-Design: Introduction to Ecodesign

1 Ecodesign Introduction

Speaker: Sara Morales Serrano (ESA)

2 EGA and Ecodesign Policy

In line with ESA Strategy 2040, life cycle thinking and ecodesign are key approaches to mitigating environmental impacts across the full lifecycle of space projects. The European Space Agency is committed to minimising the environmental impact of its activities through the ESA Green Agenda, by systematically integrating lifecycle thinking and ecodesign into space programmes.
With its Ecodesign Policy, ESA ensures the systematic application of these principles to the procurement of space systems, supporting the reduction of environmental impacts while fostering innovation and competitiveness.
This presentation will provide an update on the ESA Green Agenda and the deployment of the Ecodesign Policy, highlighting key aspects for ESA programmes and the wider space sector.

Speaker: Andrea Vena

3 From Sustainability Ambition to Regulatory Practice: The European Commission Perspective on LCA and Ecodesign for the Space Sector

As sustainability becomes an increasingly important consideration across European industrial policy, the space sector faces growing expectations to better understand and manage its environmental impacts throughout the life cycle of space systems. This presentation will provide an overview of the European Commission's policy perspective on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), highlighting how existing EU sustainability frameworks are progressively influencing the space domain.
The session will explore the policy drivers behind these developments and emerging sustainability requirements relevant to space activities. It will discuss the role of harmonised environmental assessment methodologies, transparency, and evidence-based decision-making in supporting both competitiveness and sustainability. The presentation will also examine how environmental considerations can be integrated into future regulatory and industrial frameworks while preserving Europe's innovation capacity and strategic autonomy in space.

Speaker: Vera Pinto

4 Impact of Evolving EU REACH Regulation on the European Space Sector

The implementation of the European Green Deal and the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability has led to a substantial increase in regulatory pressure on materials used in the European space sector. Ongoing revisions of the REACH Regulation, CLP Regulation and the RoHS Directive, together with new horizontal instruments such as the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, are creating cumulative compliance challenges for highly specialised, low-volume applications typical of space systems.
Reflecting on the regulatory developments over the past decade, the proposed universal restriction of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (uPFAS under EU REACH) represents the most critical regulatory risk currently faced by the European space sector. PFAS are embedded across ALL space applications, including thermal control, electrical insulation, sealing, lubrication, and high-reliability electronics manufacturing, where no technically equivalent and qualified alternatives are available.
ESA, in coordination with the Materials and Processes Technology Board (MPTB), has established a structured response through a dedicated Restriction Task Force (RTF), aligned with Eurospace. This coordination enables consolidated data gathering, supply chain mapping, and development of evidence-based response to public consultations.
Preliminary analyses confirm that space-related PFAS uses are characterised by extremely low volumes, controlled life-cycle emissions, and disproportionately high substitution and qualification barriers. A non-differentiated, one-fit-all type of restriction would therefore primarily result in:
• disruption of ongoing and future ESA/EU programmes,
• accelerated obsolescence of qualified materials and processes,
• increased dependency on non-European supply chains,
• and limited environmental benefit at system level.
In this context, ESA REACH activities are increasingly focused on risk-based regulatory engagement, including targeted stakeholder outreach (e.g. REACH awareness webinars for SMEs), support to technical justification for essential uses, and supporting discussions on potential derogations for space-specific applications.
In parallel, MPTB activities are expanding towards systematic obsolescence monitoring and early identification of regulatory-driven supply chain risks.
This contribution provides an updated overview of these activities and highlights key regulatory challenges for the European space sector. It also reflects recent updates to the ESA REACH Tool, sector-wide database of substances and space-relevant materials, enabling regulatory-driven obsolescence risk monitoring.

Speaker: Premysl Janik (REACH Officer at European Space Agency)

ISAM: European Strategy and Coordination

5 ESA ISAM Working Group Way Forwards

Speaker: Tiago Soares

6 EU’s ambition on In-Space Operations and Services – Towards a European In-Space Service Infrastructure

In-Space Operations and Services (ISOS) serve governmental, institutional and commercial needs, by fostering the resilience, safety and sustainability of space infrastructure and activities. To boost technological development and service demonstration for Europe, the EU introduces an ISOS Pilot Mission in close coordination with Member States and EEA countries and ESA. The pilot mission will demonstrate in space by 2030 the necessary seed components and operations for a future European in-space service infrastructure to provide on-demand maintenance, upgrade, removal and logistic services in space.

Speaker: Daniel Noelke (European Commission)

7 Status and Outlook for ISAM at JAXA

Status and Outlook for ISAM at JAXA

Speaker: Mr Toru Yoshihara (JAXA)

8 Roundtable JAXA - ESA - EC on ISAM Strategy and Collaboration

Zero Debris: Enhanced health monitoring & reliability

9 Host-independent Orbital Whereabout Locator with Dual-Channel GNSS receiver-based attitude information

The OWL (Orbital Whereabout Locator) is a flight-proven VHF beacon and tracking unit developed to provide continuous transmission of satellite identification, key telemetry and GNSS-based position information. The original OWL design was tailored to CubeSat missions and has gained flight heritage on board multiple satellites. Building on this heritage, the current development aims to extend the OWL concept toward a more versatile subsystem that can be integrated into both CubeSats and larger satellite platforms. The new configuration also incorporates additional onboard sensors to improve the accuracy and robustness of the information provided by the unit, and can be equipped with a body-mounted solar array to further enhance operational autonomy. In this way, the development preserves the original core functionality of OWL while broadening its applicability and operational relevance.

The new version of the system includes multiple onboard sensors, such as an IMU, magnetometer, and, optionally, a TID sensor. These sensors continuously collect data, which are packaged into periodic beacon messages transmitted via an omnidirectional VHF radio link. The sensor sampling rate and beacon transmission interval are configurable. The OWL supports optional two-way communication with the host satellite via UART, allowing the host to send telemetry and health data and to request information (e.g., GNSS-based position data). It can also operate independently via a dedicated ground station network providing tracking and telemetry data through a real-time web service interface. The infrastructure can be complemented by mobile ground station units for special mission scenarios.

Most importantly, the new OWL delivers continuous position and velocity telemetry from a dual-antenna, multi-constellation GNSS subsystem, enhanced through a high-performance onboard EKF estimator. Based on this technology, the functionality of the OWL is also being extended with precise attitude determination. This independent navigation source supports the following space debris mitigation use cases:

Space Traffic Management (STM) and Regulatory Compliance: Provides autonomous orbit determination for real-time traceability and collision avoidance. Outputs are compatible with standardized Conjunction Data Messages (CDM), supporting operator response to emerging STM frameworks. Compliance with FCC and ITU orbit filing obligations can be facilitated where applicable.

End-of-Life and Disposal Assurance: PVT data provides verifiable confirmation of de-orbit manoeuvres or controlled re-entry, supporting compliance with ESA Clean Space policy, ECSS debris mitigation standards, and international guidelines. Telemetry continuity ensures operators can demonstrate due diligence in disposal planning, anomaly cases, and liability assessments.

Deorbit Assurance: Provides critical information even following a critical AOCS failure resulting in complete loss of attitude control authority. This facilitates end-of-life burns for safe disposal, contributing to compliance with post-mission deorbit policies and Clean Space objectives.

The new OWL version combines enhanced onboard sensors for position and attitude determination, multiple available beacon communication options, and a panel-format structure, emphasizing modularity and configurability across six configurations for different mission requirements. An additional goal of this activity is to secure a place for the enhanced OWL module on ESA’s DRACO mission (Destructive Reentry Assessment Container Objects), which offers a unique opportunity to demonstrate OWL’s capabilities and thereby enhance its market appeal and technological credibility.

Speaker: Alexandra Széll (C3S LLC)

10 Configurable Camera System as an Enabler of Enhanced Spacecraft Health Monitoring for Zero Debris Space Environments

Achieving zero debris objectives requires spacecraft operations to have a well-informed decision chain throughout the mission lifecycle - from verifying successful deployment of spacecraft subsystems, through monitoring structural integrity during operations, or even confirming readiness for controlled end-of-life disposal. Visual inspection data provides a really versatible, direct and intuitive sources of information for such assessments, even though lately inspection cameras have growns in popularity, yet the dedicated on-board imaging for health monitoring purposes remains underutilised, in part due to the perceived cost and complexity of qualifying mission-specific camera hardware.

The Scanway Camera System (SCS) is a configurable, flight-proven camera system developed to lower the barrier to integrating health monitoring imaging into spacecraft and launch vehicle missions. The SCS product line aims to offer scalable complexity, ranging from single camera units for simple inspection through multi-camera acquisition systems to smart camera configurations with onboard data processing and AI capabilities. The modular architecture allows mission-specific tailoring of imaging parameters, optical configuration, and data handling approach tailored to the client specifications, enabling a single platform family to serve use cases as diverse as deployment event verification, thermal protection assessment, post-anomaly damage inspection, and proximity situational awareness.

The system has achieved TRL 9 through successful in-orbit operation, including visual documentation of launcher stage events during the YPSat mission aboard Ariane 6 and ongoing on-orbit demonstration on the STAR VIBE satellite. These missions have validated the system’s stability, imaging performance, and data handling in the space environment.

The paper discusses how the availability of a flight-qualified, reconfigurable vision system can contribute to zero debris efforts by enabling routine visual health assessment as a standard spacecraft function rather than a bespoke payload development, and how the resulting situational awareness at the individual spacecraft level supports more confident compliance with post-mission disposal requirements.

Speaker: Michał Kos (Scanway S.A.)

11 Operationalising PSD for Clean Space: Reliability Assumptions and Open Questions

The introduction of a $\ge90\%$ Probability of Successful Disposal (PSD) requirement by the European Space Agency marks a significant advancement in support of space debris mitigation and Clean Space objectives. At the same time, it raises important questions regarding its consistent interpretation and practical implementation. While the requirement is formally defined in ESSB-ST-U-007, several aspects remain open when translated into system engineering practices and reliability modelling.

One key issue concerns the definition of mission time within the reliability assessment. The current wording suggests coverage up to the end of disposal operations, potentially encompassing all mission phases from launch onwards. However, established reliability engineering practices typically treat launch separately due to differences in qualification approaches and responsibility boundaries. This distinction may become less clear for New Space missions, where heritage is limited and qualification strategies are evolving. Further clarification is needed regarding the scope of PSD. In particular, questions arise as to whether consumables (e.g., residual propellant), passivation measures, and accidental break-up mechanisms should be explicitly included in the modelling. Additionally, emerging considerations such as dark and quiet sky constraints prompt discussion on whether these should be incorporated within PSD or treated as complementary requirements. The timing and criteria for disposal decision-making introduce further complexity. It remains questionable to what extent factors such as accumulated degradation, loss of redundancy, in-flight anomalies, or operation beyond the nominal design lifetime should be reflected in PSD assessments at the point when disposal is initiated (agreed lifetime or lifetime extension). From a modelling perspective, exponential reliability models are widely used and remain appropriate for systems with a constant failure rate. However, their applicability may be limited in scenarios involving critical items and extended mission phases or life extensions, where increasing failure rates over time should be accounted for (e.g., wear-out, mechanical, and propulsion items). Finally, the role of software in enabling successful disposal, including autonomy and fault management, raises the question of how software-related failures should be represented within the PSD framework.

Rather than proposing definitive interpretations, this contribution identifies key areas requiring clarification and encourages a structured exchange within the community. The objective is to support a consistent, technically sound, and operationally practicable understanding of PSD aligned with both engineering realities and Clean Space ambitions.

Speaker: Paul-Remo Wagner (Matrisk GmbH)

Tuesday 30 June

Eco-Design: ESA Ecodesign Policy Implementation Working Instructions

12 ESA Ecodesign Policy Implementation Working Instructions

Speakers: Estefania Padilla Gutierrez (ESA (ESOC)), Sara Morales Serrano (ESA)

ISAM: Space Safety Mission Preparation

13 ESA S2P Activites overview

Speakers: Antonio Caiazzo, Tiago Soares

14 In-orbit Refurbishment and Upgrading Service (IRUS) Mission Update

Astroscale, in collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA) and BAE Systems (for the client satellite), is developing a pioneering mission to conduct refurbishment and upgrading services for an asset in low Earth orbit. The In-Orbit Refurbishment and Upgrading Service (IRUS) mission aims to develop a servicer platform capable of servicing clients within a standardized framework. The mission leverages platform heritage from Astroscale, such as ELSA-M and COSMIC, the solution for the UK’s Active Debris Removal (ADR) mission, and is aiming for launch and operation within the next five years.
Establishing these technologies now is vital, as they are projected to be primary drivers of the ISAM market. This talk will detail the mission’s latest developments, including the mission concept of operations and the novel technologies required for the mission. By providing a template for future refurbishment and upgrading services, the IRUS mission serves as a foundational step toward a broader in-orbit economy, enabling advanced capabilities such as in-orbit assembly, manufacturing, and recycling.

Speaker: Rowan Curtis (Astroscale Ltd)

15 D Orbit MORPH mission

The strategic value of in orbit refurbishment extends beyond extending the life or performance of individual spacecraft. Its more profound commercial implication is the creation of a new class of repurposable orbital infrastructure: a fleet of resident GEO platforms that can be selectively augmented with new payloads over time and repurposed to respond to market trends. In this model, refurbishment is not the product—it is the enabling mechanism that transforms GEO spacecraft from static assets into flexible, serviceable hosting platforms.

Via RISE, D Orbit plans to deploy a fleet of servicers GEO that are themselves designed to be refurbished and augmented, and now thanks to MORPH those assets can become persistent, upgradeable nodes of orbital capacity. They can receive, remove, or exchange payloads without being replaced or relaunched. This allows D Orbit to offer new services on platforms that are already in orbit, already operational, and already space qualified—dramatically changing the economics and timelines of deploying capability to GEO.

Speaker: Diego Garce de Marcilla (D Orbit)

16 ORU - CIRCE (Circular Economy & Refurbishment for Space)

Refurbishment in the space domain refers to the in-orbit servicing of existing satellites through the replacement of degraded, aged, or non-functional subsystems with equivalent units, enabling life extension, mission continuity, and improved cost efficiency without full system replacement. Although several actors have proposed repair and maintenance solutions targeting critical subsystems, such as batteries, reaction wheels, gyroscopes, and payloads, the increasing complexity of modern spacecraft makes these operations extremely challenging, particularly when performed autonomously by robotic systems under strict safety constraints. This highlights the need for a paradigm shift toward modular, serviceable, and standardized spacecraft architectures aligned with real market needs.
Within this context, CIRCE (Circular Economy & Refurbishment for Space), one of the ESA’s ORUM (On-orbit Refurbishment Missions) concepts, is proposed as a mission concept that operationalizes in-orbit refurbishment through advanced robotic technologies. Building on ongoing ESA and GMV developments, including CAT robotic systems, CIRCE adopts a two-spacecraft architecture composed of a servicer and a prepared client satellite. Following joint launch and separation, the servicer performs rendezvous and proximity operations (RPO), captures the client, even under moderate tumbling conditions, and executes refurbishment tasks using a robotic device, CAT or arm, and modular replacement units. The mission includes post-refurbishment validation and end-of-life disposal operations, contributing to debris mitigation and long-term orbital sustainability.
The viability of refurbishment as a scalable practice is strongly dependent on a client-driven market framework. Commercial operators require pre-validated, cost-effective, and replicable solutions, yet are typically reluctant to invest in upfront design modifications or R&D associated with servicing readiness. This creates a structural tension that places satellite manufacturers at the center of the transition. As second-level clients, they play a critical role in enabling the circular economy by embedding Design-for-Servicing (DfS) principles, modularity, and standardized interfaces into spacecraft platforms, while coordinating subsystem providers across the supply chain.
Stakeholder engagement is therefore essential and must begin with platform providers, whose early involvement ensures serviceability compliance, subsystem modularity, and alignment between spacecraft design and refurbishment opportunities. This approach guarantees that missions are not only operationally compliant but also future-proofed for in-orbit servicing, providing assurance to final operators and reducing lifecycle costs. In parallel, structured interaction with operators, enables the identification of high-value servicing use cases and prioritization of subsystems and payloads for refurbishment.
At system level, key trade-offs must be addressed. For client spacecraft, the balance lies between accessibility and modularity versus overall system efficiency and performance. For the servicer, trade-offs concern the number, type, and configuration of interfaces with the client, directly impacting accommodation and concept of operations.
By integrating technological feasibility, system-level design, and market-driven considerations, CIRCE establishes a coherent end-to-end framework for in-orbit refurbishment.
This positions refurbishment as a practical, scalable, and competitive solution, enabling the transition toward a sustainable and circular space economy.

Speaker: Mrs Graziano Mariella (GMV)

Zero Debris: Zero Debris Platform activities

17 ESA Introduction on Zero Debris Platforms

Introduction to Zero Debris Platforms activities.

Speaker: Roxane Josses (ESA)

18 Outcome of Phase 1 of the Zero Debris Large LEO Platforms Study

As the European space sector moves toward the Zero Debris ambition, understanding the implications of new debris mitigation requirements on future platforms is an essential step toward defining practical implementation strategies.
In light of this framework, the present work outlines the outcomes of Phase 1 of the Zero Debris Study, performed for ESA by Thales Alenia Space, with the objective of assessing the impact of ESA’s proposed Zero Debris requirements on large LEO platforms.
Three large LEO platforms currently used in Thales Alenia Space programmes were chosen as the objects of the study. Phase 1 activities focused on evaluating system and subsystem level feasible compliance paths, identifying the main technical drivers for further consolidation activities, and assessing the most critical contributors to ground causality risk through probabilistic re-entry analyses. In parallel, trade-off studies were carried out to investigate modular implementation options for controlled re-entry and demisability, considering their impact on platform architecture, performance, and integration. Additional activities addressed platform vulnerability to micro-meteoroids and orbital debris, providing an initial characterization of platform exposure and criticalities at equipment and system level. Furthermore, advanced health monitoring approaches were investigated, including the potential use of AI/ML-based prognostics to support earlier anomaly detection, degradation tracking, and improved end-of-life decision making.
Overall, Phase 1 established the technical basis for Phase 2 by identifying key design sensitivities, enabling technologies, and priority areas for further development toward the progressive implementation of Zero Debris requirements on future large LEO platforms.

Speakers: Mr Andrea Adriani (Thales Alenia Space), Riccardo Pellico (Thales Alenia Space)

19 Large LEO Spacecraft Platforms Evolution for Zero Debris Policy Implementation – Phase 1

The proposed presentation gives an overview of the results of the Zero Debris (ZD) Phase 1 study carried out by Airbus Defence and Space in 2024-2025. It was examined how to modify the Airbus large LEO platforms to meet the ESA Zero Debris requirements that will be applicable in 2030.
The first goal of the study was to critically review and consolidate the proposed space debris mitigation requirements and identify the associated design drivers as well as the potential technology gaps. The second goal was to identify needed technology developments and to establish a technical roadmap for LEO platforms to ensure they do not contribute to the growing problem of space debris in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). The study goals were supported by the evaluation of 5 technical objectives: fully demisable platform (where the satellite burns up completely upon re-entry), modular controlled re-entry, improvement of system resilience, operations mitigating MMOD impacts and preparation of satellites for Active Debris Removal (ADR).
Three study case missions were considered during the study to better understand the impacts and challenges related to the ZD requirements. The selected missions were two real missions Cristal and LSTM and a hybrid satellite based on Cristal platform but with a different orbit and propulsion system. The missions represent different orbits, re-entry strategies, propulsion systems and payloads to give a broader view of the impacts.
Challenging requirements have been identified as well as technical gaps: the gaps are related to the availability of technical solutions but as well to the availability of methodologies and modelling tools for the assessment of the compliance to the Zero Debris requirements. This is applying most notably to break-up prediction, vulnerability assessment and fragmentation prediction following collisions with micro-meteoroids or orbital debris (MMOD) and to statistical demisability analysis.
Finally, a possible roadmap for implementation of the identified technologies on-board Airbus satellite platform is proposed. To improve demisability, the study suggests moving toward demisable components, such as aluminium-based reaction wheels and specialized hydrazine tanks. To enhance system resilience, the study team proposes the integration of monitoring cameras to detect collisions and the use of adapted shielding or accommodation to protect critical components required for end-of-life operations. Also new HW solutions to support passivation and ADR are proposed.
To conclude, the ZD study technical objectives and their status is presented. While the study has successfully achieved the technical objectives related to modular re-entry readiness and ADR compatibility, it has been shown that achieving a fully demisable platform and assessing MMOD impacts, including fragmentation risks, there remain significant challenges.

Speaker: Venla Viitanen

20 OHB's Large LEO Zero Debris Platform

With the low Earth orbit becoming increasingly occupied by spacecrafts as well as debris resulting from various spaceflight activities, the amount of space debris is steadily increasing. Following ESA's strategy to reduce space debris to zero starting 2030, the advancement of European large satellite platform products is mandated. OHB participated by upgrading its standard Earth Observation Platform (Eos) to be compliant to the evolution of the space debris mitigation requirements and additional technical objectives.

Eos, as OHB System AG’s (OHB’s) Standard Earth Observation Platform, envelopes the Copernicus specific implementation of the standard platform developments. The key feature of the Eos product line is to provide a common platform design providing high performance for earth observation applications. The Eos platform builds on common and well-established technologies, thereby providing the fast-track opportunities combined with low risks in platform adaptation to different mission needs.

As a result of the first phase of the activity, key technologies were identified, along with down selection of technologies to be developed in Phase 2 to TRL 6. System level impacts of the technologies were evaluated to a delta-SRR level, along with the consolidation and compliance of the proposed evolution of the space debris mitigation requirements.

Speaker: Kate Lahaie (OHB System AG)

21 Evolving European Small Satellite Platforms towards Zero Debris Compliance: System-Level Trade-offs, Technologies and Roadmap

The sustainability of the orbital environment has become an operational requirement in satellite system design. In the context of ESA’s Zero Debris policy, European industry is expected to minimize the creation of new debris while ensuring safe, reliable end-of-life disposal for future missions. This contribution presents the results of a system-level study on how European satellites based on SITAEL Empyreum (~200 kg) and PLATiNO-class (~350 kg) small multi-mission platforms can evolve to achieve Zero Debris compliance by 2030. The activity translates policy-level objectives into platform design solutions through a structured approach encompassing requirement consolidation, cross-disciplinary trade-offs, supplier consultation, and SRR-level platform definition. Three representative LEO mission scenarios were analysed to capture the range of disposal and operational challenges faced by small satellites, varying orbital parameters (400–600 km altitude; SSO and mid-inclination) as well as platform size and operational constraints (e.g., implications of constellation operations). Five Zero Debris technical objectives were addressed: design for demise, reliable disposal, health monitoring, collision-risk mitigation, and preparation for removal. The study indicates that full demisability is realistically achievable for the smaller platform class, whereas larger platforms require targeted design adaptations and further technology maturation, including demisable tanks and actuators. Reliable disposal emerges as a key driver. Passive or semi-passive de-orbit solutions, such as electrostatic tethers, are identified as the most promising baseline, complemented by independent passivation and disposal watchdogs to meet stringent reliability targets. AI-based health monitoring and autonomous collision-avoidance capabilities, co-optimised with other operational needs, are highlighted as critical enablers to ensure end-of-life controllability and timely risk mitigation. The resulting platform concepts move end-of-life functions from “best effort” to a design baseline, while preserving the modularity and competitiveness of European small satellites. A consolidated technology roadmap is proposed, identifying the developments required to reach TRL 6 and enable Zero Debris-ready small platforms for future missions.

Speakers: Andrea Barlusconi, Andrea Tromba, Roberto Vacca

11:00 Coffee Break

Eco-Design: LCA Methodology

22 ESA LCA DB and Generic Datasets

ESA LCA DB and generic datasets

Speakers: Chloe Carer, Mr Tommaso Turchetto (European Space Agency)

23 Simplified DQR and Handbook

Simplified DQR and Handbook

Speakers: Daniele Bella (IMS Space Consultancy GmbH), Mr Enrico Tormena (ESA), Mr Tommaso Turchetto (European Space Agency)

24 On the Path to Comprehensive Sustainability Assessment of Space Activities over the Whole Life Cycle

In recent years the number of launched space objects as increased by orders of magnitude and with projected launches, e.g. due to mega-constellations, this is expected to be a continuing trend. Consequently, sustainability impacts can no longer be assumed as negligible, but have to be quantified. Sustainability and sustainable development are resting on three dimensions: environment, social and economic, which are have to be included in a comprehensive assessment method that the German Aerospace Center (DLR) has started researching in the beginning of 2024 within the Space Sustainability and Sustainable Development (S3D) initiative. Within S3D a comprehensive method for evaluating sustainability impacts by space activities throughout all their mission phases (i.e. 0 to F) is being developed. On space-mission scale, a Life-Cycle-Sustainability-Assessment approach is intended, evaluating e.g. indicators and data sources. Applying LCSA hot spots of space mission impacts on sustainability including e.g. space and launch segments are to be identified. The life cycle perspective allows identifying and thus reducing impacts over all space mission phases, e.g. from early design studies in a Concurrent Engineering environment over integration and testing in late phases to operation and disposal. S3D has a special focus on the climate impact due to launch vehicle use and re-entry. This requires adapting existing chemistry-climate models, establishing and analysing exhaust inventories. This presentation provides an overview about the methodologies applied in S3D, highlights current results and pictures the way forward to a more comprehensive analysis of sustainability impacts of space activities. The framework establishes a basis for incorporating further reference cases from the community and for advancing joint sustainability evaluations across diverse space systems.

Speaker: Volker Maiwald (DLR Institute of Space Systems)

25 A Methodology for Integrating Life Cycle Assessment into a Multidisciplinary Design Analysis and Optimization Framework for Sustainable Launcher Development

The growing number of orbital and sub-orbital launches highlights the need to consider environmental impacts in launch vehicle design. In response to these emerging concerns, the European Space Agency has recently promoted the use of the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology as the standardization to support the mitigation of environmental impacts associated with present and future space missions. This need is amplified in the NewSpace, with diverse actors exploring innovative configurations and technologies, emphasizing the importance of integrating environmental considerations.

At early design stages, selecting the optimal launch vehicle architecture may involve Multidisciplinary Design Analysis and Optimization (MDAO) methods to model all the different disciplines (e.g., propulsion, aerodynamics, structure, and trajectory) that are required to obtain trade-offs of candidate configurations according to different performance criteria. In this research work, a methodology is proposed to integrate an LCA discipline within an MDAO framework dedicated to launch vehicle design. The approach relies on the definition of parametric life-cycle inventories that depend on the design and coupling variables of the MDAO framework. It includes the production of the stages components and propellants, as well as the associated transport to the launch site. Furthermore, launch emissions are evaluated from the optimized trajectory profiles and characterized in terms of climate change impact.

The proposed approach is illustrated on the design of a representative expendable launch vehicle showing the capabilities of an MDAO framework enhanced with predictive LCA. Specifically, multi-objective optimizations are performed to find a tradeoff between a launch vehicle performance criterion and an environmental impact indicator. The results highlight the antagonistic behaviors among environmental impact categories, emphasizing the importance of carefully defining environmental objectives when conducting eco-design studies for launch vehicles. Overall, the generic nature of the methodology lays the first foundation for integrating LCA into launch vehicle early-stage design processes, thereby enabling exploration of trade-offs between performance, cost, and environmental considerations.

Speaker: Alice De Oliveira (ISAE-Supaero)

26 EU Product Environmental Footprint methodology for the space sector: state of Play and next steps

The European Commission has launched work towards the development of Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules (PEFCR) for the space sector, aiming to establish a harmonised and scientifically robust methodology for assessing the environmental impacts of space activities. This initiative seeks to improve comparability, consistency, and credibility of environmental assessments across the European space ecosystem.
This presentation will provide an overview of the objectives, scope, and methodological approach taken during the PEFCR development aiming to further operationalise the EU Environmental Footprint framework for space activities. Following the typical structure of the LCA framework, it will discuss key PEFCR elements associated to goal and scope definition for the selected representative products, inventory modelling and dataset availability, as well as environmental impact assessment.
Finally, the presentation will provide an update on the current status of the PEFCR development, including ongoing technical activities, potential methodological refinements, and forthcoming milestones. It will also highlight opportunities for stakeholder engagement and collaboration throughout the process.

Speaker: Thibaut Maury Micolier (European Commission)

ISAM: Space Safety Mission Preparation

27 ESA ERASE Overview

ESA ERASE Overview

Speakers: Antonio Caiazzo, Bart Paijmans (ESA)

28 [ERASE] Project Abstract (TEC Consortium)

The sustained growth of large, defunct spacecraft in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) represents a
major challenge to the long-term sustainability of critical orbital regimes. As a result, there
has been growing interest in Active Debris Removal (ADR) services targeting large LEO debris
objects. The ESA’s Clean Space initiative has been pioneering the study of ADR since 2012,
and ESA has placed ADR at the core of its Space Safety and Zero Debris strategies, which
aim to achieve debris neutrality by 2030.
Within this context, the ERASE Project Phase 0 investigates the feasibility and design drivers
of a European ADR servicer capable of safely rendezvousing with, capturing, and disposing of large, unprepared and uncooperative spacecraft.
For the ERASE project, The Exploration Company (TEC) is leading a consortium with SENER,
SpaceApplications, and D-Orbit, with supplier support from Jena-Optronik, ArcSpace, and Vimotek.
The mission objective is to consolidate the design of a space servicer capable of performing
ADR operations for large, unprepared, and uncooperative LEO targets. Within the scope of
the project, dedicated case studies are being conducted for METOP and SENTINEL satellite
families. These satellites are multi-ton-class spacecraft in SSO whose long orbital lifetimes
present significant collision and fragmentation risks. Both are treated as uncooperative and
unprepared, without reliance on attitude control, cooperative navigation aids, or dedicated
capture interfaces.
The project is structured around three main working domains.
The first domain focuses on requirements management. Activities include the derivation
and consolidation of customer needs, followed by the definition and refinement of mission,
system, subsystem, and interface requirements, with particular emphasis on safety,
debris-mitigation compliance, and design-to-cost constraints. This work aims to establish
a coherent and traceable requirement baseline supporting the mission objectives.
The second domain addresses the in-orbit servicer spacecraft design. Within ERASE, TEC’s Oura platform is planned to be adapted to the mission objectives. The Oura servicer isalready under maturation within ESA’s FLPP InSPoC-1 project. Under the ERASE scope, the
platform design, technical budgets, and interfaces will be further adapted for the METOP
TEC - INTERNAL
TEC - INTERNAL
and SENTINEL case studies while maintaining a scalable servicer architecture reusable for
future ADR missions.
The third and most mission-critical domain focuses on the preliminary end-to-end mission architecture and ConOps, focusing on capture strategy for uncooperative and unprepared
targets. This work includes the definition of Rendezvous, Proximity Operations and Docking
(RPOD) concept and approach corridors, including safety and abort strategy considerations.
The activities also cover the establishment of velocity and error budgets across rendezvous,
proximity operations, final approach, and contact phases. In parallel, critical subsystem
trade-offs are being performed to identify enabling technologies and maturity gaps related
to contact dynamics modelling, capture end-effector concepts, and Fault Detection,
Isolation and Recovery (FDIR) logic. Based on these activities, a roadmap is being defined to
support the de-risking and maturation of the required technologies for future mission
phases.
Expected outcomes of ERASE include a credible preliminary ADR servicer architecture,
consolidated requirements and budgets, identified technology maturity gaps, and a roadmap toward a 2031 demonstration mission

Speaker: Mr Emre Leblebici

29 ACTIVE DEBRIS REMOVAL OF EUMETSAT METOP SATELLITES

Active debris removal is increasingly recognized as a necessary complement to mitigation measures to preserve the long-term sustainability of the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) environment. In this context, the ERASE Phase 0 activity investigates a technically feasible, safe, and cost-effective mission and system concept capable of delivering an active debris removal (ADR) service for large, unprepared, non-cooperative satellites.

The mission concepts developed within ERASE are required to be robust not only for the two reference targets but also scalable to a broader class of similar spacecraft, ensuring compatibility with the evolution of ESA’s debris mitigation standards.
As such, the study focuses on MetOp-A and Sentinel-1B as representative reference cases. These spacecrafts are treated as distinct study cases, each analyzed with respect to geometry, mass properties, residual attitude dynamics, and re-entry constraints, while systematically identifying design commonalities and opportunities for standardization. Both satellites exemplify the class of multi-ton platforms whose mass, geometry, and long orbital lifetimes make them disproportionate contributors to long-term collision risk in protected LEO regions. The study uses these two reference missions as concrete pathfinders for a future recurring European service, ensuring that the resulting concepts are transferable and operationally relevant beyond the specific cases considered.

A dedicated chaser-based mission concept is defined, capable of rendezvous, capture, detumbling, and controlled re-entry of non-cooperative targets. The proposed architecture relies on rigid robotic capture, combining vision-based relative navigation with a compliant capture interface that transitions from soft capture to a rigidized mechanical configuration suitable for controlled deorbiting. Capture strategies are tailored to the structural features of each target, ensuring safety, controllability, and effective load management despite uncertainties in target attitude, geometry, and residual dynamics.

The mission concept is developed with controlled disposal as a primary design driver. Operational phases, from far-range rendezvous and inspection to synchronized flight, capture, stabilization, and controlled re-entry, are defined with explicit consideration of collision risk during proximity operations, passivation, disposal success probability, and re-entry casualty risk. Compliance with Zero Debris performance objectives is addressed at both system and operational levels and fully integrated into the mission design.

ERASE Phase 0 establishes a coherent system concept and preliminary technology roadmap for the active removal of large, unprepared LEO satellites, grounded in current European capabilities, and aligned with ESA’s Zero Debris policy objectives. By integrating capture, guidance, and controlled disposal considerations from the outset, the activity provides a structured basis for assessing feasibility, identifying key design drivers, and highlighting the critical technologies and operational challenges associated with removing non-cooperative legacy objects. The outcomes are intended to inform subsequent development phases and support the prioritization and maturation of future active debris removal missions, contributing to the long-term sustainability goals of ESA’s Clean Space initiative.

Speaker: Carlos De La Fuente (GMV)

30 Leonardo Roadmap for IOS activities

In-Orbit Servicing (IOS) is rapidly emerging as a strategic capability for ensuring the sustainability, resilience, and operational continuity of space assets across institutional, commercial, and defence domains. Within this context, Leonardo S.p.A. is positioning itself as a key European system integrator, leveraging its expertise in space robotics, optical payloads, and complex mission architectures to enable next-generation servicing capabilities.

Leonardo’s roadmap for IOS development is structured around a progressive and complementary set of national and European programs, each contributing to the maturation of critical technologies and operational concepts. The Italian IOS PNRR mission represents the foundational step, focusing on the in-orbit demonstration of core capabilities such as autonomous rendezvous and proximity operations, robotic capture and berthing, and initial in-orbit maintenance tasks in Low Earth Orbit. This program enables the qualification of key subsystems and the validation of end-to-end mission scenarios, establishing a solid technological and industrial baseline.

Building on this foundation, European collaborative initiatives such as ISOS and eRASE extend the scope towards more complex, scalable, and service-oriented architectures. These programs aim to enhance interoperability, standardization, and modularity, fostering the development of a European ecosystem for IOS. They also address advanced use cases, including refuelling, life extension, debris mitigation, and multi-mission servicing platforms operating across different orbital regimes.

A key element of Leonardo’s strategy is the convergence of these initiatives into a coherent long-term vision, where technologies matured at national level are progressively integrated into European frameworks, enabling higher Technology Readiness Levels and operational readiness. This approach supports the transition from demonstration missions to sustainable, service-based business models, while reinforcing European strategic autonomy and reducing dependency on non-European technologies.

The roadmap also emphasizes the integration of enabling capabilities such as autonomous systems, artificial intelligence, secure communications, and cyber-resilience, which are essential to operate in increasingly complex and contested space environments.

This presentation will provide an overview of Leonardo’s IOS roadmap in Europe, highlighting the synergies between PNRR, ISOS, and eRASE programs, and illustrating how these initiatives collectively contribute to the realization of a robust, scalable, and competitive European In-Orbit Servicing capability.

Speaker: Alessandro Schisano (Leonardo SpA)

31 Mission Preparation - ERASE

A critical part of debris neutrality within the space environment is the stability and sustainability of the earth orbits. To achieve this, the preparation and implementation of active debris removal missions in space is critical. Large LEO platforms that are currently non-cooperative prose significant risks for collisions in orbit and casualty risk to ground in an uncontrolled re-entry.

The main objective of the ERASE Phase 0 study is to investigate the design of a mission to remove a large unprepared object in LEO. For this study, two primary study cases have been identified as subject for removal: METOP-A and Sentinel-1B. In addition, the possibility of a multi-mission case (ie removal of multiple objects) is also considered.

OHB with heritage in the ADRIOS initiative, in the past with e.Deorbit and currently with ClearSpace-1, is leading one of the ERASE contracts as Prime in collaboration with Kinetik Space and Indra. The activity at the time of the event is still ongoing, with the planned achievement of the Mission Design Review Milestone before the conference.

Speaker: Kate Lahaie (OHB System AG)

Zero Debris: Zero Debris Platform activities

32 CleanCube: a Zero Debris CubeSat Platform by ISISPACE

Following a pre-phase A study to assess the feasibility of CubeSats being compliant to various space debris mitigation requirements, ISISPACE is engaging into the Phase A work for a proposed a 12U IOD/IOV CubeSat mission “CleanCube”. The project is part of ESA’s Zero Debris initiatives to demonstrate the technologies that can provide compliance to stricter space debris mitigation requirements. To ensure a wide applicability of the solution, a consolidated set of requirements was created by incorporating the currently applicable ESA Space Debris Mitigation Requirements, the French Law, FCC, ISO Standard as well as a foreseen future evolution of requirements. The emphasis of this study is placed on addressing the gaps in current CubeSat designs in terms of space debris management. This concept actively addresses them, challenging the common approach of a passive compliance enforcement. This will ensure the long-term sustainability of the CubeSats niche outside of the low range of LEO, ensuring the survivability of the downscaled technologies. This study will demonstrate the feasibility for early identification, refined space situational awareness, improved system reliance & health monitoring, high reliability in active collision avoidance maneuvers and passivation as well as end-of-life concerns. Additionally, the mitigations towards dark and quite skies will be addressed. The mission will host a set of primary payloads for space debris mitigation purposes as well as secondary payloads which will be funder through other paths.

Speaker: Lisa De Backer (ISISPACE)

33 Phase A for CleanCube: In-Orbit Demonstration of a Zero Debris CubeSat Platform

ESA’s Zero Debris initiative targets ‘net zero pollution’ in orbit by 2030, introducing stricter Space Debris Mitigation (SDM) requirements for all spacecraft classes. While CubeSats have traditionally relied on natural decay to comply with orbital clearance rules, most currently do not meet the updated ESA standard, which imposes tighter limits on orbital lifetime and requires reliable passivation after end of life, enhanced health monitoring, and collision avoidance capabilities.

The CleanCube campaign addresses this gap by targeting an IOD mission no later than 2028 to demonstrate key Zero Debris technologies tailored for CubeSat platforms. The primary mission objectives are to demonstrate reliable end-of-life disposal with a success probability of at least 90%, permanent and irreversible passivation with a success probability of at least 95%, enhanced system resilience, monitoring and failure prediction, improved collision avoidance capabilities and spacecraft trackability during commissioning, and assessment of visual brightness and potential disturbances to radio astronomy.

The ZeDeCS project, conducted by Romanian InSpace Engineering (RISE), represents a Phase A study towards the development of this IOD mission. The mission, system, and subsystem requirements are defined, and a preliminary mission analysis and system design are provided. A 12U CubeSat platform on a 500-km altitude, 97.4-degree inclination Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) is proposed as the baseline option for the mission.

The mission objectives will be achieved through dedicated in-orbit experiments. An active deorbiting system will ensure re-entry within 5 years of the end of life, and solutions for Dead-on-Arrival, such as an autonomously activated drag augmentation device, will be implemented to warrant the 90% reliability figure. The passivation experiment shall consist of depleting all propellant tanks, batteries, and other onboard energy sources, with the 95% reliability to be ensured by failure mode analysis. High-frequency subsystem telemetry logging, autonomous wear-out data analysis and failure prognostics for COTS components, as well as FDIR measures shall support the system resilience objective.

During nominal operations, the CubeSat will simulate conjunctions with virtual space objects, performing both manual and autonomous collision avoidance manoeuvre experiments. High-accuracy GNSS receivers and corner cube reflectors will support spacecraft trackability and enable unambiguous identification within one day of orbit injection. Lastly, position and attitude telemetry will be correlated with ground-based observations to evaluate the satellite’s visual brightness across mission phases.

In addition, the activity provides trade-off analyses related to the ground segment and space surveillance segment resources and degree of automation, evaluates compliance of the mission design with the ESA SDM requirements, and includes a Failure Mode & Effects Analysis as well as an FDIR design. A development roadmap for subsequent mission phases is outlined, including cost, schedule, and risk considerations.

Finally, the project evaluates the commercialization potential of the Zero Debris CubeSat platform. The proposed design offers compatibility with a range of hosted payloads, enabling co-funding opportunities for the IOD mission while supporting future sustainable space operations.

Speaker: Andrei-Gabriel Pavel (Romanian InSpace Engineering (RISE))

34 SPACEKEEPERS – AN IN-ORBIT SMALL SATELLITE DEMONSTRATOR TOWARDS THE 2030 EUROPEAN ZERO DEBRIS OBJECTIVES

The number of human-made objects in Earth orbit has been increasing exponentially year-over-year. According to the latest ESA Environment Statistics (January 2026), nearly 14000 satellites are currently operational in space, while the small-size debris population is estimated to exceed 140 million space debris objects in the 1mm to 1cm size range. This rapidly growing environment poses a significant threat to both current and future space missions. The emergence of megaconstellations, with projected deployments aiming to reach up to 1.3M satellite launches in the coming decades, together with the increasing democratization of space, introduces critical challenges related to collision risk, end-of-life disposal, light pollution, and radio-frequency interference.

Access to space must therefore be kept while addressing these challenges. In this abstract we present SpaceKeepers-1, a mission developed as part of the CleanCube initiative, focused on five key technical zero-debris challenges: reliable end-of-life disposal, reliable passivation, system resilience, collision risk reduction and visual and radio astronomy impact mitigation.

Developed by Alén Space and GMV, and aimed to launch in 2028, the platform is a CubeSat-based concept, using an elongated form factor in favor of the zero-debris goals. By using attitude change maneuvers efficiently, propellant use can be minimized. A nominal attitude where low-area surfaces face velocity can minimize drag, and therefore reduce the number of station-keeping maneuvers. Orienting high-area satellite faces along the orbital velocity vector can facilitate collision-avoidance maneuvers, and accelerate end-of-life disposal, therefore reducing the propellant consumption.

To contribute to the system resilience goals, the mission will onboard an autonomous locator beacon that will enable early detection and positioning of the satellite, maintaining these capabilities through disposal. This will ensure unambiguous identification, and further improve collision avoidance capabilities. Satellite health will be continuously monitored to enhance system resilience, and advanced autonomous anomaly detection capabilities will be implemented from ground, to support early identification of potential anomalies.

Additionally, the development of advanced brightness models, analyzing apparent visual magnitude throughout the whole orbit, will improve the characterization of high brightness intervals. The use of efficient maneuvers, changing the satellite attitude, will prevent exceeding the brightness magnitude predefined limit at any orbital point. The obtained data will be used in conjunction with astronomical institutions, to improve the current models.

These experiments will demonstrate that small satellite missions can actively contribute to the development of advanced zero debris policies, establishing a framework for the future use of space in Europe and paving the way toward a safe, sustainable and efficient use of space.

Speaker: Javier Martínez Martínez (Alén Space)

35 CLEANCUBE: A Zero Debris CubeSat Platform

The increasing use of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) has led the European Space Agency (ESA) to elaborate a Zero Debris (ZD) strategy, targeting full applicability by 2030. This strategy drives the study and the evolution of CubeSat Platforms capable of ensuring compliance with future debris mitigation requirements while maintaining technical feasibility and cost-effectiveness. In the framework of ESA’s SYSNOVA initiative, the CLEANCUBE program targets the development of a Platform design compliant with the ESA Space Debris Mitigation (ESSB-ST-U-007) and Zero Debris (ZD) Requirements, and the verification of the Platform capabilities through the implementation of an In-Orbit Demonstration (IOD) mission.
The technical objectives identified for the ZD CubeSat platform cover satellite capability of performing a reliable end-of-life disposal, ensuring effective passivation to prevent unintentional breakups, which could contribute to the generation of small debris in LEO. Moreover, the objectives include health monitoring and fault management systems and the definition of a robust Collision Avoidance Maneuvers (CAM) strategy minimizing the probability of in-orbit collisions. Added value to the mission is provided by the integration of a Space Debris Detector, studied to complement the existing debris population models through the detection of catalogued and not yet catalogued objects.
The program is executed by a fully Italian Consortium led by Tyvak International, covering the role of Prime Contractor, project coordinator, and responsible of leading Platform design, and future mission implementation. The Consortium includes AIKO, expert in providing space and ground-based solutions enhancing on-board autonomy and space system health monitoring, and the Università di Torino (UNITO), responsible for the design and development of the miniaturized Debris Detector.
The proposed concept for CLEANCUBE IOD mission foresees the design of a 12U CubeSat Platform (extendable up to 16U form factor), targeting a launch by the end of 2027 via rideshare opportunity. The baselined Concept of Operations foresees the execution of hosted Payload activity during the nominal operation phase, to complete on-board passivation of critical subsystems, ensuring a de-orbiting from the LEO protected region within 5 years.
At current stage, the CLEANCUBE satellite conceptual design under study foresees the onboarding of the AIKO orbital_OLIVER module, the integration of the Debris Detector developed by UNITO, and the adoption of a flight proven cold gas Propulsion system developed by Tyvak International and T4I. This latter will enable the Collision Avoidance Maneuvers (CAMs) capability and the demonstration of a reliable and fault tolerant passivation. CLEANCUBE in-orbit operation will be supported by a mission Ground Segment composed by a third-part surveillance segment, Tyvak Ground Station Network, an Tyvak Mission Control Center located in Turin. The MCC capabilities will be enhanced by the integration of AIKO gifted_GENE, supporting the Tyvak operations team in the anomaly prognostic detection during the entire operative phase.
In conclusion, the CLEANCUBE program targets the conceptual design consolidation of an innovative CubeSat Platform solution, compatible with Debris Mitigation Requirements, and adaptable in future mission frameworks. Within the project, an IOD mission is developed aiming at verifying the Platform capabilities and the mission compliance with the future Zero Debris requirements.

Speaker: Ms Elena Valant (Tyvak International)

13:00 LUNCH

Eco-Design: LCA & Ecodesign Tools

36 The development roadmap for the Assessment and Comparison Tool – from stakeholder and regulatory analysis to implemented software features

A few years ago, ESA’s Future Launcher Preparatory Program (FLPP) correctly identified the sector’s need for a space-specific Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and ecodesign tool. Indeed, the industry — from primes to smaller SMEs in their supply chains — must now comply with environmental requirements from ESA and national space agencies, and additional regulations are expected like the European Space Act around 2030. Most companies do not have the internal knowledge and resources to comply, and until now, only had access to unintuitive and generic LCA tools. The Assessment and Comparison Tool (ACT) is the solution. The product of a 3+ years research and development project by an EPFL-led consortium for ESA is now operationalized, maintained, and commercialized by the spin-off of the consortium, EcoDeltaV Sàrl.

The ACT is continuously improved by following a clear roadmap which has been devised to account for the rapidly evolving sector’s practices and scientific knowledge. Feedback on possible improvements is also gathered through EcoDeltaV’s tool-based professional services and the ACT’s Early Adopters program, to make sure users’ needs are answered efficiently. From this, real needs, new features, the objectives to integrate new regulations and guidelines, and compatibility with other software tools, have been identified, and prioritized in the roadmap. Potential project, funding opportunities, and partners have been identified for each capability, and releases are timed with respect to external events relevant for the software usage.

This presentation dives into the details of the roadmap, its creation, use, and maintenance. It shows how it aligns with ESA’s and European LCA and ecodesign efforts, including with the expected regulatory changes, and external events. To define it, a stakeholder analysis and a competitive benchmarking exercise have been performed. Figures of merit have been defined regarding productivity, information, efficiency, and cost, and new technologies have been identified as candidates to improve those metrics by being integrated in the tool. Additionally, the ACT’s Early Adopters program ensures a rapid response to the industry’s real needs, feeding them into the roadmap to keep it up-to-date.

This robust and coherent technical roadmap will guarantee the continued relevance of the ACT and its unique position to answer the needs of space actors.

Speakers: Jan-Steffen Fischer (University of Stuttgart, Institute of Space Systems), Marnix Verkammen, Mathieu Udriot (EcoDeltaV Sàrl)

37 Eco-design decision tool

CNES has developed an easy-to-use Excel-based eco-design tool that enables users to compare mechanical parts design solutions. The tool allows comparing materials, manufacturing processes and surface treatments in order to identify and select the options with the lowest environmental impact.
The tool is based on the EF3.1 method and results are displayed with single score and with detailed 16 criteria.
The tool will be presented with several using cases.

Speakers: Hélène PASQUIER (CNES), Thomas DIAS (CNES)

38 Integrated Product Support (IPS) and Integrated Logistic Support (ILS) as Enablers to Enhance Life Cycle Assessment Data Quality in Space Missions

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is becoming a key requirement for space sustainability and ecodesign, yet the growing adoption of New Space development practices, characterized by agile iterations, accelerated schedules, and wide reliance on COTS based architectures, creates significant challenges for robust LCA implementation. Environmental data are often incomplete, unavailable, or inconsistently reported across product trees and subcontractor layers, particularly for major COTS suppliers in both space and ground segment platforms. In parallel, Integrated Product Support (IPS) and Integrated Logistic Support (ILS) bases manges lifecycle information.

This work proposes a structured approach to strengthen LCA data quality by integrating IPS/ILS frameworks, which already capture detailed lifecycle information such as configuration baselines, maintenance task analyses, reliability data, spares lifecycles, logistics resource flows, and operational duty cycles. Mapping these datasets to LCA inventory needs provides a powerful mechanism to enhance completeness, traceability, and automation in life cycle modelling, enabling earlier and more reliable ecodesign feedback.

We analyse the mapping between IPS/ILS datasets, particularly those structured under S3000L such as product trees, maintenance task analyses, logistics resource footprints, failure modes, and spare parts lifecycles, and the key inventory requirements of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). This integration shows how enhanced IPS/ILS tools can deliver structured, high granularity data relevant to environmental indicators, from manufacturing impacts and operational emissions to end of life processes. At the same time, the approach highlights the need to extend LCA data provision requirements to major COTS manufacturers, ensuring that platform providers across both space and ground segments supply minimum environmental datasets necessary for credible assessments. By positioning IPS/ILS as the operational backbone for LCA, particularly in New Space environments where rapid development cycles and COTS based architectures often create significant data gaps, this methodology strengthens data completeness, traceability, and automation. The analysis demonstrates that IPS/ILS datasets already contain many parameters required for LCA, including mass breakdowns, manufacturing and replacement frequencies, operational energy consumption, logistics footprints, and end of life pathways.

Ultimately, it directly supports the objectives of Clean Space by enabling simplified LCA methodologies, greener technologies, and improved assessment of environmental impacts across mission phases, positioning IPS/ILS as a critical enabler of robust, data driven environmental performance evaluation for future space systems.

Speaker: María Cruz Cañaveras Tribaldos

39 Parametric LCA for Space

Constellations of LEO satellites, used mainly for telecommunications and imaging, are growing exponentially (EPRS, Sept. 2025). If the sector continues on this trajectory, more than 100,000 LEO satellites will be in orbit by 2030, compared with around 10,000 today (ESA 2025). As well as raising questions of sovereignty at European level (Starlink currently operates the largest constellation, and estimates suggest this will remain the case in the future), this expansion is causing environmental concerns. Indeed, the impacts remain difficult to assess for many reasons: the complex chemistry of the stratosphere, which is very different from that of the troposphere, making it difficult to produce reliable impact factors; a lack of transparency from industry players regarding manufacturing processes; and the absence of methodological standardisation within the sector, amongst others.

To address this, the European Commission (in collaboration with industry stakeholders) is currently drafting the PEFCR4Space, which will become the methodological reference for space life-cycle assessments. This will establish a methodological framework and ensure comparability across studies.

However, it does not (yet) address concerns regarding data confidentiality.
Currently, the studies carried out by the sector’s stakeholders are considered too sensitive for their results to be shared externally. However, many players in other industries (such as telecommunications) offer services that rely on space infrastructure. They therefore need access to this footprint data to be able to carry out a complete (end-to-end) LCA of their services, which is currently not possible due to a lack of reliable data.

To address this need, we have recently produced environmental data for satcoms (LEO satellites and launchers) for ADEME. This data will soon be available in the Empreinte Database.

We see great potential for parametric LCA in the space sector and, as we have done for the digital sector, we wish to develop parametric models for this sector. For over three years now, Resilio has been developing its own environmental database for IT, ResilioDB. This dynamic parametric approach makes it unique as it offers far greater transparency and makes updates much easier.

The problems in the space sector this approach addresses? It provides a variable level of granularity, depending on the user’s level of information.
How? By pre-filling the model with default values for the parameters. For the time being, these are drawn from the literature, but eventually they will be supplied directly by the industry for even greater precision (using average, benchmark value to ensure data confidentiality). Users with access to highly detailed information can change the default values to better reflect their reality, whilst others will have access to average data (admittedly imperfect, but transparent and reliable).

We will present our parametric approach for a LEO satellite and launch vehicle model during the Clean Space days in order to explore its potential and test its reliability directly with industry stakeholders and experts!

Speakers: Mrs Aubet, Léa Bitard

ISAM: Space Safety Mission Implementation

40 RISE: A GEO Life‑Extension Servicing Mission Supporting Sustainable Operations in the Geostationary Orbit

Geostationary orbit (GEO) hosts high‑value spacecraft that provide essential commercial and institutional services, yet many missions are terminated while payload capability remains available. In numerous cases, end of mission is driven by depleted station‑keeping margins, operational constraints, or increasing end‑of‑life risk rather than by payload degradation. This disconnect between remaining functional capability and achievable operational lifetime leads to premature disposal and replacement, with implications for both sustainability and cost.

RISE is a D‑Orbit mission aimed at enabling life extension of GEO spacecraft through a dedicated in‑orbit servicing capability. The mission is designed to restore operational margin and defer retirement decisions by introducing a servicer optimized for proximity operations in the GEO environment. RISE follows a service‑oriented approach that emphasizes compatibility with existing GEO spacecraft, operational robustness, and a pathway toward repeatable service delivery.

The mission concept is shaped by GEO‑specific challenges, including limited natural relative motion, navigation observability constraints, long operational timelines, and stringent safety requirements for rendezvous and proximity operations. System architecture and operations are therefore driven by conservative proximity strategies, fault‑tolerant guidance, navigation and control, and clearly defined contingency behaviors. Particular attention is given to proximity safety, fail‑safe configurations, and predictable system response under off‑nominal conditions, reflecting the high value and long operational lifetimes of resident space objects in GEO.

RISE integrates spacecraft design, mission planning, and ground operations into a coherent servicing framework. The operational concept supports structured approach phases, controlled proximity regimes, and service execution designed to minimize risk to both the client spacecraft and the surrounding orbital environment. Architectural choices prioritize repeatability and operational predictability, enabling a transition from individual missions toward a more standardized servicing model.

From a sustainability perspective, life extension through servicing contributes to reducing the rate of spacecraft disposal and replacement, limiting the introduction of new objects into GEO, and supporting responsible long‑term management of the geostationary environment. RISE represents a practical step toward integrating in‑orbit servicing into GEO operations while aligning commercial asset management with clean space objectives.

Speaker: Diego Garces de Marcilla (D-Orbit UK)

41 CAT-IOD End-to-end Mission Concept

CAT In‑Orbit Demonstration (CAT-IOD) mission addresses the increasing need for reliable end‑of‑life disposal in LEO. As satellite populations grow, the probability of failures during disposal also increases. ESA’s Design for Removal (D4R) concept mitigates this risk by standardizing removal aids so that an Active Debris Removal (ADR) provider can still rendezvous with, capture and remove a spacecraft even when conventional disposal functions are unavailable.

In this context, CAT-IOD mission is a critical step to de‑risk the adoption of D4R concept. CAT-IOD is tasked with verifying and validating the ESA D4R standard interfaces in orbit, mainly a 1:1 representative CAT bay and Markers to Support Navigation (MSN), as used by forthcoming missions The in‑orbit demonstrator is designed around two representative operational scenarios: (i) cooperative capture, where the target remains operational but cannot complete EOL removal, and (ii) uncooperative capture, where the target is non‑operational and may be tumbling. Demonstrating both scenarios provides confidence that D4R interfaces can be used safely across credible EOL failure modes.

This paper aims to present the Phase A activities and the main objectives for Phase B activities. In the frame of Phase A activities, end‑to‑end mission concept is defined to synchronize and rendezvous with a representative target, perform secure capture, detumble the combined stack and test a safe change of altitude of the target, emulating a relocation for uncontrolled deorbit to atmospheric re-entry. Key feasibility and programme drivers are dominated by rendezvous/capture GNC performance, propulsion sizing for proximity operations and detumbling, and operational safety supported by an adequate ground segment and verification campaign. Early attention to interface definition and validation planning are essential to control cost and schedule in the next phases.

The Phase A activities have demonstrated that an end‑to‑end CAT-IOD mission concept to validate ESA D4R interfaces is feasible using heritage‑based servicer platforms and a representative target prepared for ADR activities. The baseline architecture and operations concept are consistent with the required cooperative and uncooperative capture demonstrations and provide a credible path to in‑orbit validation of the CAT bay and MSN interfaces.

Phase B activities should focus on consolidating the selected servicer‑target combination, finalizing CAT payload-platform interfaces and performing detailed budgets and analyses (mass, power, DV, thermal and communications) for the end‑to‑end mission. Critical technology and design consolidations include detailed GNC and rendezvous strategy definition for both cooperative and uncooperative cases; propulsion subsystem trade‑off and qualification plan and refinement of the ground segment concept to maximize contact during safety‑critical operations.

ESA’s D4R initiative promotes standardization so that future constellations and large missions can incorporate removal‑aids at design time, reducing the effort and risk for downstream ADR services. CAT-IOD provides in‑orbit evidence to support this standardization and to build confidence among spacecraft manufacturers, operators and service providers.

Speaker: Juan Antonio Béjar-Romero (GMV Aerospace and Defence, SAU)

42 CAT-IOD mission (Astroscale)

CAT-IOD mission (Astroscale)

43 PRELUDE: Implementing Space Safety by Design in Close-Proximity In-Orbit Operations

The PRELUDE mission, developed by ClearSpace in partnership with ESA’s Space Safety Programme, is an in-orbit rendezvous and proximity operations (RPO) demonstrator which embodies the practical implementation of space safety principles.. The mission addresses a central challenge for future in-orbit servicing (IOS) and active debris removal (ADR): how to safely design, operate, and conclude missions requiring close approach in congested orbital environments.
PRELUDE consists of two identical cubesats executing a stepwise RPO campaign in Low Earth Orbit, from relative separation of tens of kilometres down to a few metres. Safety is embedded by design with a ConOps which implements an incremental approach performing commissioning of functions before use, and makes use of passively safe relative orbits wherever possible, ensuring collision-free behaviour even in the event of anomaly
During proximity operations, PRELUDE implements layered safety mechanisms combining onboard autonomy and ground oversight. These include autonomous collision avoidance manoeuvres (CAM), RPO-specific fault detection, isolation and recovery (FDIR), safety corridors, and cooperative safety functions implemented on both spacecraft. The mission demonstrates how the responsibility for safety can be effectively shared between flight software, payload systems, and operations teams during critical phases.
Operating in LEO—where environmental disturbances and conjunction density are most demanding—provides a robust validation of safety-critical GNC sensors and algorithms, including vision-based relative navigation and six-degree-of-freedom control. PRELUDE extends space safety through the full lifecycle, including passivation and end-of-life disposal therefore offering a complete reference for Space Safety mission implementation in future close-proximity missions.

Speaker: sotiris meintanis (ClearSpace)

Zero Debris: Design for Demise

44 Demisable Krypton Tank – Final Presentation

With the rapid growth of large satellite constellations in low Earth orbit (LEO), the need for effective space debris mitigation strategies has intensified. Particularly due to the on-ground casualty risk associated with uncontrolled re-entry of satellite components after their end-of-life. Among the most critical components are Type 3 Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessels (COPVs), commonly used for propellant storage in propulsion subsystems. COPVs consist of a metallic liner overwrapped with carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRP). While this configuration ensures excellent structural performance, the inherent thermal resistance and mechanical integrity of continuous carbon fibers prevent complete demise during re-entry, posing a significant challenge to compliance with emerging space safety regulations.

This work serves as final presentation of the project “Demisable Krypton Tank” being part of the ESA ARTES programme. The goal was to develop a fully demisable Type 3 COPV, with the focus on design and manufacturing of a CFRP overwrap tailored for improved demisability during re-entry.

Following an initial proof of concept through plasma wind tunnel testing, the project established a comprehensive set of design and performance requirements for the tank development. A manufacturing process for the demisable CFRP was developed to enable controlled degradation behaviour under re-entry conditions. This material innovation aims to promote early structural failure of the overwrap, facilitating fragmentation and subsequent ablation of the metallic liner.

The project combined experimental and numerical approaches to validate the concept. A further plasma wind tunnel campaign with 1 L COPVs confirmed the enhanced demise behaviour of the developed material compared to conventional CFRP. These results were integrated into re-entry simulations, allowing for a comparative assessment between demisable and standard designs, as well as an evaluation of scalability to larger tank volumes. In parallel, mechanical characterization of the demisable CFRP ensured that structural requirements were met, supported by finite element analyses for the final tank design.

The results demonstrate that the developed 1 L COPV can achieve complete disintegration under representative re-entry conditions, highlighting the potential of the approach for safer spacecraft design. At the same time, the analysis indicates that further optimization is required for larger tanks, pointing to key areas for future development. The current development status confirms proof of concept and establishes a validated design for a demisable 1 L COPV, paving the way for future qualification and industrial implementation.

Speaker: Simone Hartl

45 Demisable Primary Structural Joints - An Insight into the D4D SAFER project

Large-scale telecommunications constellations have contributed to the growing number of satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), which has increased the demand for efficient Design-for-Demise (D4D) solutions to reduce the risk of on-ground casualties from debris surviving re-entry. Within this context, the D4D SAFER project (Structures with Advanced Demisability Function for Earth Re-entry), funded by ESA, focuses on the primary joints between main structural elements and aims to develop demisable alternatives. Early opening of the satellite structure at the joints increases the exposure of internal, often difficult to demise components, such as reaction wheels, thereby increasing their likelihood of a full demise and reducing the on-ground casualty risk.

This presentation shows the current status of the D4D SAFER project. First, a representative communications satellite use-case was developed, which serves as the baseline in the project for the evaluation of the demisable joints and their impact on the on-ground casualty risk. Re-entry simulations using SCARAB based on this use-case provided insights into thermal loading of the joints over the whole satellite, fragmentation behaviour, and remaining debris and their on-ground casualty risk. With this information, multiple demisable joint concepts were subsequently developed, using already known as well as new demise concepts aimed at enabling reliable separation under re-entry conditions. The concepts were tested in the re-entry chamber of AAC as well as in the L2K facility of DLR, showcasing both promising demise behaviour for some and limitations for others.

The presentation discusses the challenges encountered during the design and testing phases. In particular, these are contradicting requirements for the launch and in-orbit loads and early separation demands. During testing, several limitations have been observed. The existing testing methods use simplified static load cases, which are not representative of the tumbling and dynamic environment experienced during an actual satellite re-entry. This leads to the tests only demonstrating separation in pre-defined load cases. Additionally, investigating high break-up altitudes requires testing with very demanding test conditions in the L2K, which resulted in new challenges and insights.

Overall, the presentation highlights the potential of demisable joints and the current developments, while showing the challenges that need to be addressed in the next phases of the project.

Speaker: Mr Marcel Övermöhle (INVENT GmbH)

46 DemOBench: Demisability Demonstration of CFRP Optical Benches

The levels of space debris have become an even greater focus of the industry in previous years. The re-entry of spacecraft into the Earth’s atmosphere can contain fragments which are able to survive the loads and heat experienced during re-entry into the atmosphere. These same fragments will also have a probability to cause harm or damage to humans and the environment. Optical payloads are typically made of elements that have been shown with high probability to release exactly these fragments causing these issues.
To comply with stringent thermomechanical requirements for structures of optical payloads in Earth observation missions, optical benches must often be built from materials with low thermal expansion and at the same time provide high stiffness to weight ratios. Therefore, ceramics and carbon fibre reinforced plastics (CFRP) are a prevalent material choice for optical benches. While ceramics generally show a low demise-performance, survival during re-entry for CFRP optical benches strongly depends on the matrix material and specific design of the bench.
The objective of the DemOBench-activity is to investigate both design-solutions as well as potential material optimisations to improve the demise-behaviour of CFRP optical benches, while still fulfilling the thermomechanical performance requirements.
After the selection of a reference optical CFRP-bench with a state-of-the art design and definition of mission, demise, and thermomechanical requirements, the current work focuses on potential design and material alterations to improve the demise behaviour. Representative samples will be tested for demise-performance accompanied by re-entry simulations. During the end of the study, a full-size design-optimised breadboard will be developed. The breadboard design will be analysed via DRAMA re-entry analysis and structural simulations. Finally, mechanical and thermal testing will be carried out to evaluate the thermomechanical performance of the demise-optimized CFRP optical bench.

Speakers: Bradley Lockett (OHB), Ludwig Eberl (OHB System AG)

47 Demisable EO Payload Mechanical Interfaces (Bi-Pods and Brackets)

In recent decades, due to the growing number of satellites and missions in low Earth orbit, the proliferation of space debris poses significant risks to operational spacecraft, human life, and the broader ecosystem. To mitigate these dangers, regulatory entities, including the European Space Agency (ESA), have implemented stringent guidelines such as the Space Debris Mitigation Policy, aiming, among many goals, to minimize risks to populations and infrastructure on the ground.

The improvement of spacecraft demisability during atmospheric re-entry is at the core of this risk control and unfortunately, many of currently designed spacecrafts require materials and structural parts which resist to atmospheric re-entry ablation. The Demisable EO Payload Mechanical Interfaces (Bi-Pods and
Brackets) - ESA AO/1-12498/24/NL/JB study is directly targeting this critical topic, by focusing on the uncomplete demisability of some critical parts like titanium brackets and bipods. Such parts are commonly used on Earth Observation Spacecrafts, especially for thermo-mechanical stability and to ensure the high performance of embarked optical systems.

In order to propose risks mitigation solutions for such critical parts, this ESA study aims at developing innovative titanium brackets & bipods design approaches, through topology optimisation based on cutting-edge re-entry simulation software. By leveraging these technologies, it is then possible to design brackets and bipods with engineered features that promote heat absorption, rapid ablation, and fragmentation during re-entry. Such improvements aim to ensure compliance with mitigation standards while maintaining high quality structural performance in orbit. Different manufacturing processes will also be taken into account (standard machining & ALM), to assess potential additional benefits.

The topology optimised bipods & brackets will undergo detailed simulations and analyses to demonstrate the improvements in terms of demisability while maintaining their thermo-mechanical stability performances. These simulations will be confirmed through demisability tests performed in Plasma Wind Tunnel facilities and will allow further correlation of current models and hypotheses. The study will then pave the way forward for more demisable earth observation critical parts design and better optimisation during spacecraft design phases.

The study’s consortium is based on Airbus Defence & Space, RTech & the von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics (VKI). While Airbus Defence & Space lead the study, benefitting from its large Earth Observation heritage and background, RTech provides the re-entry simulation expertise and capabilities for the bipods & brackets design optimisation, and VKI support the study with its Plasmatron facilities and test expertise.

At the end of this study, Airbus Defence & Space aims to reach a better balance between in-orbit thermomechanical functionality and controlled demisability, thereby avoiding reliance on costly and complex re-entry strategies. The study started in 2025 and should reach its main goals and conclusions by the end of 2026 through both re-entry simulations and tests. Topology optimisation is currently under going thanks to the expertise of RTech with very interesting perspectives on the demisibility improvements for both brackets & bipods use-cases.

Speakers: Corrado Milliès-Lacroix, Eddy Constant (R.Tech)

48 Demise by Design: Using Shape Effects to Increase Heating to Spacecraft Equipment

Recent high enthalpy demise ground testing has demonstrated that heating to objects is significantly impacted by length scale and flow path. As a result, geometric features such as holes, ribs, lattices and sharp edges can significantly increase the aerothermodynamic heat flux to an object. To date, no attempt has been made to optimise the shape of objects specifically to enhance the aerothermodynamic heat flux to spacecraft equipment.

A set of simple shape adaptations have been tested in the DLR H2K cold wind tunnel on a PEEK model in order to determine whether a noticeable increase in heating can be obtained using specific shapes. The shape concepts examined were holes, facets, steps and grooves, which were selected on the basis of likely effectiveness from sparse literature data, and their applicability to spacecraft components.

Three different sizes of hole were drilled in a sphere cap to investigate the holes concept. The use of holes did produce a significant increase in downstream heating, up to a factor of seven over the original level. Although this was a relatively local effect, a pattern of holes can be used to provide significant heating over a sizeable area. Where the holes are closed, the heat flux increase is smaller, but still approximately a factor of two.

Two cylinders with different sizes/frequencies of radius reducing steps were tested. The stepped surfaces show a clear increase in heating over a cylinder of the same radius. There is an increase in heating at both edges of the step, and the flux in the centre of the step is still above that which would be obtained on the equivalent cylinder. Along the centreline, heat flux increases of approximately a factor of two are observed. The augmentation is even higher at angle of attack where the steps are facing the flow.

Three different faceted objects were tested, from a hexagonal prism, to a 24-gonal prism. The overall heating for these shapes does not appear to be significantly higher than obtained for a cylinder, but there is a significant increase in the heat flux along the facet ridges. For the hexagon, a local increase of a factor of four is observed.

One grooved cylinder was tested, but this had a range of groove patterns, with different spacings, widths and depths. This approach was shown to be highly successful with approximately a factor of two heat augmentation. At angle of attack, this approach is also very promising as the boundary layer is not able to grow, and the grooves act as new leading edges. This results in high heat fluxes along the length of the grooved surface, where a smooth cylinder shows a dramatic reduction in heating as the streamlength increases.

These concepts will be applied to samples to be tested in the hot L2K wind tunnel to verify the demise performance enhancements in the next stage of the work.

Speaker: James Beck (Belstead Research Ltd)

15:30 coffee break

Eco-Design: Greener Technologies

49 Ecodesign Technical Roadmap

Speaker: Lorenz Affentranger

50 Wood-based Composites as Satellite Structures: Manufacturing and Application of Coating against Atomic Oxygen Erosion

Using a bio-based material such as wood for satellite structures can be an eco-friendly alternative to the traditionally used metals. The production of those metals is energy intensive and the mining of their raw materials often causes environmental damage. Moreover, the European space industry relies on imports for these materials. In contrast, wood is readily available throughout Europe. The feasibility of wood-based composites for CubeSats and especially small satellite class were previously reported by DLR Stuttgart. However, the behaviour of bio-based materials in space and their reaction to the space environment is still largely unknown. To mitigate this knowledge gap and to make use of the environmental advantages, this work looks into the manufacturing of a satellite structure panel made from acetylated radiata pine and the feasibility of the application of a coating to prevent erosion due to atomic oxygen (ATOX).
In a preceding Micro-VCM outgassing test beech and balsa wood exhibited a total mass loss (TML) of 5-6%, but their recovered mass loss was << 1 %. This indicates that the high TML is due to the moisture content of the wood. An acetylated radiata pine wood was chosen because the acetylation process lowers the moisture content of the wood and therefore lowers the TML to about 2%. Additionally, pine wood has better specific mechanical properties compared with other wood species.
Plywood is traditionally made from adhesively bonded wood veneers stacked in a 0°/90° lay-up. To find an adhesive suitable for space and for bonding wood, preliminary shear testing (ISO 6237) of a two-component epoxy and a film adhesive with different wood species was done. The two-component epoxy yielded higher shear strength and a better suitability for wood. Subsequently, this adhesive was chosen to bond the acetylated radiata pine veneers. To cure the adhesive under controlled pressure and temperature a universal testing machine, which was fitted with an oven, was utilised for the bonding process.
Small samples were milled out and first coating tests to prevent erosion due to ATOX were done. Prior to deposition, the samples underwent surface cleaning and plasma activation to remove organic contaminants and enhance surface energy, thereby improving adhesion of the subsequently deposited coatings. Aluminium oxide-based (Al₂O₃) and silica-based (SiO₂) thin films were deposited via magnetron sputtering physical vapor deposition (PVD) under optimised vacuum and gas flow conditions to achieve dense, uniform, and adherent coatings.
These are the first promising steps to producing a space suitable plywood panel for a satellite structure to reduce the environmental footprint of the space industry by making use of bio-based materials and greener technologies. A campaign is planned for testing the effects of ATOX on the wood to mitigate the knowledge gap of the behaviour of bio-based materials in space even further.

Keywords:
bio-based materials; satellite structure; wood; plywood; adhesive bonding; atomic oxygen; coatings

Speaker: Max Preis (DLR)

51 GMAIT Study: from LCA to Ecodesign

For over a decade, the European space sector has sought to better quantify its environmental footprint. By integrating specific contractual requirements for Large System Integrators (LSIs) and conducting dedicated studies, ESA has successfully institutionalized Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) within the industry. Building on the experience of previous works, recent LCA studies of missions such as FORUM or Galileo have established a robust baseline for understanding mission-related impacts and have significantly bolstered the ESA LCA Database with consolidated datasets.

However, these works have also highlighted significant data quality gaps,particularly regarding the complex activity sequences within Manufacturing, Assembly, Integration, and Tests (MAIT) at the equipment and subsystem levels. This lack of granular data is doubly detrimental: it reduces the reliability of satellite-level assessments and hinders the use of environmental performance as a meaningful decision-making parameter for ecodesign mitigation strategies.
To address these challenges, the ESA GMAIT Study ("Towards Greener Manufacturing, Assembly, Integration and Test") combined detailed cradle-to-gate LCAs with a pioneering ecodesign ideation and evaluation phase. This project focused on five core platform components: Propulsion System, Solar Array, Battery, Heat Pipes and Star Tracker.
This presentation will detail the methodology and results of the GMAIT study, highlighting the deployed ecodesign approach and its outcomes, as well as discussing some lessons learnt.

Speakers: Lucie Lemarquand (Airbus Defence & Space), Perrine Cau

52 Long-term environmental impact mitigation strategies for transatlantic launcher transport

Transatlantic transport constitutes a significant environmental hotspot in the life cycle of launch vehicles. This study evaluates key mitigation strategies for MaiaSpace's logistics operations between Le Havre (Metropolitan France) and Kourou (French Guiana), as projections show that logistics activities will account for approximately 30% of MaiaSpace’s total climate change impact by 2033 (excluding the launch phase). By applying the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology, we analyzed the cumulative environmental benefits of using the Canopée cargo vessel equipped with wind-assisted propulsion, operational speed optimization & transport planning consolidation, and sustainable biofuel adoption. Avoided impacts from the combined mitigation strategies were calculated using LCA, accounting for Well-to-Wake emissions, land-use change impacts and biogenic CO₂ treatment.

Four fuel configurations with custom LCA models were evaluated, both in terms of bunkering feasibility and environmental gains: B20 (20% FAME blended with 80% MDO), B100 (100% FAME bio-diesel), HVO30 (30% HVO blended with 70% MDO), and HVO100 (100% Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil). This study will present the preliminary environmental analysis results (and associated recommendations) put in perspective with the MaiaSpace launcher LCA. We will highlight the GHG reduction potentials associated with transitioning towards biofuel bunkering for Canopée, distinguishing between pure biofuels and blended fuels which offer transitional compatibility advantages. Regulatory compliance considerations (specifically FuelEU Maritime regulation and EU Emissions Trading System) and feedstock competition with other sectors were also taken into account, to evaluate long-term economic viability beyond immediate fuel price comparisons.

While feedstock competition and current pricing constrain near-term deployment, this study finds that waste-based biofuels represent a viable long-term decarbonization pathway for aerospace transatlantic logistics, while remaining increasingly competitive under FuelEU Maritime and EU ETS regulatory frameworks.

Speaker: Marie Delaroche (MaiaSpace)

53 Advancing Renewable Propellants for Orbital Launchers: Industrial Pathways and Early Validation

The decarbonization of space transportation requires a paradigm shift in propellant design, production, and integration within launch systems. This work presents an ongoing joint initiative between PLD Space, Repsol, and Arribes aimed at developing and validating sustainable propellant solutions tailored to the specific constraints of space launchers. The activity is framed within a long-term R&D roadmap, where terrestrial advances in renewable fuels are adapted to the operational, thermodynamic, and environmental requirements of orbital launch systems. The project is funded by Spanish technology program for space sector.
The core of the project focuses on the formulation and characterization of advanced renewable fuels, leveraging industrial-scale capabilities and feedstocks with reduced carbon intensity. These fuels are being designed to ensure compatibility with existing and next-generation propulsion architectures, while enabling measurable reductions in lifecycle emissions. Unlike other transport sectors, the space domain introduces unique constraints, including high-energy density requirements, cryogenic or semi-cryogenic conditions, and emissions across multiple atmospheric layers, which necessitate a dedicated approach to sustainable fuel development.
Beyond the fuel itself, the project integrates complementary activities addressing engine adaptation, system-level validation, and mission-level performance. A key aspect is the incorporation of a lifecycle-oriented perspective from early design stages, considering not only fuel production pathways but also logistics, operations, emissions during ascent, and end-of-life scenarios. This systemic approach enables a consistent assessment of environmental performance across the full launch value chain, contributing to emerging eco-design practices in the space sector.
At the current stage, the project is progressing through pilot plant testing, stream upgrading and formulation trade-offs at lab-scale, with initial results indicating that renewable fuels are a promising alternative also for the space sector. These activities are supported by ongoing efforts to align fuel properties with propulsion system requirements and to define scalable production pathways.
Future work will focus on designing the final formulation and testing for physicochemical properties, emission characterization and compatibility, with the objective of reaching higher technology readiness levels and enabling the transition from experimental validation to operational deployment. Ultimately, this initiative aims to position renewable propellants as a viable and competitive option for the next generation of European launch systems.

Speaker: Rafael Pitarch (Repsol)

ISAM: In-Space Logistic Mission Support

54 Overview of In-Space Logistics at ESA

InSPoC-1, 2, 3, 4 and Odyssey overview

Speaker: Yann Tincelin (ESA)

55 Enabling future transportation: InSPoC-1 interface development

As a result of booming private investments in the space sector and of its progressive commercialization, the need for a new space ecosystem is emerging. The rapid increase in the number of both active and inactive satellites in orbit is creating new use cases for activities such as in-orbit servicing, in-space manufacturing, and active debris removal. These operations are expected to enable more efficient and sustainable exploitation of space.

However, there are still several technical challenges to address. A key issue is the need for a standardized interface to ensure interoperability between servicers and clients. This interface shall allow grappling, docking, and transferring fuel and power/data. Moreover, it shall be able to withstand loads associated with high-thrust maneuvers for in-space transportation and be tailored to different classes of satellites. A wide adoption of such a standardized interface would enable the deployment of reusable and interoperable in-space transportation and servicing vehicles.

ESA’s Odyssey In-Space Proof of Concept-1 (InSPoC-1) project, currently in Phase B2, addresses this need among its objectives. The presentation will show the current status of the InSPoC-1 generic interface development, highlighting its capabilities and the benefits that could be derived from its adoption in terms of space debris mitigation, with a focus on life extension and cooperative de-orbitation.

Speaker: Dr Alessandro Finazzi (The Exploration Company s.r.l.)

56 The RAVEN Programme: A Modular Multi-Mission Architecture for In-Space Transportation and Logistics

The emerging market of In-Space Transportation and Logistics (ISTL) necessitates a shift from tailored, mission-specific satellites to versatile, reusable orbital assets. The RAVEN programme addresses this by developing a modular technology stack—integrating GNC, robotics, and propulsion building blocks—to power a fleet of adaptable In-Space Transportation Vehicles (ISTVs).
By replacing traditional single-purpose designs with a scalable fleet paradigm, the RAVEN ISTVs achieves exceptional versatility. The modularity allows the fleet to evolve through three distinct mission tiers: high-resolution in-orbit inspection, cooperative docking and maneuvering, and the robotic manipulation of uncooperative objects. Achieved agility ensures a future-proof service capable of adapting to evolving orbital challenges and customer demands. The system architecture leverages a standardized, universal avionics interface. This enables seamless integration of GNC, robotics, and propulsion modules, facilitating cross-platform compatibility and rapid integration.
The RAVEN DEMO I mission represents the inaugural In-Orbit Demonstration of this architecture. Primarily, DEMO I aims to demonstrate safe Rendezvous and Proximity Operations (RPO) in Low Earth Orbit as a foundation for future docking and capture capabilities. The project will validate a commercial in-orbit inspection service by delivering high-value data products to institutional and private customers. Furthermore, DEMO I mission will validate onboard autonomy and fault-handling systems to ensure maximum safety and reliability during complex orbital maneuvers.
To optimize cost-efficiency, the program employs a concurrent engineering approach, utilizing parallel mission scenario modelling to identify the optimal trade-off between mission complexity, development costs, and demonstration objectives.

Speaker: Paweł Paśko (PIAP Space)

57 SSI Task Force WG Update and Next steps

SSI Task Force WG Update and Next steps

Speaker: Yann Tincelin (ESA)

Zero Debris: Design for Demise

58 Destructive Re-entry Experiments under Thermal and Mechanical Loads

Understanding the processes of spacecraft break-up and demise during re-entry is essential for validating simulation tools, improve the design-for-demise philosophy and develop new approaches to reduce a potential environmental impact to the upper atmosphere. Ongoing efforts from the High Enthalpy Flow Diagnostics Group (HEFDiG) at the Institute of Space Systems at the University of Stuttgart are experimentally investigating all steps from break-up, demise and pollutant formation. Furthermore, HEFDiG collected a large number of airborne observation data to assess the real re-entry scenario.
A particular activity recently invented is the analysis of a large variety of spacecraft materials under thermochemical and aeromechanical loads under flight-to-ground duplication. This means that the aerothermal testing is extended by adding mechanical loads through a load cell.
Moreover, in addition to common structural spacecraft materials such as aluminum alloys, titanium and stainless-steel materials one recent activity focuses on a range of more exotic metals used in spacecraft. Round bar samples of Invar, copper beryllium alloy, titanium zirconium molybdenum, tungsten copper, and Inconel alloy 625 were tested. The samples were inserted in a supersonic plasma flow corresponding to LEO re-entry trajectories at 80 km altitude and the tensile loads were applied. The samples were observed visually, thermally and spectrally. The results highlight that mechanical loads can have a significant impact on the failure characteristics of the materials depending on the material in question.

Speaker: Stefan Loehle (Institute of Space Systems, University of Stuttgart, HEFDiG)

59 THREAD: status of a research project on Thermite-for-Demise (T4D) concept

Using exothermic reactions to control space platform fragmentation during reentry is one of the concepts of the design-for-demise global framework. Currently, thermite reactions are considered good candidates for this application. Despite a few positive proof-of-concept tests, technology maturation is needed to understand efficacy, benefits, and viability for a solid industrial application. These aspects are all addressed by the project THREAD (Thermite reactions assisting satellite demise), an EIC-financed research and innovation action involving nine European partners from academy, SME, research centers, and space industry. The project targets the development of solutions to embed thermites in satellite platforms, in a 42-months-long collaborative activity. New thermite-based materials will be formulated, and performance and survivability to environmental stress will be characterized according to a cradle to grave perspective. Engineering and reentry models will be developed and validated thanks to several plasma wind tunnel test campaigns. Finally, assessment of potential technological and industrial exploitation gives the future perspective of this innovation.

This presentation shows the current development status of the project, after one year of activity. First, the discussion will describe the T4D concept, including advantages and drawbacks and potential application methods. The initial perspective of the team will be described. Then, achievements will be described, with specific emphasis on thermite-based structural materials. Key requirements, compaction methods, ignition, and combustion properties will be discussed. Some of the proposed solutions demonstrated to be safe and easy to handle, resilient to stress from transportation, inert under typical satellite operating temperature range, and capable of delivering intense heat, once they are heated to conditions compatible with reentry aero-thermal environment.

Speakers: Prof. Filippo Maggi (Politecnico di Milano), Prof. Stefania Carlotti (Politecnico di Milano)

60 DRAMA/SARA modelling strategies for destructive re-entry analyses of re-entry vehicles

The destructive re-entry analysis of spacecraft traditionally focuses on satellites not designed to survive atmospheric re-entry at their end of life. However, the increasing development of vehicles intended to withstand controlled atmospheric re-entry, such as the LEO Cargo Return System (LCRS), Space Rider, and the Entry, Descent and Landing Module (EDLM) of the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin Mission (RFM), introduces new challenges for compliance with Space Debris Mitigation requirements. These systems, while engineered to survive nominal controlled re-entry conditions, must also be assessed for destructive re-entry scenarios in contingency cases to compute the total casualty risk, using DRAMA/SARA tool.

Compared with conventional satellites, re-entry vehicles are way more complex to model as their aerodynamic shapes are optimized for atmospheric re-entry, typically including curved aeroshells and protected by Thermal Protection Systems (TPS) composed of multiple specialized materials arranged in layered tiles and attached to structural components of the aeroshell. These characteristics contrast with the simpler geometries and material typically used and available to represent spacecrafts in DRAMA/SARA.

Two major modelling challenges arise in this context. First, the geometric representation of such complex spacecraft must be achieved within the constraints of DRAMA/SARA, which only allows a limited set of primitive shapes (boxes, cylinders, rings, spheres, and cones). Accurately reproducing the aerodynamic and ballistic properties of capsule-like vehicles therefore requires careful decomposition of the spacecraft into simplified geometrical elements (e.g. through panelisation) while maintaining representative physical behavior. Second, the modelling of TPS materials and their attachment to the Aeroshell and the inner parts of the spacecraft presents additional difficulties as TPS tiles are made of advanced composite or ablative materials with thermal and mechanical properties that differ significantly from conventional spacecraft materials.

To address these challenges, the TAS-I Space Debris team developed innovative modelling approaches to adapt DRAMA/SARA analyses to these complex systems and push the limits of the tool. The proposed methods aim to construct representative spacecraft models that preserve key aerodynamic characteristics and ballistic properties while remaining compatible with the tool’s geometric constraints. Particular attention is given to the modelling of TPS to ensure realistic predictions of fragmentation and demise behavior. In some cases, trade-offs are required between geometric fidelity and other parameters, depending on the project and its specificities; however, the resulting models enable reliable assessments of ground casualty risk and re-entry survivability.

This presentation will describe the progressive methodology developed by TAS-I team when first modelling these re-entry vehicles using DRAMA/SARA. It will outline the main challenges encountered while studying the re-entry of these specific vehicles, the modelling rules adopted to ensure consistency with the software framework, and the practical solutions implemented to improve the representativeness of the analyses. Case studies from LCRS, Space Rider, and ExoMars EDLM destructive re-entry assessments will illustrate the approach for different context. Finally, key lessons learned will be presented as well as recommendations for efficiently modelling complex re-entry vehicles within DRAMA/SARA. These insights aim to support future industrial and institutional studies requiring accurate destructive re-entry analyses for next-generation return vehicles and planetary entry systems.

Speaker: Léa Ruas (TAS-I)

61 Making Titanium Demisable through Controlled Porosity and Functional Coatings

Driven by debris mitigation requirements, satellite manufacturers have increasingly replaced titanium with aluminum in structural applications. Guidelines promoted by the European Space Agency (ESA) favor demisable designs, as uncontrolled atmospheric re-entry represents a comparatively simple and robust end-of-life strategy if ground risk can be excluded. Due to its high melting temperature and thermal stability, titanium has traditionally been considered non-demisable and therefore unsuitable for such concepts, despite offering clear advantages over aluminum in terms of specific strength, stiffness, and high-temperature capability.
The German Aerospace Center has been investigating two approaches to enable demisable titanium structures: (1) additively manufactured titanium with controlled, adjustable porosity, and (2) functional coatings applied to solid titanium components to promote material degradation under re-entry heat loads.
Manufacturing feasibility has been demonstrated for both approaches, confirming stable processing of porous titanium geometries as well as reliable coating application. Aerothermal performance was evaluated in plasma wind tunnel campaigns at the Plasmatron facility of the von Karman Institute for fluid Dynamics (VKI). Both porous and coated specimens showed significantly enhanced demisability compared to conventionally manufactured and fully dense additively manufactured titanium.
In addition, a comprehensive material characterization campaign was conducted on porous titanium samples with varying porosity levels. The results show that mechanical properties decrease in a predictable manner with increasing porosity while remaining comparable to conventional titanium at low porosity levels. This predictable behavior enables combined structural and demise-driven optimization, supporting topology optimization strategies that account for both mechanical loads and thermal re-entry constraints.
The paper presents the design of a representative reference bracket, the derived material properties from mechanical testing, and the results of the plasma wind tunnel investigations. The findings demonstrate that titanium can be engineered to meet debris mitigation requirements while retaining its structural performance advantages
The results challenge the long-standing assumption that titanium is incompatible with demisable design. By enabling controlled thermo-structural degradation, titanium can again become a competitive material for satellite structures. The industry can now combine high performance with compliant end-of-life behavior without compromising demisability.

Speaker: Isil Sakraker Ozmen (DLR)

62 Results of Space Debris Mitigation Project TEMIS-DEBRIS

The TEMIS-DEBRIS (Technologies for Mitigation of Space Debris) project focuses on the development of technologies for the disposal of end-of-life satellites through uncontrolled re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere. The project’s main focus is on the development of passive and semi-passive D4D technologies. The technologies under investigation include various concepts for joints that break or separate at moderate temperatures (so-called ‘demisable joints’). Other technologies aim to increase demisability at the material level, e.g. through coatings that improve the chemical and optical surface properties and thus increase the net heat flux received. The final category of approaches under investigation addresses satellite components, e.g. through topological optimisation of the geometry to include holes and filigree structures by utilising modern additive manufacturing processes.

Entering into the atmosphere in time is a mandatory requirement for the uncontrolled re-entry and thus a central aspect of D4D. Various solutions for the efficient and cost-effective de-orbiting of satellites upon completion of their mission are thus investigated in the project. This includes, for example, combining rocket engines with drag sails to minimize the mass impact while staying the 5-year limit.

In addition to developing technologies for D4D and de-orbiting, the project also aims to deepen the understanding of the aerodynamic and aerothermodynamic processes that occur during destructive re-entry and to improve modelling capabilities. To this end, a combination of experimental and numerical simulations with low and high accuracy is carried out, and the numerical tools are further developed based on a comparison with the experimental data. This approach of combining experimental and numerical simulations is also applied to the problem of multi-body interactions between fragments and utilised for model development.

The experimental and numerical results demonstrate promising D4D concepts for future applications. Some of the solutions investigated in the project are presented in separate talks. In this presentation, we provide an overview of the investigated solutions and discuss their feasibility and assess the potential impact on a spacecrafts demisability based on DRAMA simulations. Finally, we show the place of the D4D topic at DLR in a broader scope beyond the project and we briefly show our ambitions and recent and upcoming activities regarding knowledge and technology transfer.

TEMIS-DEBRIS is a project funded and carried out by the German Aerospace Centre (DLR e. V.) [1,2]. Initial results were presented at the last IAC [3]. The project is now in its third and final year and is approaching its formal conclusion.

References:

1. Thorn Schleutker et al.; Design-for-Demise Research at DLR in the Frame of the TEMIS-DEBRIS Project, Clean Space Industry Days, 8-11 October 2024, Noordwijk, Netherlands.
2. Ali Gülhan et al; Objectives and Achievements of the Space Debris Mitigation Project TEMIS-DEBRIS, 9th European Conference on Space Debris, 1 - 4 April 2025, Bonn, Germany.
3. Thorn Schleutker et al.; Achievements of Space Debris Mitigation Project TEMIS-DEBRIS, 76th International Astronautical Congress (IAC), 29 September - 3 October 2025, Sydney, Australia.

Speaker: Thorn Schleutker (German Aerospace Center DLR)

Wednesday 1 July

Eco-Design: LCA in projects - Applications

63 Life Cycle Assessment study on FORUM satellite (it.2)

FORUM (Far-infrared-Outgoing-Radiation Understanding and Monitoring), the 9th Earth Explorer mission (EE9), has a main goal to study the Earth’s radiation budget in order to improve climate models and give a better insight on how climate change is affecting our planet.

A LCA of the FORUM mission has been conducted by Airbus DS with the support of SCALIAN. A first iteration was delivered in 2024 and a second iteration was completed in November 2025.
The scope of this second iteration includes S/C Platform manufacturing, S/C Payload manufacturing (partially: 6 out of 15 instruments due to lack of data), GSE manufacturing, Satellite assembly, Transportation until launch site and Prime Office work and travels.

A detailed environmental analysis was performed going level by level from assembly, system, subsystem, equipment until the elementary flow (material, energy consumption, water consumption, waste production, etc). The environmental impacts are assessed using the ESA LCA Methodology based on EF3.0 single score. This analysis enables the identification of the main elementary flows (hotspots) causing the highest contribution to the potential FORUM environmental impacts.

LCA of FORUM S/C presentation will be focused on the environmental results and use of its outcomes. A particular focus will be made on the main hotspots, contributors and leverages/optimisation proposals. Feedback and lessons learned could be discussed also.

Speaker: Lucie Lemarquand (Airbus Defence & Space)

64 OCTAS - Preliminary LCA Results

OCTAS - Preliminary LCA Results

Speaker: Nicolas Petitpas (Thales Alenia Space)

ISAM: Space Safety Mission Implementation (continued)

65 ADRIOS ClearSpace-1

ADRIOS ClearSpace-1 is one of ESA’s ongoing missions within the ADRIOS cornerstone project to implement ESA’s zero debris policy. OHB System, together with a consortium formed by ClearSpace, Indra and OHB Sweden, is developing the ADRIOS ClearSpace 1 mission, aimed at demonstrating essential technologies for active debris removal. The mission will perform a rendezvous and non cooperative capture of the ESA owned PROBA 1 spacecraft—an ~100 kg, unprepared client without dedicated navigation or capture interfaces. Designed to operate with an uncontrolled,non-functional, tumbling client, ADRIOS ClearSpace-1 will securely capture PROBA-1 and subsequently lower the combined stack to enable atmospheric re entry within less than three years, significantly reducing its natural orbital decay time.

ADRIOS ClearSpace 1 will mature and flight prove key active debris removal capabilities, including robotic capture systems, close proximity guidance, navigation, and control (GNC), and operational concepts for safe and controlled in orbit servicing. The mission architecture places strong emphasis on safety measures to avoid any generation of additional debris during proximity operations and capture.

This presentation outlines the mission design, servicer architecture, and technology maturation achieved within the ADRIOS ClearSpace 1 program, highlighting the engineering solutions developed to address the critical challenges associated with uncooperative target capture and safe post capture disposal.

Speaker: Svenja Woicke (OHB System)

66 The Space Rider System key-role as European reusable platform for Close-Proximity Operations and In-Orbit Servicing.

The growing demand for automated and autonomous operations in space is reshaping the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) environment, particularly through applications that exploit Close‑Proximity Operations (CPO) and In‑Orbit Servicing (IOS). The ESA Space Rider System (SRS) is a versatile, reusable, uncrewed platform designed to support a broad range of mission classes and payload needs. These include in‑orbit demonstration and validation (IOD/IOV) of technologies related to Clean Space applications and, importantly, the system’s evolution into a cooperative platform capable of supporting scenarios involving proximity operations, inspection, payload handover, and berthing, thereby enabling a comprehensive spectrum of IOS applications.
The results presented form part of an internal ESA study on SRS interoperability features, highlighting technical guidelines, operational scenarios, and interface requirements that enable the integration of both institutional and commercial payloads within servicing missions. The study characterizes Space Rider’s current capabilities and potential evolution paths, providing foundational close‑proximity and IOS guidelines. These include definitions of proximity zones, permitted approach corridors, clearance envelopes, mechanical and power/data interfaces, and safety‑critical GO/NO‑GO decision logic. The document also describes berthing and docking concepts, capture interface locations, and constraints related to plume impingement, reaction wheel desaturation, and ground‑visibility requirements.
The study provides the baseline guidance for future in‑orbit collaboration with Space Rider. Based on the information presented, potential customers or in‑space partners can identify research or commercial use‑cases that exploit the unique capabilities offered by the system. Furthermore, Space Rider’s distinctive characteristics position it as one of Europe’s reference technologies for sustainable access to LEO, thanks to its inherent ability to safely return payloads to Earth, perform a non‑destructive re‑entry and soft landing, and undergo refurbishment to achieve a reusability objective of up to six missions.
In conclusion, we can state that the study’s outcomes contribute to ESA’s broader objective of supporting a sustainable, clean, institutional and commercially viable ecosystem for in‑orbit services.

Speaker: Raul Cafini (GiGroup for ESA)

67 EROSS SC - A new step towards mission implementation

The EROSS Servicing Component project is entering a new phase, targeting finalisation of the maturation of the technologies, and progress towards the critical design of the mission, and particularly the critical subsystems leveraging on the novel autonomous rendezvous and robotics technologies.
This project is also aggregating opportunities for contribution to the French DIANE project dedicated to non-collaborative clients, and to the ESA InSPoC project to mutualise the client for demonstrations.
This presentation will aim at providing an overview of the selected technologies and their maturities, as well as the full operational concept of the mission that also will contribute to the EC ISOS Pilot Mission.

Speaker: Mrs Stéphanie BEHAR-LAFENETRE (Thales Alenia Space)

Zero Debris: Dark and Quiet Skies

68 Designing Satcom Missions to Ensure Dark and Quiet Skies: Integrated Optical and Radio Interference Mitigation for Large LEO Constellations

The deployment of large non geostationary satellite constellations introduces new environmental impacts on the observable sky that require systematic consideration early in mission design. Building on the current regulatory and technical groundwork, the work to be presented develops an integrated approach for minimising both optical and radio interference, aligned with the evolving regulatory landscape governing space systems and passive scientific services.

For the optical (Dark Sky) domain, there is currently no binding international regulations on satellite brightness despite the rapidly emerging expectations from scientific stakeholders and space agencies, including ESA’s own sustainability-driven recommendations. Leveraging on these expectations and recommendations, and in collaboration with the astronomical community, a set of requirements for LEO constellations was crafted. A comprehensive modelling chain was then implemented to assess its compliance, incorporating the spacecraft’s detailed geometry, material properties derived from BRDF based characterisation, attitude dynamics, solar array articulation, and full constellation visibility modelling. This analysis identified the surfaces, configurations, and orientations that most strongly contribute to observed brightness and evaluated targeted mitigation strategies – such as surface darkening, specularity tuning, equipment relocation, and solar array orientation techniques – taking into account feasibility, manufacturability, and mission level constraints.

For the radio (Quiet Sky) domain, an in-depth analyse of the applicable ITU Radio Regulations, CEPT deliverables, and the general European spectrum management context provides a sufficient regulatory foundation for the protection of radioastronomy. The Radio Regulations in particular identify the protected Radio Astronomy Service (RAS) bands, their associated protection criteria, and the obligations placed on satellite operators. Building on these requirements, a statistical epfd based methodology consistent with ITU R RA.769, RA.1513, and S.1586 was developed to assess constellation level interference into radio telescopes. The approach takes into account out of band emissions, platform generated unintended radiation, antenna off axis behaviour, and long duration integration effects. This enables the derivation of satellite level emission limits and EMC driven design constraints that are technically and regulatory coherent with the general regulatory framework.

Together, these analyses embed Dark & Quiet Skies protection into early architectural requirements for future satcom constellations, supporting ESA’s Clean Space ambitions and proposing leads for the long term preservation of the astronomical environment.

Speakers: Benjamin Lenormand (Eutelsat), arnaud clement (Airbus Defence & Space)

69 A Modular Framework for Realistic RSO Light‑Curve Simulation utilizing ESA’s DRAMA

The growing density of space debris in Earth orbit increases the need for reliable techniques to characterize Resident Space Objects (RSOs) beyond purely orbital information. This work presents a modular simulation framework for generating synthetic optical light curves, based directly on ESA’s DRAMA suit. Through ongoing collaboration and contributions by OKAPI:Orbits to DRAMA’s development, the framework integrates seamlessly with its components, including orbit propagation, observation modeling, and reflectance estimation.

The resulting framework enables realistic, configurable light‑curve generation for custom objects of varying material properties, shapes, and attitudes. This can be used to form a controlled dataset for evaluating debris‑characterization methods and ties directly to the current updates to ESA’s debris population MASTER led by OKAPI:Orbits, where the debris objects are extended by material and shape.

To demonstrate the frameworks capabilities, two exemplary parameter‑recovery strategies are explored utilizing the framework. The first is a classification approach using Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) neural networks, and the second is an inversion strategy employing Gaussian Process Optimization to fit synthetic curves to specific observations. Furthermore, a validation against real light curves from the nine-channel optical wide-angle monitoring system Mini‑Mega-TORTORA (MMT-9) demonstrates both the potential and current limitations of DRAMA‑based simulation framework for inferring physical properties of RSOs.

This synthetic light curve generation framework provides a foundation for future advancement of space‑debris characterization techniques and supports ongoing efforts to enhance debris‑environment models and operational risk‑assessment tools.

Speaker: Marlin Gesting (OKAPI:Orbits GmbH)

70 DarKnight: an OHB tool for predicting satellite visual brightness

Due to the growth of satellite constellations in LEO, the topic of the importance of dark skies preservation has received growing attention in recent years. Brighter spacecraft disrupt scientific observations by creating streaks or bright spots in telescope images and increasing signal-to-noise ratio. This poses significant challenges both for ground-based and space-based observations, potentially preventing important scientific discoveries through astronomy. To mitigate these effects, the ESA Space Debris Mitigation Requirements contain a section on "Dark and quiet skies", which obliges the satellite developer to quantify and minimise the visual brightness of its satellite design.

To address this need, OHB has developed DarKnight, a tool designed to compute the apparent visual magnitude m_sc of a satellite using the ratio of spacecraft irradiance to solar irradiance, including atmospheric extinction effects. DarKnight implements BRDF based modelling of diffuse and specular reflections, as recommended by ESA, and incorporates an illumination, shadowing, and occultation module to accurately represent spacecraft observability.

Numerically, DarKnight is built around a lightweight and highly flexible interface, designed to streamline brightness modelling. The tool allows users to efficiently define spacecraft geometry, assign material properties, and select observer configurations with minimal operational friction. The tool supports three simulation modes: single satellite, full constellation, and mixed‑fleet analysis. This enables rapid scaling from simple studies to large scenario assessments. Users can also choose between “preliminary analysis” and “detailed analysis” modes, depending on whether only basic material parameters are available, or a more comprehensive optical characterisation is desired. This modular structure ensures fast iteration and adaptability, making DarKnight suitable both for early design loops and for refined mitigation studies.

DarKnight has been verified and validated using publicly available brightness observations of multiple spacecraft, including OneWeb, Starlink V1.5 and V2 Mini, Qianfan, and Pelican 3001. The preliminary analysis mode shows good agreement with values reported by Littoriano (2021), while the detailed analysis mode provides even higher accuracy in many cases. Some mitigation configurations introduce discrepancies, which are discussed in the presentation.

Across all tested missions, DarKnight demonstrates reliable and consistent predictive performance, making it a valuable tool for supporting ESA’s dark‑and‑quiet‑skies requirements and for guiding brightness‑mitigation strategies in future satellite designs.

Speakers: Bayrem Zitouni (OHB), Marta Powierza

71 An exploration into the commercial capability to capture satellite surface reflectivities in the pursuit of a darker sky.

The increasing numbers of satellites in the night sky pose risks to ground-based astronomy in the optical regime. The Vera C. Rubin Observatory has found that most images from the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) will have contamination from satellite streaks, ranging from localised pixel effects due to faint objects, to entire observations being unusable due to crosstalk from bright satellites. Mitigation attempts are underway to minimise these effects but will struggle if proposed mega-constellations such as SpaceX’s filing for one million space datacentres or Reflect Orbital’s thousands of space mirrors go ahead. Motivated to protect Earth-based astronomy, the International Astronomical Union’s (IAU) Centre for the Protection of the Dark and Quiet Sky from Satellite Constellation Interference (CPS) recommends satellites be no brighter than seventh magnitude for orbits lower than 550km altitude - the majority of LEO. This requirement is also proposed in the EU Space Act to come into force in 2030.
Several satellite operators are voluntarily bringing in measures to reduce their optical impact, such as dark pigments and mirror-like finishes. For satellite operators to be able to know their impact on astronomy, and show their mitigation efforts are effective before launch, requires physical testing of the satellite in the lab to determine their bi-directional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) and creating a digital twin to simulate their orbit. This is surface reflectance, used extensively in terrestrial cases such as pigment classifications and Earth albedo measurements. Adapting terrestrial methods to satellites is non-trivial, due to the size of satellite parts, their irregular surfaces, commercial sensitivity, and cost.
In a UK Space Agency study led by the University of Edinburgh, 3S Northumbria researched existing brightness prediction methods for satellites. It was found that there were several digital twin capabilities, both open- and close-sourced and of various levels of complexities, but a lack of public BRDF data to use as input. This motivated 3S Northumbria to do this further research into existing BRDF acquisition capabilities, to determine the current landscape of satellite brightness predictions.
It was found that there are two main methodologies for acquiring reflections: firstly, using scatterometers. They generally take small (approx. 5cm) samples and run fast image-based measurements. There are some that can take samples up to 30cm, but cost rises with sample size capabilities. As scatterometers take small samples, testing actual satellite panels is not possible for most cases so accurate BRDFs are not possible. The advantage of this method is the speed and low cost - appealing to commercial actors in space. The second is using gonioreflectometers, larger apparatus that have arms holding a light source and detector with which accurate incident and reflection angles can be recorded. This method is time-consuming and data dense – exploring the hemisphere above a sample in 0.1$^\circ$ increments results in over 3$\times$10$^6$ data points. Applying either of these methods to pre-launch requirements would require time and effort from operators and certification bodies, and the market would require time to adapt to provide reflectometry services en masse.

Speaker: Adam McAfee (3S Northumbria Ltd)

72 Testing and Evaluation of Transparent Drag Sail Membrane Materials for Dark Skies

This presentation summarizes the comprehensive material testing and evaluation conducted by the DLR Institute of Space Systems as part of the ESA AFO project (4000138835/22/NL/GLC/va), focusing on the development and qualification of sail membrane materials for future ADEO drag sails manufactured by the company HPS. The study assessed two material candidates with different coatings – a standard FEP polymer film coated with ITO, and a modified atomic oxygen resistant polyimide film. Through a series of environmental tests, including humidity, thermal cycling, UV exposure, and ATOX the performance of the materials were evaluated.
In contrast to previously used polyimide materials, the performance of FEP coated with ITO proved to be a viable near-term solution that provides a good robustness against atomic oxygen. The modified polyimide, while currently produced only in small quantities by the company Aerospace & Advanced Composites GmbH, exhibited good mechanical properties and ATOX resistance, making it a promising future material for drag sails.
The presentation will detail the test methodologies, results, and the rationale behind material selection, providing insights into the potential of these materials for next-generation drag sails.

Speaker: Patric Seefeldt (German Aerospace Center (DLR))

ISAM: Technologies for Robotics, GNC and Interfaces

73 Extending the successfully proven LIDAR-based RVS®3000 Product Family by µRVS - Development of a Compact Solution for Space RPO Applications

With serial numbers close to 100 currently in manufacturing the product family RVS® 3000 by Jena-Optronik GmbH has evolved into a very successful light-induced detection and ranging (LIDAR) sensor for rendezvous and docking operations between spacecraft. This success has been enabled by a flexible hardware and software design, which allows optimization of LIDAR-based 3D point cloud measurement and subsequent 3D data analysis for various purposes. The retro-reflector tracking function is used for relative navigation during flights to the International Space Station on Cygnus since 2019. More complex algorithms and slightly more complex hardware enables degree-of-freedom (6DOF) pose estimation between two spacecraft. It enabled LIDAR-based relative navigation between uncooperative satellites in the frame of Northrop Grumman’s (NG) Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV) program in 2020 and 2021. As of today the rendezvous sensors on the spacecraft, MEV-1 and MEV-2 have already successfully serviced three clients. As the 6DOF pose estimation capability of the RVS® 3000-X is based on pre-knowledge of a 3D model of the rendezvous or docking partner and as this 3D model can be updated in orbit, it can serve a wide range of missions.
The ongoing development and first intermediate results of the next-generation LiDAR-based rendezvous sensor, the µRVS derived from the well-established and widely adopted heritage RVS® 3000 product family, will be presented. The µRVS shall complement Jena-Optronik’s suite of rendezvous sensors by an option which is smaller, has less weight and is optimized for relative navigation during the last few hundred meters of the rendezvous or docking maneuver. The current design approach, architectural adaptations implemented to achieve the desired compactness and the performance as well as on the route to qualification and flight will be briefly outlined.
A first engineering model has been successfully developed and is currently undergoing testing. Initial test results including functional verification and early performance characterization will be presented and discussed in the context of expected operational use cases.
The presented results demonstrate the successful maturation of the RVS® 3000 product family and extended application possibilities and outline the next evolution steps of the Jena-Optronik rendezvous and docking sensor portfolio.

Speaker: Mr Christoph Schmitt (Jena-Optronik GmbH)

74 Validation Methodologies for AI-Based Vision Systems for Autonomous Navigation in Space

Vision-based navigation (VBN), based on passive optical sensing and AI methods, has become a key enabler for rendezvous, on-orbit servicing, and debris-removal missions. However, its validation continues to be challenged by a persistent domain gap between simulation and real-world operation.
Existing test strategies range from purely synthetic image-based evaluation, through camera- and hardware-in-the-loop approaches such as our Visual Servoing Testbed (VSTB), to robot-based facilities such as ESA’s GRALS, each with distinct trade-offs in realism, controllability, and cost. This talk compares three complementary testing paradigms for AI-based VBN systems relying on passive optical sensors: (1) pure computer simulation using synthetic imagery, for example with platforms such as DLVS3, which enables rapid iteration, broad scenario coverage, and low cost, but only limited representation of real sensor effects and hardware constraints; (2) our VSTB approach, a camera-in-the-loop, enclosure-based facility that recaptures rendered orbital imagery with a physical image sensor and space-relevant processing hardware to enable deterministic closed-loop validation while avoiding robot-induced artifacts; and (3) robot-based testing, where cameras observe physical mock-ups on multi-DOF robotic systems, as in GRALS, providing realistic scene geometry and accurate ground truth at the cost of more complex setups, fixtures, and limited trajectory coverage.
We discuss how these approaches address domain shift, sensor realism, real-time constraints, and hardware-in-the-loop requirements, and propose a layered validation methodology that combines synthetic, VSTB, and robotic testing as complementary steps toward future in-orbit demonstration.

Speaker: Juergen Wassner

11:00 Coffee Break

Eco-Design: LCA in projects - Panel

ISAM: Technologies for Robotics, GNC and Interfaces

75 Passive & lightweight welding-based mechanical interface technology for capture & module-attachment in-orbit servicing operations

In-orbit servicing (IOS) adoption is being hindered by a lack of standardized interfaces and simple capture/attachment mechanisms, transforming all missions into tailored & complex operations. The difficulty of standardizing interfaces in a nascent and highly dynamic market is another major bottleneck holding back its growth. Moreover, reuse of the servicing spacecraft, a critical capability for cost reduction of these operations, is very limited due to (a) immobilization of the asset during the life extension or deorbit service, and (b) high fuel consumption per service due to typically large relocation/displacement of the multi-ton servicer to reach a new target.

The proposed talk by ArcSpace will introduce a welded interface subsystem technology, adapted to standard-interface-less capture and module attachment operations (life extension pod, deorbiting propulsion/sail) onboard a servicing spacecraft onto a target in-orbit client, allowing highly scalable servicing of both prepared/unprepared spacecraft with minimal complexity (fully passive-passive, high-strength, durable interface). The Electron Beam (EB) technology developed by the company will be introduced, which is currently at TRL6 and in preparation for an in-orbit demonstration mission. The lap-weld operation between the servicer-mounted interface plate and a target spacecraft’s exposed metallic surface, performed by ArcSpace and partners in a ground high-vacuum testbed, will be demonstrated via a short video.

The ConOps and technical specifications of weld-interface capture operations will then be described via a tradeoff with other capture technologies (robotic gripper, multi-arm). Following, the in-orbit servicing economics of weld-interface module attachment operations will be developed, for 2 specific use-cases: GEO life extension, and deorbiting of malfunctioning constellation spacecraft (1200km altitude), achieving respectively <20M€ and <6M€ per service even with realistic >50M€ servicing spacecraft MAIT and launch costs. The presentation will conclude with an overview of this new capability in the current context of proliferated mega-constellations and the need to bridge the interface standardization gap to ensure a safe and sustainable use of Earth’s orbit.

Speaker: Guillaume Mohara (ArcSpace)

76 Experimental Validation of a Compliant Electro-Adhesive Gripper for Unprepared Space Capture

Autonomous robotic grasping systems capable of handling a wide variety of objects in space are a key enabler for future In-Orbit Servicing, Assembly and Manufacturing (ISAM) and Active Debris Removal (ADR) missions, where flexible interaction with unprepared or uncooperative targets is often required. However, conventional capture solutions often rely on predefined docking interfaces, high-precision alignment, and controlled approach trajectories, limiting their operational flexibility. To address these limitations, Adaptronics has developed the Space-grade Electro-Active Adhesive Layer (SpacEAAL), a thin-film technology that becomes adhesive on demand through electrostatic forces and provides integrated sensing for proximity and contact detection.
This presentation showcases a compact and lightweight SpacEAAL-based gripper for versatile satellite capture. The system combines electro-adhesion, structural compliance, and integrated sensing to enable robust and non-invasive interaction with a wide range of target objects, including unprepared and uncooperative spacecraft.
The presentation highlights the experimental campaign conducted at ESA ESTEC’s Orbital Robotics Laboratory, showcasing the system’s performance on the ORBIT planar frictionless facility under representative conditions.
The results indicate robust and repeatable behaviour, supporting the potential of SpacEAAL-based systems as a flexible and scalable solution for future ISAM applications.

Speaker: Mr Mazzotti Riccardo

77 Extending Reach, Flexibility, and Mobility of Space Robotic Systems through Standardised Interfaces

Advanced robotic manipulators are the key enabling technology for In-Space Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing (ISAM). The operational potential of any on-orbit servicing architecture depends on the ability to reach, grasp, and manipulate hardware across an entire spacecraft, with the flexibility and mobility to access every module, exchange tools, and relocate components. KINETIK Space and iBOSS GmbH address this challenge with complementary technologies: advanced robotic manipulators and a standardised multi-functional interface that together unlock new levels of reach, autonomy, and reconfigurability in space.
KINETIK Space is a DLR spin-off bringing proven German space robotics heritage to the commercial market. Their modular robotic arms combine patented torque sensor technology with compliant control algorithms, enabling force-sensitive, impedance-controlled manipulation. This is a decisive advantage over conventional position-controlled systems when operating in complex, contact-rich environments. The product portfolio includes configurable arm systems, a dedicated Capture Tool for docking and life-extension operations, and end-to-end autonomous operations capabilities. Ahead of their joint upcoming LEO in-orbit demonstration, the SpaceDREAM mission, key technologies have already been validated in microgravity during DLR parabolic flight campaigns.
The iSSI (Intelligent Space System Interface) by iBOSS is the standardised interface that amplifies the reach and versatility of these robotic systems. Flight-proven at TRL 7 on the ISS, the iSSI integrates mechanical attachment, electrical power, and data communication in a single compact androgynous unit. Designed with robotics in mind, it functions as both end-effector and structural anchor, allowing a manipulator arm to grasp, connect, exchange utility, and release at any iSSI-equipped location. Spacecraft and platforms populated with iSSIs become fully traversable by robotic systems, with the arm locomoting in inchworm fashion from interface to interface across the entire structure.
This combination opens a broad operational envelope. A robotic arm can exchange tools autonomously, relocate and reinstall Orbital Replacement Units (ORUs) with full mechanical, power, and data handover, and traverse an entire vehicle surface without a fixed mounting point. Modular robotic configurations, where arm segments are reconfigured on orbit, are equally supported. The standardised interface removes the need for bespoke mounting hardware, grapple fixtures, or dedicated rails, making any iSSI-equipped spacecraft inherently robot-ready.
KINETIK Space and iBOSS are partners in the ESA RISE mission, a commercial GEO in-orbit servicing demonstration, where their systems operate together within a shared mission architecture. This collaboration illustrates the broader potential: when advanced robotic manipulators and standardised interfaces are developed in concert, the result is a scalable and versatile foundation for the full range of ISAM operations, from single-satellite servicing to large on-orbit platforms and space stations.

Speaker: Maximilian Maier (Kinetik Space)

78 IOS Robotic System under development within the PNRR Italian Mission

The robotic system developed within the Italian IOS PNRR mission constitutes a key enabling capability for the execution of advanced on-orbit servicing operations in Low Earth Orbit. The system is designed to support a wide range of mission scenarios, including target inspection, autonomous rendezvous and proximity operations, capture and berthing, orbit relocation, and in-orbit maintenance tasks such as Orbital Replacement Unit (ORU) handling.

The robotic architecture is centered on a multi-joint manipulator equipped with a versatile end-effector, specifically designed to operate in both cooperative and non-cooperative target conditions. Particular attention is devoted to robustness against uncertainties, including tumbling dynamics, limited knowledge of target interfaces, and constrained operational environments. The system is supported by a suite of dedicated subsystems, including force-torque sensing, vision-based navigation support, and control algorithms enabling compliant interaction and safe contact dynamics.

A key aspect of the development approach is the progressive maturation of the robotic technologies through a structured verification and validation campaign. Intermediate models, including Breadboard (BB) and Engineering Model (EM), are extensively tested to validate critical functionalities such as joint performance, control stability, grasping reliability, and mechanical interfaces. In particular, the EM robotic arm is used to perform confidence testing campaigns aimed at verifying system-level performance in representative conditions, without constituting a full qualification model. This approach allows early identification and mitigation of potential design issues while maintaining program schedule and cost efficiency.

The final Proto-Flight Model (PFM) is instead verified directly at system and platform level, ensuring full representativeness of the flight configuration and reducing integration risks at satellite level. This staged approach significantly mitigates the risk of late non-conformities, particularly in the interaction between the robotic system and other subsystems such as the Robotic Control Unit (RCU), where calibration and hardware tuning may be required.

The robotic system is designed to achieve a high level of autonomy, supporting complex operations such as autonomous approach, target capture, and post-capture stabilization. Advanced guidance, navigation, and control (GNC) techniques are integrated with perception algorithms to enable reliable operations even in degraded or partially unknown scenarios.

This presentation will outline the key elements described above, including the robotic system architecture, the adopted development and validation approach, and the achieved maturity level. In addition, it will present Leonardo’s strategic roadmap for the development of In-Orbit Servicing capabilities in Europe, highlighting the evolution from the IOS PNRR mission towards future operational and commercial scenarios.

Speaker: Giuseppe Pilato (Leonardo SpA)

Zero Debris: Dark and Quiet Skies Workshop

79 Astronomy-Industry collaboration: The Industry and Technology hub of the IAU CPS

For a number of years there have been contacts and representations made by the Astronomy community towards industry in respect of preserving the night sky for science and general appreciation. A nucleus of this effort is the International Astronomical Union Centre for the Protection of the Dark and Quiet Sky (IAU-CPS). The CPS provides observation capability for operators and has been used successfully in that way to support brightness modelling and to validate RF downlink coordination strategies. Furthermore a wide range of resources are available to allow industry to brief themselves. The CPS Industry and Technology Hub allows industry to interact in a non judgemental environment with the Astronomy community and to a limited extent, with each other to share solutions. The CPS offers an 'Astronomer Guide' programme where a single knowledgeable astronomer is paired with an industry player to provide confidential consultancy. There are many other industry-science interactions outside the framework of the IAU-CPS, particularly in connection with licensing, and examples of this will also be discussed.

The CPS is a partnership between the IAU, NOIRLab, the US National Science Foundation institute responsible for US investments in optical and infrared astronomy, the Square Kilometer Array Observatory, the 14 nation radioastronomy intergovernmental organisation (IGO) and the European Southern Observatory, a 16 member state astronomy IGO. All three partners have industry partnerships in relation to their own programmes.

Speaker: Federico Di Vruno (SKA Observatory)

80 Dark and Quiet Skies - Workshop

Zero Debris: Deorbit & passivation devices

81 Development of the Spacecraft With Inflatable Flight Termination (SWIFT) System: From Conceptual Design to Preliminary Design Review (PDR)

The increasing density of space debris in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) poses a significant threat to the sustainability of future space operations. To address this, the SWIFT project, an ESA-funded initiative under the ARTES program led by a SPACEO, aims to develop a cost-effective and scalable de-orbiting solution for end-of-mission satellites. This presentation outlines the technical developments achieved during the project’s initial phases leading up to the successful Preliminary Design Review (PDR).
Key developments include comprehensive de-orbiting and mission analyses, the architectural definition of the inflatable drag device, the selection of high-performance thin-film materials capable of withstanding the harsh LEO environment, design of a specialized deployment mechanism and definition of inflation system. Significant engineering effort was dedicated to system requirement reviews, rigorous thermal and structural calculations and extensive deorbiting simulations. The completion of the PDR milestone marks the freezing of the preliminary design, confirming the feasibility of the SWIFT system’s high-level configuration and its readiness for the detailed design phase. These results demonstrate the critical role of innovative passive de-orbiting technologies in complying with "Zero Debris" policies and reinforcing European leadership in space sustainability.

Speaker: Joao Pedro Loureiro (SPACEO)

82 WaterCube+: A Hybrid Water-Based Propulsion System for Compliant LEO Deorbiting of Small Satellites

The rapid increase of space debris in Earth orbit has become a critical issue, requiring effective mitigation strategies for both current and future spacecraft.
This challenge is particularly pressing in the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) region,
where, as highlighted in the European Space Agency Zero Debris Charter, space-
crafts are required to deorbit within five years at the End of Life (EOL) phase.
This presentation at ESA Clean Space Days 2026 introduces an innovative
propulsion system designed to support compliant and efficient deorbiting: WaterCube DeOrbiting Module (WTCDM). It is a green hybrid propulsion system for CubeSat and small satellite applications, developed by a consortium led by Capsule Corporation, and funded by ESA through the ”Disruptive Propulsion Technologies For Cubeast De-Orbiting” tender. The system is based on the integration of two distinct proprietary technologies: Capsule Corporation’s water-based resistojet propulsion module (RPM) and Politecnico di Milano’s hydrolitic based chemical propulsion module (CPM), which exploits aluminum–water reactions for thrust generation and control. The water comes stored in a low-pressure tank, enhancing safety and cost savings for satellite integrators due to associated benefits in fuel logistics. Each branch conveniently operates with low electrical power request and within a specific thrust range, particularly the RPM up to 4 mN, while the CPM between up to 0.5 N. This enables enhanced flexibility and scalability across different mission requirements of the users, while requiring a low firing time that brings savings associated to mission operations.
This work investigates how the WTCDM fosters the deorbiting capability of
spacecraft and a debris-free LEO region. It is presented an instance use case study that analyses the modification of a SmallSat slow reentry LEO orbit to decrease its decay time. This is obtained by lowering the perigee altitude with the application of tangential WTCDM thrust on the apogee, coupled with an attitude control strategy to ensure the correct thrust direction before firing. The modified orbit becomes compliant with the five-year deorbiting requirement and the orbital decay times are validated using the ESA DRAMA OSCAR tool.
It is also explored how the intrinsic safety and non-toxicity of water as a propellant contribute to effective spacecraft passivation. Advantages in this sense are also brought by WTCDM hybrid architecture in terms of prevention of fragmentation by explosion, featuring two separated modules, redundancy strategies and a planned water ejection mode to ensure no exothermic reaction in the propulsor is started at the EOL.

Speakers: Mr Gianluca Scudier (Capsule Corporation Srl), Mr Lorenzo Barbieri (Capsule Corporation Srl), Mr Mina Baniamein (Capsule Corporation Srl)

83 Quantitative evaluation of end-of-life methods for decommissioning of spacecraft

Since the dawn of humanities space age, more and more spacecraft have occupied the Earth’s orbit: Many decades have passed without appropriate concern to preserve the orbital environment. Therefore, the remains of many spacecraft now pose a critical threat to space flight in the form of space debris. This trend has particular relevance for low Earth orbit and polar inclinations and has led credence to the implementation of a regulatory framework for space traffic management. To prevent further cluttering of orbits, this framework demands a mandatory decommissioning of spacecraft within a certain period after end of mission. Reflecting the exponential growth of the space economy, this requirement has recently been tightened from 25 to 5 years.
Operating in this environment, considerations regarding end-of-life and decommissioning are now already considered during the mission design phase. For LEO this decommissioning usually takes shape as controlled entry into Earth’s atmosphere. In cases where the natural orbit decay is not sufficient to guarantee regulatory compliance, a deceleration burn is often conducted, using maneuvering thrusters to lower the orbit sufficiently. The use of propellant for decommissioning further benefits the mitigation of ground risks by offering the possibility of an selectable entry corridor. However, particularly for spacecraft stationed in Low-Earth Orbit the recent decades saw a rise of passive or semi-automatic deorbiting devices such as drag sails or electrodynamic tethers. Particularly in terms of drag sails, the last decade has seen a sharp increase in TRL levels with many COTS solutions now being readily available.
However, the trade space for EoL solutions is complex, since they impact economic as well as ecologic aspects of system design. To offer a quantitative comparison, a review of the current state-of-the-art for different deorbiting technologies is conducted. To offer an empirical comparison for reference cases and outline each technologies implications on the spacecraft during normal operations, simulations and trades have been conducted and a comprehensive comparison in terms of system mass, cost, complexity and overall operational safety has been derived. Taking into account current trends in the space industry, these findings are associated to orbit regions and spacecraft classes to highlight benefits of each technology and current technology gaps in mission planning.
This study has been conducted within DLR’s TEMIS-DEBRIS project to outline potential applications for orbit transfers from end of mission to an entry corridor and derive any potential implications of EoL concepts on future fully demisable spacecraft in agreement with the clean space initiative.

Speaker: Niklas Wendel (Deuntsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt)

84 Power Bus Isolation Device

Space-Lock is developing a Power Bus Isolation Device, in the frame of an ESA development project.
Before actuation of the device, there is redundancy for reliable transmission of electrical current of up to 250 A.
Upon actuation, the device provides reliable isolation via a physical gap.
The end product will be European, and will be competitive in terms of reliability, cost and lead time.
The development project started Q1/26. TRL 6 is planned to be achieved Q2/27. Follow-on qualification is planned to be completed Q4/27.

Speaker: Florian Guenther (Space-Lock GmbH)

13:00 LUNCH

Eco-Design: Environmental Impacts of Launch and Reentry (Marine and Atmospheric impact)

85 ESA Overview

Speaker: Lorenz Affentranger

86 Outcome of ESA's 2nd Workshop - Atmospheric Impacts of Spacecraft Launch an re-entry

Speaker: Lorenz Affentranger

87 Development of space transportation launch and re-entry emission inventories for 2019-2025 and analysis of the chemical interaction with the atmosphere

The space sector has experienced significant growth in recent years, with rocket launch rates increasing from 102 in 2019 to 329 in 2025. Given the fact that launch and re-entry operations of space transportation systems represent the only source of anthropogenic emissions in the upper atmosphere, this increase is raising concerns about respective ozone and climate effects. In recent years, there has been an increasing number of studies assessing the effects of these emissions using global Earth system models. For accurate assessments of the atmospheric effects, emission inventories that take into account the individual characteristics (trajectory, propellant, engine parameters, materials) of launches and re-entries are required.

This study addresses the general question of how launch and re-entry emissions from space transportation systems can be modeled under contemporary and expected near-future operational conditions, as well as how these emissions are currently incorporated in Earth system models and used in recent studies to assess their environmental impacts.

In the first step, results are presented that were modeled using the “Launch Emissions Assessment Tool” (LEAT) and the “Re-entry Emissions Assessment Tool” (REAT), representing all orbital space transportation missions conducted between 2019 and 2025.
It is shown that the combined LEAT–REAT framework enables the modeling of emission composition, trajectories, and altitude-dependent chemical effects of afterburning for multiple propulsion technologies and vehicle configurations. Launch vehicle trajectories are compared to data from live streams showing a good consistency for orbital launches. Emission data is compared to literature values. In comparison with previous approaches that relied on generic profiles, the new tool set captures individual flight paths, staging and fragmentation events, and vehicle-specific launch and re-entry combustion modeling. Based on this, discrepancies and uncertainties in prior emission inventories are identified. The results are then compared with natural sources, such as meteorites and other anthropogenic sources. The analysis is concluded by an assessment of uncertainties through the implementation of a systematic parameter study.

In a second step, it is investigated how emission species, which are released in different layers of the atmosphere during launch and re-entry, are incorporated in state-of-the-art chemical transport and climate models. In addition, an overview of chemical interactions between emissions and atmospheric species implemented in recent modeling studies is provided. Moreover, a chemical reaction database is presented that covers possible chemical reactions between metallic re-entry species and atmospheric species.

Speakers: Jan-Steffen Fischer (University of Stuttgart, Institute of Space Systems), Mr Jens Neubert (University of Stuttgart, Institute of Space Systems)

88 DLR Inventory of Global Emissions by Launchers 2024

The rapid expansion of the global space sector has led to a sharp increase in rocket launch activity and associated atmospheric emissions. Since 2019, the total mass of propellant burned in orbital launches has nearly quadrupled. Emerging heavy-lift systems and large satellite constellations are expected to further accelerate this trend. This underscores the need for quantitative assessments of rocket emissions and their impacts on atmospheric chemistry, ozone, and climate.

This work introduces the DLR Inventory of Global Emissions by Launcher (IGEL) 2024, a global, four-dimensional dataset of global rocket emissions. In contrast to existing emission inventories, which typically rely on emission indices generalized for propellant combinations or predefined emission distributions, IGEL reconstructs individual launch vehicles, their propulsion systems, and all their launch trajectories to generate a physically consistent emission inventory. This approach enables IGEL to account for the influence of engine cycles and propellant mixture ratios on emission indices, as well as variations in the spatial distribution of emissions associated with different booster recovery strategies and target orbits.

The dataset covers 26 launch vehicles, 37 engines, and 223 launches, representing over 95% of the propellant burned in orbital launches in 2024. IGEL contains a total of 131 Gg of emissions, dominated by CO₂ (53%) and H₂O (35%), alongside a diverse range of minor species including CO, nitrogen oxides, black carbon, and aluminum oxides. Emissions are distributed across all atmospheric layers, with significant fractions injected into the stratosphere and above, where their environmental impact may be amplified. The dataset includes a precompiled global three-dimensional emission inventory in NetCDF format, allowing seamless integration into atmospheric chemistry and climate models.

The DLR Inventory of Global Emissions by Launchers 2024 provides a consistent basis for assessing the growing role of spaceflight emissions in the Earth system. In the coming years, as part of the S3D-BETTER project the inventory will be further improved by adding early plume and intermediate plume models and it will be extended to a longer timeframe. Furthermore, it will be used by the DLR Institute of Atmospheric Physics to estimate the climate and ozone impact of launch emissions. Beyond its role within S3D-BETTER, the inventory will be made publicly available and its use by other projects and institutions is explicitly encouraged.

Speaker: Moritz Herberhold (German Aerospace Center (DLR))

89 A Methodology for Modelling Emissions for Specific Launch Profiles

Rocket launch is a major human activity that deposits pollutants directly into the upper atmosphere. These pollutants can affect different atmospheric layers differently. Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) quantify total emissions output but ignore how the output will have different impacts depending on the environment and the amount deposited in each layer. This proposed methodology simulates the space and time profile emissions from specific launch profiles to educate and influence launch design. The primary impacts of launch, such as black carbon or water output, are shown in a 3D space around and above launch sites. Secondary impacts, how these emissions affect the local and global environment, are also shown. Primary impacts in a two-dimensional space have previously been studied in the field, finding that the majority of propellant mass is consumed in the troposphere and stratosphere, and in 2022, the mesosphere was injected with almost 80% of all Carbon Monoxide (CO) and gaseous reactive nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions from space launches. Secondary impacts are studied through LCA endpoint results covering damage to human health, ecosystems and resource availability. However, endpoint LCA is rarely done in industry due to the complex and time-consuming process. An example of a secondary impact would be the <0.5 pH acidic rain observed up to 22km from the launch site, resulting from Solid Rocket Motors (SRMs). Launches with this fuel were also found to reduce the pH of local water sources, killing large amounts of fish in the surrounding area. Being able to demonstrate possible primary and secondary impacts of launch will help understand how different communities, in addition to local flora and fauna, may be impacted by space activities. These emissions and impacts will then be compared to other emitters, such as the aviation or automotive industry, to illustrate the magnitude of the space industry's impact. The emissions and their impacts are separated into surface, tropospheric, stratospheric, mesospheric, thermophoretic, and exospheric impacts. This separation allows for more accurate atmospheric chemical reaction prediction and improved impact visualisation. For example, radical catalysts such as chlorine (Clx) will cause significant amounts of ozone destruction when emitted into the stratosphere but will have little impact if emitted at a higher altitude. The outputs for this methodology will be simulations of a single launch, an accumulation of a series of launches for a constellation, or simulations of specific time periods. Using historical and future scenario projections, a variety of time periods can be illustrated, including future periods of growth or decline in the space industry. Having near and far future primary and secondary impact projections can help influence decisions made in the space industry today. Decisions such as launch vehicle, fuel choice and launch location can be made with a deeper understanding of the impacts they will have on the local and global environment. The goal of this work is to enable space actors to make educated and informed decisions when designing future missions.

Speaker: Carys Thomas (The University of Manchester)

ISAM: Technologies for Robotics, GNC and Interfaces

90 ISAM Technologies from MDA

As orbital activities continue to expand, sustainable approaches to spacecraft operations are becoming increasingly important. This presentation will showcase how MDA Space is leveraging its world-leading heritage in space robotics, including technologies derived from the Canadarm program, to enable a more circular and sustainable space economy. The presentation will highlight MDA’s recent developments in robotic servicing systems, autonomous rendezvous and proximity operations, and the MDA SKYMAKER™ Robotics line of products, readily applicable to satellite inspection, repair, relocation, assembly, and life-extension missions. Particular emphasis will be placed on how robotic servicing can reduce spacecraft replacement rates, support responsible end-of-life management, and upgrade or extend the operating lives of orbital assets. By extending mission lifetimes and reducing the generation of space debris, these capabilities contribute directly to the objectives of ESA’s Clean Space initiative and help establish the technological foundations for sustainable long-term operations in Earth orbit and beyond

Speaker: Dan King (MDA Space)

91 Adaptive Vision-Based Relative Navigation for Autonomous Rendezvous and Proximity Operations

This work presents an innovative framework for an autonomous Rendezvous and Proximity Operations (RPO) tool, developed as a navigation subsystem within a host satellite’s GNC architecture. Targeted for In-Orbit Servicing (IOS) and Active Debris Removal (ADR) applications, the system enables reliable and precise relative navigation from long-range acquisition to final contact.

The proposed solution achieves high-performance relative position and pose estimation across both far-range and close-range regimes, while maintaining a lightweight, power-efficient, and cost-effective architecture. Unlike conventional sensing systems, which are often bulky, power-intensive and limited in operational range, the proposed framework relies on a compact suite combining onboard processing with different optical sensors.

Specifically, the system integrates visible (VIS) and thermal infrared (TIR) cameras. Visible sensors enable accurate feature recognition of the target spacecraft under favorable illumination conditions, while thermal infrared sensors ensure robust operation during eclipse phases or low-light scenarios. A key operational constraint is the exclusion of direct sunrays intrusion within the cameras’ field of view.

The acquired imagery feeds into adaptive computer vision and machine learning algorithms for target detection and pose estimation. At long distances, where the target appears as a small cluster of bright pixels, the system performs detection, identification and tracking, providing azimuth, elevation and approximate range estimates. As the relative distance decreases and the apparent size of the target increases, more advanced models are activated to extract geometric features and estimate relative pose in the 6 Degrees of Freedom (DoF).

These measurements are progressively refined from coarse to fine accuracy and fused within an Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) combining multiple estimation model outputs into consistent estimate of relative position, orientation, velocity, and angular rates, along with associated covariance information.

A key strength of the framework lies in its autonomous management of operational modes, structured into three sequential phases: Direction and Coarse Range (DCR) for initial acquisition, Position and Coarse Orientation (PCO) for intermediate refinement, and Position and Fine Orientation (PFO) for high-precision close-range operations. These modes ensure smooth and robust transitions throughout the approach trajectory without requiring continuous ground intervention.

The system is designed to support a variety of mission profiles, including the classical approach via waypoint-based “hopping” maneuvers, mid-range inspection through fly-around trajectories for target characterization, and final non-impulsive, safe approach along a validated corridor. This enables both operational safety and high-quality data acquisition for client spacecraft assessment.

A representative mission scenario and Concept of Operations (CONOPS) are presented to illustrate system performance in a realistic servicing context.

Finally, the subsystem is inherently reusable and adaptable. Its algorithms can be trained and configured on the ground using synthetic datasets and target models, allowing applications across different spacecraft, debris objects, and orbital regimes. Beyond IOS and ADR, the framework is also applicable to Space Situational Awareness (SSA), particularly for long-range detection and tracking.

Speakers: Alessandro Peluso (Infinite Orbits), Sébastien Lebègue

92 Lúnasa/ESA Deep Neural Network project

Speaker: Alia Ardron (Lunasa)

93 Workshop Introductory Presentation

Speaker: Irene Huertas Garcia (ESA)

Zero Debris: Design for Removal

94 State-of-the-Art in Active Debris Removal Solutions and the Importance of Standard Interfaces

The growing utilisation of Earth’s orbit for services like Satellite Communications and Earth Observation has led to a rapid increase of the number of satellites launched each year. As a result, the population of active satellites in orbit has grown swiftly in the past years, which increases their collision risk. Furthermore, around three quarters of all tracked objects in space today are inactive and cannot control their orbit, posing a severe threat to the long-term sustainability of in-space activities. To prevent a further increase in the number of uncontrolled space objects, satellite operators must plan for the safe removal of their assets at end-of-life. Developing a reliable standard for Active Debris Removal (ADR) is therefore fundamental if we are to ensure we can sustainably continue to operate in orbit. This standard could also boost technological innovation, particularly within the context of in-orbit servicing and operations.
Under the direction of ESA, Novaspace, GMV, Sener, The Exploration Company, AVS and Astroscale are currently in the process of developing a Standard Deorbiting Interface for LEO Satcom (SDILEO), with the purpose of streamlining deorbiting operations and facilitating ADR. In order to do so, a state-of-the-art assessment of current and emerging active removal interface solutions was carried out, as well as an analysis of preliminary requirements to develop a standard interface design for the ADR of LEO Satcom satellites.
The analysis performed highlighted two main categories of ADR interfaces, for prepared and unprepared targets. Based on a comprehensive database of satellite removal solutions, relevant interfacing types were identified and defined, as well as detumbling methodologies, navigation aids, orbit & attitude reconstruction methodologies. The mapping of capture interfaces also showed a stronger focus amongst existing stakeholders towards unprepared interfacing types. Nonetheless, the simpler development and operational requirements of the prepared interface types (i.e., grappling and magnetic), results in a significant traction for these kinds of design as well especially in the mid- to longer-term.

Speakers: Mr Federico Trovarelli (Novaspace), Vincenzo Schiavo (Novaspace)

95 Navigation Markers Development

The markers supporting navigation (MSN) activity at ADMATIS are now grouped into three different marker grades design and development. Our highest-grade marker is an improved version of the current first generation 2D marker using a special phosphorescent coating to support rendezvous and navigation in various illumination conditions, including eclipse. The normal (mid-)grade markers have improved navigation performance compared to the first-generation markers. The lowest grade are the constellation markers with lower cost and limited durability. Our aim is to reach TRL6 for all grades in 2027, with performing qualification tests for the Copernicus environment.
This product family also includes the far - and close-range navigation markers that Admatis intends to be the standardized interface for various missions (in orbit servicing, refuelling, deorbiting, lifetime extension, etc.).
Admatis is ready to cooperate with anyone who is thinking of using any kind of the above markers.

Speaker: Mr László Szegedi

96 The detumbler at Airbus DS : present and future products

The detumbler adventure started more than 5 years ago at Airbus DS, through the ingenious ideas of our senior dynamic / AOCS expert Kristen Lagadec. This small, passive, low mass and affordable equipment is aimed at detumbling and / or prevent a dead spacecraft from spinning, thanks to the Earth magnetic field in Low Earth orbits, creating Eddy currents between a rotor equipped with two magnets freely rotating inside a conductive stator attached to the spacecraft structure. We strongly believe that this equipment will become a game changer for facilitating future Active Debris Removal (ADR) missions for targets failing to comply with debris mitigation rules, due to failures or other reasons. Indeed, the number one factor of cost, complexity and risk of an ADR mission is the tumbling motion of the target, which prevents to envisage an easy and robust capture, whatever the concept.

This presentation will describe the current status of several products linked to the detumbler concept, currently in different development phases at Airbus DS :

• The detumbler-M (for Medium) product qualification campaign is in
  progress (with the support of CNES) and first Flight models
  production is foreseen in 2026, as well as a potential in-orbit
  demonstration

• The detumbler-L (for Large) is being prototyped and will be tested up
  to TRL4/5, in the frame of the ESA study “EOL PASSIVE DETUMBLING
  SERVICE FOR REMOVAL OF NOT OPERATIVE SATELLITES IN LEO/MEO/GEO
  ORBITS - EXPRO PLUS”. This detumbler will enlarge the
  applicability domain of the detumbler-M towards more massive
  spacecraft and higher orbit altitudes

• Finally, a system concept named IDEFIXS, for In-orbit DEtumbler
  FIXing System, which will enable to fix a detumbler on a derelict
  spacecraft already in orbit and tumbling, is been matured through
  internal R&D funding. This innovative concept might well be another
  game changer for facilitating ADR missions of large debris already in
  orbit, for example the ones in the top 50 list that are considered
  the most dangerous for debris proliferation in case of collision,
  knowing that removing all of them would allow to decrease the
  probability of the Kessler syndrome occurrence by ~60%....

Speaker: Pascal Regnier (Airbus Defence & Space)

97 ADM Relative Navigation Test Facility Development

Objective of the activity is to develop and implement test facility for GNC-and IOS-related purposes, which would be utilized in technology development and testing for active debris removal, in-orbit servicing and refilling, with the main focus on the thermal effects, utilizing the adjustable temperature of the facility.
The facility would be used for testing rendezvous, proximity operations, and capture system designs and control algorithms. These includes kinematics and dynamics of six degree-of-freedom (6DOF) relative motion of multiple space objects, lighting conditions on orbit and characteristics of real time space communication links.
Target clients -besides Admatis’ own developments –are startups, SMEs and institutes that don't have their own facilities.
Conceptual design includes a Close-Proximity Operations Facility, a Thermal Vacuum Facility, a Rendezvous Facility and a Laser Ranging Facility at ADM’s site. Interior will be remodelled to provide a clean, ESD-safe working environment to ADM employees and customer representatives. Site will be equipped with a PV system to reduce greenhouse gas emission.
Multi-phase development approach is planned to aim to reach full functionality of the Close-Proximity Operations (CPO) & Thermal Vacuum (TVAC) facilities within 2 years.

Speaker: Mr László Szegedi

15:30 Coffee Break

Eco-Design: Simplified LCA

98 FLPP FIRST! Sustainability

FLPP FIRST! Sustainability

Speaker: Margaux Duperray (ESA)

99 Ecodesign in early phases of space transportation systems

Implementing an eco-design approach in the early design phases of space transportation systems poses various challenges, both technical and organizational. At CNES, a pilot study has been conducted in order to test the eco-design methodology and to analyze the difficulties and gaps that need to be addressed to successfully deploy eco-design in early phases. The pilot study - including a simplified Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) - will be presented, as well as some feedbacks leading to different recommendations. The undergoing actions to address the difficulties and gaps identified will also be presented, and a link will be made with the current eco-design and LCA standards and guidelines in the space sector.

Speaker: Anne-Laure Capomaccio

100 Environmental benefits of fibre-reinforced thermoplastic polymer composites in space applications: Insights from Life Cycle Assessment

This work presents a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach for the environmental evaluation of next-generation launch vehicle components based on fibre-reinforced thermoplastic polymer (FRTP) composites. The tool is being implemented and tested within DISAPPEAR, an R&D project funded by ESA and involving Lofith, MT Aerospace, IAA-CSIC, and Arribes, which aims to develop lightweight FRTP composite solutions to replace metallic materials —such as aluminium and steel alloys— in space applications.
To support early-stage engineering decisions, a simplified, decision-oriented LCA tool has been developed. This streamlined framework, aligned with ESA LCA Handbook provisions, focuses on key impact drivers and enables rapid comparison between alternative materials and design configurations. It is conceived as a practical tool to integrate environmental considerations into the design process from the earliest phases, where iterative evaluation and fast feedback are critical.
From a “cradle-to-gate” perspective, FRTP composites offer clear manufacturing advantages. Their high strength-to-weight ratio enables lower material input, while advanced processes such as automated tape placement enhance material efficiency compared to subtractive machining of metallic components. In contrast to metals, which often involve high buy-to-flight ratios, these composite manufacturing techniques allow near-net-shape production, minimizing scrap and associated environmental burdens. Additionally, thermoplastic matrices offer shorter processing cycles and potential for recycling.
Beyond manufacturing, the LCA is extended to address more complex environmental impacts associated with operational use and reentry. Lightweight FRTP components reduce propellant demand during launch, leading to lower upstream impacts from fuel and oxidizer production and transport, as well as decreased direct emissions during combustion. Reentry effects, a relatively underexplored aspect of space systems within LCA, are also considered. Aluminium-based components generate aluminium oxides during ablation, which may contribute to catalytic ozone depletion in the upper atmosphere. In contrast, the decomposition pathways and atmospheric effects of FRTP materials remain largely uncertain. This work includes an initial comparative assessment of these atmospheric effects, contributing to a more comprehensive evaluation of launcher sustainability.
Overall, this work demonstrates how simplified LCA tools can guide eco-design in early engineering stages, while targeted, detailed evaluations of operational and reentry emissions ensure that complex environmental impacts are also considered, supporting the development of greener space technologies.

Speakers: Noelia Sánchez (Arribes Enlightenment), Luis Martín (Arribes Enlightenment)

101 A Scalable Simplified LCA Methodology for Projecting Future Impacts of the Space Industry

This presentation introduces a methodology for scalable and simplified Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) aiming to enable dynamic future projections of environmental impacts of the space industry. LCA for the space industry has seen significant development in the last decade, with the release of space-specific databases and guidelines to address the sector’s specificities. Following the ISO-standardised approach, LCA has been applied across a range of missions for the purposes of both environmental reporting of hotspots, and early mission ecodesign to reduce impacts. However, although datasets for unique materials and processes for space have alleviated some barriers, there remains a disparity across the global industry between the quality of LCA in research and in practice. Confidentiality requirements limit both data availability and transparent reporting, hindering knowledge sharing to upskill LCA practitioners widely. Where LCA is implemented, it is still at risk of becoming a short-term compliance exercise if it is not applied across the whole industry and for future scenarios. An LCA of the University of Manchester CubeSat SOAR has been conducted using the Strathclyde Space Systems Database, highlighting fundamental gaps in LCA data and methodology. The results identified ozone depletion from the launch event as a key impact. Additionally, ground-based operations including office work contributed an average of 35% of total impact across terrestrial impact categories. However, unknown database assumptions of electricity usage and the launch campaign hindered the reliability of results. Collating the extensive data, which had been well recorded, but not for LCA purposes, was complicated and time consuming. The limitations of the SOAR assessment are now informing the development of a simplified LCA tool, based on empirical knowledge of barriers in space LCA. The method aims to bypass extensive data requirements using spacecraft and launcher average mass and power distributions, producing scalable impact results from an ‘impact per kg’ baseline. The SOAR LCA results will also be used alongside literature to validate CubeSat impact scalability. Transparency of assumptions minimises user uncertainty, and temporal components are included in functional units to account for reusability in launchers. The generality of this approach means it can be extended to estimate the impacts of future scenarios of the space industry. The scope is cradle-to-grave across ground, space and mission segments, providing results for a variety of traditional and space specific LCA impact categories. This approach would provide opportunities for high-level estimates of impacts where precise data is unavailable, or rapid hotspot identification where it is. This could be used for ecodesign through quick investigation of alternatives with a systems thinking approach, making ecodesign available to those without dedicated software. Furthermore, it presents an opportunity for governance by providing quantitative forward-looking estimates of whole industry impacts to inform policy decisions. For example, risk factors can be identified in sensitivity analysis that will drive environmental impact if activities increase at a given rate. The tool’s scope and application for future projections fill a significant gap in environmental impact assessment for space and can improve access to space sustainability across the industry.

Speaker: Mairi Johnston (University of Manchester)

102 Simplified or simplistic LCA?

LCA's application in the European space sector has led us to identify numerous conceptual gaps and ambiguities, many of which we argue have slipped under the radar until now. When attempting multi-disciplinary space product eco-design, we have noticed concept labels in LCA overlap with those in systems engineering and space project management, which has led practitioners to naively amalgamate their signification. Are such conceptual shortcuts reflective of reality, and do they threaten the quality of good faith LCA-based decision-making?

In this presentation, we review a sample of what we have identified as potentially fundamental conceptual misconceptions when applying LCA for the space sector: for instance, confusions between LCA product systems and space (product) systems, or between systems engineering life cycles and LCA product life cycles. We highlight such conceptual misconceptions lead to ill-founded conclusions. Finally, we propose avenues for bridging these gaps, explicitly identifying distinct disciplinary concepts and enable "semantic interoperability" with knowledge models.

Speaker: Augustin Gallois (CNES - ISAE-SUPAERO)

ISAM: Workshop - GNC and Robotics Technology Needs for ISAM

103 Workshop - GNC and Robotics Technology Needs for ISAM

A roundtable workshop discussing technology needs in the fields of robotics and GNC that are applicable to current and upcoming USAM missions. The focus will eb on identifying high-priority technology gaps that are blocking development of new missions.

Zero Debris: Design for Robustness to Hypervelocity Impact

104 Outcomes of the Hypervelocity Impact-Robust Spacecraft CDF Study

Outcomes of the Hypervelocity Impact-Robust Spacecraft CDF Study.

Speaker: Daniele Bella (IMS Space Consultancy GmbH)

105 Advanced Spacecraft Shielding Against Hypervelocity Impact

Join us to explore how materials advancements and purposeful mission design are enabling a new class of satellites platforms.

The disruptive mission architectures of the future will be more efficient through responsible environmental choices. They will be more responsive and resilient to an ever changing space landscape too, with interoperability and forward-compatibility included at their core.

Satellite mega-structures and mega-constellations are a rapidly approaching reality; there’s geopolitical flag-planting in the highest value orbital slots; non-trackable orbital debris is growing as part of business-as-usual in the space sector; and the risk profiles for assets in orbit have never been higher.

Meteoroid and Debris Protection Systems (MDPS) are key mitigation options both for risk-of-damage, and for real-damage-sustained.
Shielding against micro-meteoroids and orbital debris (MMOD) not only reduces the immediate danger of penetration from non-tracked threats, but has a key role to play too in curbing the future MMOD-population growth by reducing ejecta from the now-survivable collisions.

Despite the opportunities such as increased insurability; extended lifespan/greater ROI; new or more advanced mission concepts such as RPO and ISAM; and assured operation in a degraded or contested space-domain; many challenges remain which limit the wide-scale uptake of enhanced protective measures.

Traditional shielding solutions are either limited to protecting against debris smaller than 1 millimeter, or are dedicated single-role, bulky Whipple shields such as are aboard the International Space Station. In this presentation you will explore the existing methods and systems of resilience, and examine promising future avenues around toward a credible in-orbit presence.

To unlock the next phase of value in orbit - leveraging falling launch-costs and mitigating against the risks of an ever-more accessible high frontier - we will have to apply new solutions to old problems: asset overcrowding, pollutive externalities, resource-overuse and so on.
In terms of robust spacecraft design, this means finding elegant ways to integrate zero-debris shielding into smaller platforms where mass & volume still come at a relative premium. It means ensuring that protection doesn’t come at the expense of performance by incorporating instead multi-functional designs (ie: data-generative armoured structural panels with integrated thermal control systems). It means looking ahead to the future of the space industry to proactively identify challenges, now surmountable before they arise.

Speaker: James Snape (Aphelion Industries)

106 3D-Woven Composite Materials for Hypervelocity Impact Resistance

Safran has developed an innovative 3D-woven composite technology capable of producing impact-resistant structural materials with tailored through-thickness reinforcement. This technology, which has already proven its reliability in aeronautical applications, offers distinct advantages in preventing delamination—a major failure mode in classical laminated composites—while ensuring robust performance under extreme dynamic loads.

To assess the performance of our 3D-woven composites against hypervelocity impacts, a dedicated experimental campaign was conducted using an 8-mm diameter aluminum sphere as projectile on both traditional aluminum shields and multilayer shield configurations incorporating the 3D-woven composite. Four impact tests were performed at velocities ranging from 1.4 to 4.2 km/s, systematically comparing the behavior of aluminum (Al/Al/Al) with that of composite-based shields (composite/composite/Al). Post-impact analysis confirmed that our 3D-woven composites did not exhibit any delamination, thereby enabling resistance to multiple impacts. This exceptional damage tolerance is a direct consequence of the three-dimensional fiber architecture, which controls crack propagation and maintains structural integrity where conventional laminates would fail catastrophically.

However, our current carbon fiber/epoxy composite variant, though structurally superior in terms of damage containment, did not outperform Aluminum T6 in terms of ballistic limit as a bumper. This finding points toward material optimization avenues, in particular the exploration of hybrid 3D-woven architectures incorporating Nextel, aramid, and ceramic fibers, potentially coupled with thin metallic foils, to further enhance impact resistance without sacrificing the no-delamination advantage.

This presentation will detail our experimental results—including failure modes, ejecta geometry, and comparison to theoretical ballistic limit equations. We will also discuss ongoing and future work aimed at developing next-generation composite shields for space debris protection. Our approach and findings underscore the potential of 3D-woven composite materials to contribute to safer, more reliable spacecraft, aligned with the objectives of the Clean Space initiative.

Speaker: Rudolph Bierent (Safran Electronics and Defense)

107 Impact-Safe Tank Pressure Level

Deorbiting & Passivation Technologies

Impact-Safe Tank Pressure Level

Fragmentation remains the dominant contributor to the space debris environment, with explosions of pressurized vessels and propellant tanks playing a particular role as the main cause for catastrophic breakup events. Passivation of satellite tanks and upper stages after mission completion is recognized as the most effective mitigation strategy to prevent on-orbit fragmentations. Passivation requires depleting or venting onboard stored-energy sources to levels that cannot cause explosion or deflagration leading to system breakup and debris release. However, no universal threshold exists; critical values are defined by mission-specific analyses and are often underpinned by limited empirical data.

We present the ESA study “Impact-Safe Tank Pressure Level,” which aims to build an engineering database to assess critical pressure thresholds that could trigger tank explosions from hypervelocity impacts by space debris. The database targets unshielded, large titanium tanks subjected to spherical debris impacts. While this exhaustive in terms of potential failure conditions on orbit, the study advances the understanding of failure initiation and demonstrates a robust evaluation approach based on both numerical and experimental simulations. Given the high cost of spacecraft tanks and hypervelocity impact testing, the study relies largely on numerical simulations, validated by impact tests on pressurized, sub-scale tank samples.

The reference tank design Features 600 mm Diameter titanium tank with 1 mm wall thickness, a configuration that challenges the numerical stability of full-scale simulations when using commercial hydrocode solver. The tank failure process depends on complex interactions between high strain-rate loading by the impactor in the tank wall, shock waves induced by the impact generated fragments within the fluid contained in it, and their interactions with the inner tank wall after passaging through it. To address these challenges, we developed a novel coupling approach that integrates two Fraunhofer EMI in-house codes—a structural-dynamic module and a fluid-dynamic module—to model solid–fluid interactions and evaluate critical failure conditions.

A simplified model was derived to quantify the explosion initiation pressure as a function of impact parameters (impactor size and velocity) for the investigated failure scenario. This study's final presentation introduces the challenges for impact experiments and numerical simulations, details the study approach and its implementation, presents the study results, and delivers the derived failure model.

Speaker: Dr Martin Schimmerohn (Fraunhofer EMI)

General: Student Poster

108 A cryopump-based propellant collection system for an Air-Breathing Electric Propulsion (ABEP) satellite in Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO)

Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO), orbits below 450 km, offers significant advantages for high-resolution Earth observation and low-latency telecommunications. Still, atmospheric drag poses major challenges for long-term sustainability and debris mitigation. In clean space initiatives, achieving sustainable, ecological satellite operations is a primary objective. Air-Breathing Electric Propulsion (ABEP) is a key enabling technology for extended operations; however, conventional ABEP systems remain limited by the direct coupling between thruster performance and stochastic atmospheric density. Because most ABEP concepts utilise atmospheric gases immediately, they are limited to simple drag compensation, leaving them vulnerable to density fluctuations and limiting their ability to execute critical collision-avoidance manoeuvres.
To address this limitation, this research evaluates a propellant collection and storage architecture that decouples gas harvesting from thruster operation. Building on foundational storage concepts, the architecture utilises a cryopump engineered to capture the multispecies atmospheric constituents via a multi-stage thermodynamic batch cycle. The cryopump actively captures rarefied gases during cooling and subsequently serves as a high-pressure regeneration vessel during heating, transferring dense propellant into a central storage tank.
This on-demand propellant supply ensures fuel for agile, high-thrust manoeuvres and mission continuity during atmospheric deficits that would otherwise cause failure in traditional ABEP systems. This research will detail a numerical framework developed in MATLAB that employs the NRLMSIS 2.1 atmospheric model, incorporating altitude-dependent densities and variable drag coefficients to evaluate the system's operational envelope. By simulating these parameters across varying solar activity levels, the system's operational envelope, minimum survival altitudes, peak daily propellant yields, and necessary refill timelines are defined.
The results validate that an ABEP system can collect more propellant than is needed for direct drag compensation. By storing this excess, the architecture breaks the limitations of immediate use harvesting and introduces sustainable, propellant-less operations. Specifically, it would enable novel mission architectures in which satellites in higher orbits can periodically lower their perigee to VLEO to refuel from the atmosphere before returning to their operational altitude. This technology not only enhances spacecraft robustness for collision avoidance and zero-debris compliance but also establishes a foundation for ecological in-space operations independent of Earth-launched propellants.

Speaker: Esme Griffiths-Nowicki

109 A Feasibility Study on Active Debris Removal by Insertion into Natural De-orbiting Corridors

The exponential growth of orbital debris in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) has reached a critical threshold, demanding more efficient Active Debris Removal (ADR) strategies than ever foreseen before. This paper introduces a very novel ADR concept that leverages the dynamical properties of natural de-orbiting corridors: resonant orbital regions where the coupled effects of Solar Radiation Pressure (SRP), Earth’s oblateness, and lunisolar perturbations, can naturally amplify eccentricity, and thus drastically accelerate atmospheric re-entry. It must be underlined that unlike the majority of resonance-based disposal studies, this work incorporates an additional, often overlooked resonance driven by lunisolar forces, shown to play a role as decisive as the other better known de-orbiting corridors.

Instead of performing costly classical perigee-lowering maneuvers, the proposed method aims at inserting debris (and not satellites for post mission removal like previous studies on natural resonances) into these resonant corridors via a carefully optimized impulsive ∆V . Then follows the deployment of an Area-Enhancing Device (AED), such as a drag or solar sail, to magnify the perturbative effects. In contrast to previous studies, which frequently model perigee-lowering as a direct ballistic re-entry, this work provides this time a fair and realistic comparison by optimizing both strategies under equal AED-assisted conditions. Besides, the proposed ADR framework would follow a multi-target approach in order to maximize operational efficiency.

A major contribution of this research is the development of a dedicated computational tool capable of determining, for any object in LEO, the optimal ∆V and corresponding maneuver strategy required to meet the 25-year post-maneuver lifetime criterion through AED assistance. For the first time, the “tips” of each resonance/corridor are precisely characterized across the full range of intitial eccentricities—identifying the exact boundary above which debris inserted into a corridor will fail to meet the 25-year requirement. This new capability directly increases the fidelity of ∆V budgeting and reveals relevant resonance exploitation possibilities that earlier studies could not capture.

Candidate debris are selected from the Space-Track catalog based on AED-compatibility and potential compliance with disposal regulations. Their long-term evolution is propagated using a high-fidelity semi-analytical model (Orekit DSST) ensuring accuracy. While perigee lowering remains the most cost-effective solution in many cases, this study shows that for a non-negligible subset of debris, insertion into natural de-orbiting corridors can provide lower ∆V with significantly reduced re-entry times.

Finally this study establishes a new class of hybrid ADR strategies that merge orbital mechanics, perturbation exploitation, and multi-target optimization—paving the way for scalable, cost-effective debris remediation campaigns in LEO.

Speaker: Alexandre Marchon

110 A High-Level LCA Framework for Early Space Systems Engineering

Life-cycle assessment (LCA) provides a strong basis for quantifying the environmental impact of space systems, but its application in early design remains difficult because major parameters are still uncertain, including suppliers, production sites, detailed material inventories, and process-level emissions. This work proposes a \textbf{high-level LCA framework for early space systems engineering} that is adapted to conceptual design and concurrent engineering, where rapid trade-offs must be carried out with incomplete information.

The framework is developed within a broader sustainability-by-design approach in which sustainable space systems are evaluated through four main dimensions: environmental impact, operability, safety, and resilience. Within this structure, the role of high-level LCA is to provide an early estimate of environmental impact that is sufficiently robust to support engineering decisions, while remaining simple enough to be used during preliminary design phases.

A central result of the work is that a traditional bottom-up LCA is not well suited to early design in the space sector, mainly because the required databases are incomplete and the uncertainty on industrial implementation is too large. Instead, the proposed approach identifies \textbf{production energy consumption} as a more reliable early-phase indicator than direct carbon-footprint estimation. For mature technologies, manufacturing processes tend to be comparatively stable, whereas the resulting emissions depend strongly on the local energy mix. This motivates the use of technology-level energy demand indicators, expressed in kWh, as a practical proxy for environmental assessment before detailed supply-chain information is available.

The framework is intended as a decision-support method rather than a final environmental certification tool. It enables first-order comparison of mission concepts, subsystem choices, and architecture alternatives, and is designed to become more precise as system maturity increases. Its application in the concurrent engineering course at EPFL shows how such a method can be integrated into real design sessions to inform trade-offs and introduce environmental criteria alongside more traditional performance and cost considerations.

The main contribution of this work is therefore to bridge the gap between sustainability research and practical early-phase space design by proposing a simplified, usable, and engineering-oriented LCA framework. It also highlights an important research need: the development of accessible databases for the production energy demand of space technologies, which would significantly improve the quality and adoption of early-stage environmental assessment methods.

Speaker: Martin Lemaire (EPFL)

111 Constellation-Level Effects of Low-Thrust Manoeuvres in LEO Mega-Constellations

The rapid proliferation of mega-constellations in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) has significantly increased the frequency of conjunction events, necessitating robust collision avoidance strategies. Adherence to ESA’s Space Debris Mitigation Guidelines and the Clean Space initiative requires a transition from reactive manoeuvres to proactive ones. The study quantifies the impact of the Collision Avoidance Manoeuvres (CAM) on constellation performance. While existing literature primarily evaluates collision risk reduction, the transient operational effects of CAMs on constellation services remain largely unexplored. The study addresses the gap by analysing how manoeuvres affect Inter-Satellite Link (ISL) stability and terrestrial coverage continuity.
The study combines orbital uncertainty propagation with the design of a Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) subsystem tailored for constellations equipped with low-thrust propulsion. Unlike impulsive manoeuvres, low-thrust manoeuvres extend the decision-making horizon, requiring accurate modelling of the temporal evolution of orbital uncertainty to determine optimal manoeuvre initiation. A Walker-Delta constellation is simulated to represent modern architectures, such as those deployed by SpaceX’s Starlink and OneWeb’s satellite constellation. Conjunction scenarios are designed using MASTER (Meteoroid and Space Debris Terrestrial Environment Reference) tool from European Space Agency to ensure realistic space environment conditions.
The framework enables constellation operators to balance safety and service continuity, contributing to the sustainable operation and extended lifespan of constellation infrastructures.

Speaker: Adriana Medina Vega

112 Design and Engineering of a Sustainable Nanosatellite

The growing deployment of nanosatellites is intensifying the need for more sustainable design strategies in the space sector, particularly regarding material selection for structural and thermal protection functions. This work investigates the potential of a cork-based material as eco-friendly alternative for use in CubeSat platforms, within the broader context of sustainable satellite engineering and clean space design.

Cork agglomerates offer an attractive combination of low density, renewable origin, low thermal conductivity, vibration-damping capacity, and reduced environmental footprint when compared with conventional petroleum-derived core and insulation materials. However, their adoption in space systems requires a robust understanding of their thermomechanical performance under relevant operational and launch conditions. This thesis focuses on the characterization and engineering assessment of cork composite P50, for possible integration into sustainable nanosatellite structures.

The material is currently being experimentally characterized to support its constitutive definition for finite element modelling. Mechanical and thermal tests are being conducted to obtain the key properties required for accurate representation in FEM.

Based on this characterization, both structural and thermal numerical analyses will be performed, focusing on the critical load cases relevant for CubeSat applications. These analyses aim to validate the material behaviour under representative operational and launch conditions.

In parallel, the satellite is being actively designed and engineered with the objective of real-world implementation, ensuring that the developed solutions are not purely conceptual but aligned with practical mission requirements.

Additionally, a proto-flight level experimental validation campaign will be developed and implemented to assess the accuracy and reliability of the numerical model. into aerospace design frameworks.

Speaker: Vasco Carreira

113 Enhancing LEO Collision Risk Management through Machine Learning Calibration of Thermospheric Density Models

Accurate knowledge of the Earth's thermosphere is vital for a range of space operations, including space traffic management, collision avoidance, re-entry predictions, and orbital lifetime analysis. As Low Earth Orbit (LEO) becomes increasingly congested, precise orbit determination and highly accurate conjunction assessments are of critical importance.

The primary source of uncertainty in LEO trajectory propagation stems from limitations in existing empirical thermospheric density models, such as JB2006, JB2008, and NRLMSISE-00. Because aerodynamic drag is directly proportional to atmospheric density ($\rho$) and a satellite's drag coefficient (often assumed static at $C_d \approx 2.2$), density estimation errors cascade directly into positional uncertainties. While empirical models perform adequately during quiescent periods, extreme space weather phenomena introduce high levels of uncertainty, as these static models struggle to capture highly non-linear temporal atmospheric dependencies.

To address this, this talk presents a systematic evaluation of existing empirical baselines alongside a novel machine learning-based calibration framework designed to mitigate these systematic modelling errors. We propose a Recurrent Time Delay Neural Network (RTDNN) architecture that combines predicted densities with high fidelity measurements obtained from existing satellite instrumentation (CHAMP, GRACE, and Swarm). By explicitly passing time shifted solar and geomagnetic indices as input features, this autoregressive approach successfully captures the thermosphere's thermal inertia and delayed response to solar forcing.

The error reductions presented in this talk span diverse solar regimes, including deep minimums, moderate fluctuations, and extreme geomagnetic storms. Results demonstrate a drastic reduction in Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) compared to standalone empirical models. Notably, during the deep solar minimum of 2009, the calibrator reduced the NRLMSISE-00 error from 65.3% to 0.86%, and during the extreme G5 solar storms of May 2024, it corrected the JB2006 model to achieve an error rate of just 0.21%.

By significantly reducing density estimation errors without sacrificing computational efficiency, this ML calibrated framework prevents the artificial inflation of orbital drag forces. Implementing this architecture into operational flight dynamics systems will yield more accurate Collision Data Messages (CDMs), reduce false alarm avoidance manoeuvres, and directly support ESA's Zero Debris objectives. Finally, this talk will outline our ongoing research roadmap, which explores the application of Liquid Neural Networks (LNNs) to further enhance the framework's real time adaptability to continuous, non stationary space weather dynamics.

Speaker: Giuseppe Joulianou (University Of Kent)

114 Integrating Autonomous Active Deorbiting Systems to Microsatellites in LEO

To comply with recent space debris mitigation requirements, the post-mission orbital lifetime of satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) must not exceed five years. This study evaluates propulsion technologies as end-of-life disposal options for four representative microsatellites, ranging from 6U to 24U CubeSats and a PROBA-1 class platform, operating across different altitudes.

A framework is developed to incorporate an active de-orbit system into the spacecraft design, in which performance is assessed against key operational constraints, such as strict mass and power budgets. For chemical propulsion, the analysis focuses on prescribed $\Delta v$ and corresponding propellant mass fraction. For electric propulsion, performance is evaluated through the relationship between thrust, burn time, and available power, allowing for thruster operating regimes that meet mission requirements.

The feasibility of propulsion system integration is evaluated by mapping performance to operational limits, including required $\Delta v$, minimum thrust, and mass–power trade-offs under different de-orbit scenarios. In addition, for electric propulsion, a modular architecture based on multiple thruster units is explored to scale total thrust and reduce burn duration while satisfying mission design constraints.

Orbital propagation simulations were performed using the OSCAR (Orbital Spacecraft Active Removal) tool within ESA’s DRAMA (Debris Risk Assessment and Mitigation Analysis) software suite.

Speaker: Angelica Crone (KU Leuven)

115 Minimum Data Requirements for Reliable Orbit Determination and Collision Avoidance under the Zero Debris Ambition

The Zero Debris ambition calls for more reliable, transparent, and coordinated space operations, yet current debris risk management practices remain constrained by limited data availability and inconsistent information sharing among operators. Reducing unnecessary collision avoidance maneuvers and improving the accuracy of conjunction assessments require access to specific technical parameters describing resident space objects (RSOs). However, national security sensitivities and commercial constraints often restrict the exchange of such information, resulting in fragmented situational awareness and increased operational overhead.
Recent literature highlights that addressing the space debris challenge should not rely solely on deploying additional satellites for monitoring or active debris removal. Instead, a more sustainable approach involves repurposing existing in orbit assets and leveraging the sensing, navigation, and communication capabilities already present in space—an emerging direction that several studies are beginning to explore. This perspective reinforces the need to identify which data are essential for enabling such in situ detection and monitoring strategies for RSOs.
This study provides a first stage assessment of the minimum data required to support Zero Debris–aligned collision risk management. It reviews existing in situ and remote debris detection techniques and evaluates their applicability to operational RSOs, identifying the key parameters—such as state accuracy, covariance realism, physical characteristics, and maneuverability information—needed for each method to function effectively. The analysis further examines which of these parameters could be shared without compromising sensitive capabilities. Future work will also investigate the requirements that active satellites will need to meet to upgrade their flight software and enable cooperative, in‑situ debris‑detection capabilities.
By mapping detection techniques to their essential data requirements and assessing the feasibility of sharing these parameters, this work establishes a baseline framework to inform future regulatory developments and data sharing guidelines. The ultimate objective is to enhance space situational awareness, reduce operational uncertainty, and support the implementation of the Zero Debris vision through more transparent, resource efficient, and sustainable space operations

Speaker: Julia Alvarez Vallero (University of Texas at Arlington)

116 POWER: CONCEPTUAL DESIGN OF A DEPLOYABLE 3U CUBESAT FOR MICROWAVE-BASED WIRELESS ENERGY RECHARGE

This paper presents the conceptual design of POWER (Platform for Orbital Wireless Energy Recharge), a 3U CubeSat In-Orbit Demonstration (IOD) mission developed to validate microwave-based Wireless Power Transfer (WPT) in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). Aligned with United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 9, the mission addresses the critical limitation of satellite operational lifetimes imposed by onboard energy reserves, proposing a sustainable paradigm for in-orbit servicing. The project is the result of a multinational collaboration among four European universities (University of Naples Federico II, UPM Madrid, ENSEEIHT Toulouse, and IST Lisbon) and was made possible by the T.I.M.E. (Top Industrial Managers in Engineering) association, which played a pivotal role in the formation of the project group.

The spacecraft architecture features a novel deployable payload system that separates a receiving module from the main bus while maintaining mechanical constraints with the main structure, enabling controlled WPT experiments without the risks associated with autonomous formation flying. Furthermore, this mechanism allows a change in the distance between the transmitting and the receiving antennas to acquire data in multiple configurations. The payload integrates a custom-designed 5.2 GHz patch antenna array and a high-power-density Eaton supercapacitor storage bank. These supercapacitors buffer the primary Electrical Power System (EPS) during the high-power transmission bursts, isolating the main battery from electrical stress.

Operating in a 450 km Sun-Synchronous Orbit (SSO) with a nominal lifetime of one year, the mission relies on a cyclical Concept of Operations: the primary batteries recharge the supercapacitors over four consecutive orbits, followed by a microwave power transmission event in the subsequent orbit. Through comprehensive mission analysis, subsystems design, and system and performance budgets, this study
confirms the feasibility of using compact CubeSat platforms to test technologies essential for future spaceto-space energy distribution networks.

Speakers: Basilio Naclerio (University of Naples "Federico II"), David López Rohde (Universidad Politécnica de Madrid), Elena Francesca Cipriano (Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa), Francesca Vallozzi (University of Naples "Federico II"), Marta Adalia Unzurrunzaga (Universidad Politécnica de Madrid), Mélanie Ramarozatovo (École nationale supérieure d'électrotechnique, d'électronique, d'informatique, d'hydraulique et des télécommunications), Nicolás Tajuelo Arenas (Universidad Politécnica de Madrid), Pedro Jorge Duarte Correia (Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa), Pierluca De Felice (University of Naples "Federico II"), Romane Boussac (École nationale supérieure d'électrotechnique, d'électronique, d'informatique, d'hydraulique et des télécommunications)

117 Synchronizing Attitude Control and Post-Capture Stability for Non-Cooperative Debris Removal Through Advanced GNC Strategies

Effective Active Debris Removal relies greatly on the spacecraft's ability to synchronize its attitude with a tumbling target. Capturing tumbling, non-cooperative debris requires a servicer to perfectly match a target's chaotic spin state before physical contact.

This session breaks down a control strategy that uses relative navigation sensors to "lock" onto the spin states of non-cooperative objects. Details on a GNC architecture designed to bridge the gap between relative navigation and active control will be further developed. A focus is put on the transition from independent flight to a unified stack, specifically addressing the stabilization of underactuated systems.

Beyond the initial capture, the complexities of stabilizing the combined spacecraft stack are examined, particularly when dealing with unpredictable contact dynamics and thruster-induced disturbances. By analyzing these control laws in the context of ESA's ADRIOS mission requirements, a scalable roadmap for reliable, autonomous proximity operations is provided.

To conclude, a mapping of these capabilities onto the technical needs of upcoming European servicing missions is done, providing a path toward operational Zero Debris platforms.

Speaker: Zyad El Aouad (Universidad Europea de Madrid)

118 Time-Resolved and Trajectory-Dependent Life Cycle Assessment of Satellite Atmospheric Re-entry

Atmospheric re-entry is an increasingly important yet still underrepresented phase in the environmental assessment of space systems. Although design-for-demise (D4D) strategies are essential for compliance with debris mitigation requirements, they also promote material ablation and the release of chemical species into the upper atmosphere. Current Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approaches largely neglect re-entry or represent it through highly simplified, static assumptions, failing to capture the transient, trajectory-dependent, and altitude-specific nature of emissions.

This work presents, for the first time, a time-resolved and trajectory-dependent LCA framework for satellite atmospheric re-entry, enabled by the Trans-atmospherIc flighT simulAtioN (TITAN) tool developed at the University of Strathclyde. TITAN uniquely models spacecraft byproduct generation at component level along a full six-degree-of-freedom trajectory, incorporating detailed thermochemical species information through Gibbs energy minimisation of air–material mixtures. This enables explicit prediction of emitted species, including metals, metal oxides, and more complex compounds, as continuous functions of time and altitude throughout the re-entry phase.

The main novelty of this study lies in coupling TITAN’s time-dependent emission profiles with LCA methodologies to evaluate environmental impacts dynamically along the re-entry trajectory. In contrast to conventional approaches based on aggregated emission inventories, the proposed framework resolves both when and where emissions occur, allowing impact characterization as a function of altitude and flight conditions. This constitutes the first implementation of a fully dynamic LCA methodology for spacecraft re-entry, capturing the evolving interaction between emissions and atmospheric layers.

A representative satellite, consisting of an aluminium structure, solar arrays, and electronic subsystems, is analysed under both uncontrolled tumbling and controlled re-entry scenarios. The resulting emission inventories are processed within an LCA framework based on the Strathclyde Space Systems Database, developed at the University of Strathclyde and built upon ecoinvent processes, to quantify impact categories such as particulate matter formation, atmospheric toxicity, and potential perturbations to atmospheric chemistry. By preserving the temporal and spatial resolution of emissions, the approach extends traditional static models and reveals sensitivities to re-entry dynamics, flight conditions, and material composition.

By introducing a novel coupling between detailed re-entry physics and dynamic life cycle impact assessment, this work establishes a new capability for evaluating the environmental footprint of spacecraft demise. It supports the development of greener

materials, improved D4D strategies, and more informed policy decisions, directly contributing to ESA’s Clean Space objectives for sustainable space operations.

Speaker: Cecilia Lanfredi Alberti (University of Strathclyde)

119 Trajectory optimization for non cooperative RPO (Rendez-vous, Proximity Operations)

Non-cooperative rendezvous and proximity operations (RPO) are becoming a central challenge in orbital mechanics due to the rapid growth of space traffic and debris, as well as the increasing demand for on-orbit servicing, inspection, and active debris removal missions. Unlike cooperative scenarios, non-cooperative targets do not provide navigation data, attitude information, or dedicated docking interfaces, which significantly increases the complexity of guidance, navigation, and control.

This work investigates a geometric initialization strategy for indirect optimal control applied to orbital transfers. The trajectory design problem is formulated within the framework of the Pontryagin Maximum Principle, which leads to a two-point boundary value problem involving both state and adjoint variables. While indirect methods provide highly accurate and fuel-efficient solutions, they are well known to be extremely sensitive to the initialization of the costates.

To address this difficulty, a Lyapunov-based feedback law is first constructed to generate a dynamically feasible trajectory that converges toward a target orbit. This stabilizing trajectory is then used as an initial guess for the indirect optimal control solver. In particular, the Lyapunov structure provides a geometrically meaningful approximation of the costate direction, enabling a more robust initialization of the shooting method.

The approach is currently investigated on a simplified problem corresponding to a launcher upper-stage insertion toward Geostationary Transfer Orbit. This controlled test case allows us to analyze the relationship between Lyapunov-based stabilization and optimal costate trajectories before extending the framework to more complex scenarios, including three-dimensional dynamics and non-cooperative RPO missions.

Speaker: Rémi Caresche (Isae Supaero)

Thursday 2 July

ISAM: ISAM Use Case Design Workshop - Registered Participants Only

Eco-Design: Programmatic and Strategic Sustainability Aspects

120 Implementing Life Cycle Thinking and Ecodesign in ESA projects - A programmatic impact assessment

The European Space Agency (ESA) aims to address critical societal needs with its space programmes, while championing responsible space activities. In its strategy towards 2040, the Agency is committed to minimise the environmental impacts of its own operations, both on Earth and in space. With over a decade of experience in conducting Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) of its space programmes, in collaboration with industry partners, ESA has focussed on identifying environmental hotspots and ultimately integrating ecodesign alternatives into mission designs.
A notable success of the ESA Green Agenda programme is the entry into Force of the ESA Ecodesign Policy. The policy moves ESA from “measuring impacts” to systematically acting on them, by integrating lifecycle thinking into procurement and project implementation.
Against this backdrop, ESA contracted Novaspace, VITO and Thales Alenia Space (the consortium) to evaluate the programmatic impact of conducting life cycle thinking and implementing ecodesign measures in space programmes based on ESA’s policies, both for the Agency and its suppliers.
The consortium approached this project via three main tasks:
1. Benchmarking programmatic impact and best practice from other sectors (namely automotive, battery technologies and construction because of key parallels with the space sector, e.g., linked to complexity, development timescales & innovation),
2. Conducting a detailed programmatic impact assessment within the space sector, and
3. Developing recommendations towards potential actions to mitigate such programmatic impacts.
The results indicate that while progress has been made in developing LCA practices, accelerating ecodesign implementation will require stronger integration into governance processes, improved coordination across programmes and supply chains, and earlier engagement with industry. Also, the study showed that ESA is uniquely positioned to drive this integration across programmes, supply chains and industry standards.
The presentation will delve into the context of the study, the key results including learnings from the benchmarking and the assessment; and explore resulting recommendations to reduce programmatic impacts for both ESA and suppliers.

Speakers: Aurélie GALLICE-TANGUY (ESA), Kat Hickey (Novaspace)

121 Sustainability Impact Studies: developing an ESA framework for sustainability benefit assessment

The Sustainability Impact Studies initiative, carried out in collaboration with ESA’s Space Economy team and Clean Space Office under the ESA Green Agenda programme, aims to strengthen ESA’s ability to assess and communicate the wider environmental, social and economic benefits generated by space activities across programmes and directorates.
The study combines two complementary strands of work. First, it supports the refinement of a common assessment framework, including impact pathways, indicators, methodological assumptions and practical boundaries for application. Second, it applies this approach to a portfolio of selected case studies drawn from different ESA domains, including downstream space based applications, services, technology transfer activities and programme-related examples.
As the activity is only starting now, the progress expected by June will focus on the foundations needed for a robust analysis phase. This includes consolidation of the methodological approach, validation of the most relevant case studies with programme representatives, and the launch of the first evidence-gathering activities through stakeholder engagement, interviews and data collection.
By presenting the initiative at Clean Space Days, we would like to share this cross-cutting effort to better understand how space investments generate sustainability value beyond technical performance alone, and how this can support more informed decision-making and communication across the agency.

Speaker: Marta Salieri

122 Eco-management guide for space projects

As part of a CNES study, Thales Alenia Space and Airbus Defense and Space have jointly published at the end of 2025 a methodological guide for the eco-management of space projects aimed at reducing their environmental impact. This guide is intended to be applicable to all future projects funded by CNES.

A common ambition for a more sustainable space

This mobilization of French stakeholders is part of the roadmap for a decarbonized space sector requested at the end of 2023 by the French Ministry of Economy and presented by CNES on June 18, 2025 at the Paris Air Show. Thales Alenia Space and Airbus Defense and Space have also contributed to this roadmap, which provides an ambitious but realistic reduction scenario by 2040 (-38% compared to 2023) so that the space industry can play its part in decarbonisation efforts, in line with the National Low Carbon Strategy (SNBC) from France. The eco-management of space projects therefore appears essential to meet this ambition.

A chronological and transverse action plan

This guide is a collection of recommendations and good practices for project management that revolves around two complementary axes:

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A chronological action plan by project phase:

• Phase 0: Preliminary environmental assessment with tools like OASIS
  developed by CNES to define environmental objectives and guide
  ecodesign.

• Phases A-B1: Update of the assessment, drafting of a Project
  Environmental Plan (PEP) and associated requirements.

• Phases B2-C-D: Conducting a detailed Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) with
  specialized tools like SimaPro and the EcoInvent database to
  accurately measure the impact and identify areas for improvement.

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Supported by transversal actions:

• Awareness and training of teams.

• Identification of activities to be carried out and stakeholders in
  the project organization.

• Optimization of business trips.

• Responsible purchasing management in the consultation, selection and
  support of suppliers.

• Capitalization of data collected on physical flows to improve the
  accuracy of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA).

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It also addresses the pitfalls frequently encountered in the implementation of such approaches, which constitute areas for improvement.

Speakers: Julien Weber (Airbus Defence and Space), Nils Ehrenstrom (Thales Alenia Space)

123 A bridge between space sustainability goals and engineering decisions: the EPFL Handbook on Sustainable Practices of Space Mission Design

As the space sector faces unprecedented growth and scrutiny regarding its environmental footprint and space debris risks, the need for actionable, standardized space sustainability guidelines has never been more critical. This presentation introduces the first version of the Handbook on Sustainable Practices of Space Mission Design, developed at the EPFL Space Center. Unlike previous theoretical frameworks, this handbook serves as a pragmatic bridge between high-level sustainability goals and concrete engineering decisions, addressing sustainability for space (terrestrial impact) and in space (orbital preservation).

The handbook distinguishes itself through its holistic lifecycle approach, integrating Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodologies specifically adapted for space systems with operational best practices for debris mitigation, Dark & Quiet Skies preservation, and end-of-life strategies. A core novelty of this work is the inclusion of a comprehensive hardware decision tree, designed to guide system engineers and mission managers in selecting specific technologies—such as low-debris separation mechanisms, design-for-demise materials, passive detumbling devices, and standardized mechanical interfaces for in-orbit servicing. This tool transforms abstract sustainability metrics into tangible design requirements, facilitating the trade-off analysis necessary for early-phase mission planning.

Drawing on the latest ESA guidelines, ISO standards, and emerging industry consensus (including the Space Sustainability Rating), this presentation will highlight the handbook’s structure. It will demonstrate how the decision tree aids in making responsible design choices against orbital congestion and terrestrial impact while maintaining mission viability. The presentation will also emphasise the future evolutions of the Handbook, relying on industry feedback. By providing a centralized reference for students, engineers, and decision-makers, the EPFL Handbook on Sustainable Practices of Space Mission Design aims to standardize sustainable design practices across the space ecosystem, ensuring that future missions are not only technically feasible but environmentally responsible.

Speaker: Marnix Verkammen

Zero Debris: Collision Risk management

124 Pre-launch post-separation screenings for MTG-S1 and MetOp-SG A1 launches

The rapid increase of in-orbit payloads in recent years, with mega-constellation exploitation such as Starlink, has made conjunction analyses increasingly critical.
These are typically performed when the spacecraft is in routine and only rarely pre-launch, to assess the first hours after separation. This phase is especially delicate, since the spacecraft typically cannot perform manoeuvres during the deployment of appendages, the initial attitude acquisition, the configuration of the propulsion and AOCS subsystems. That’s why EUMETSAT decided to start performing conjunction assessments pre-launch, for longer trajectories after separation from launcher, and to introduce this in the final procedure leading to selecting the final lift-off time.
The first launches to undergo this process were MTG-S1 (GEO), launched with Falcon 9 on 1st July 2025, and MetOp-SG A1 (LEO), launched with Ariane 6 on 13th August 2025:
• MTG-S1, on a Super-Synchronous-Transfer-Orbit, crossed Starlink altitude shortly before separation but, due to its highly eccentric trajectory, exited the LEO protected quickly and re-entered it one orbit later, without being manoeuvrable beforehand. Moreover, the evolution of the initial uncertainties along a high-elliptical orbit are difficult to model, as linear covariance propagation is not applicable. A relatively wide launch-window (~150minutes) existed: EUMETSAT was to communicate the closed portions of the window, due to high-risk events.
• MetOp-SG A1 was injected at ~800km and remained inside the LEO protected region for the entire period in which the spacecraft was not manoeuvrable. There was no launch window but only a single lift-off time per day. A small lift-off shift was however agreed to be implemented, in case of an anticipated high risk post-separation
With the support of EUSST, EUMETSAT assessed the safety of the post-separation trajectories for both spacecrafts: EUSST screened the ephemerides provided by EUMETSAT versus the SP catalogue of USSF; the resulting conjunction data were then post-processed by EUMETSAT: the main idea was to classify each event according to the potential consequence of a collision, based on secondary object’s size and its status (active/inactive). For instance, a conjunction involving a large active spacecraft entails far more severe consequences (in terms of orbital-environment degradation and in the interaction with another operator) than one involving a small inactive object. This led to the definition of different levels of acceptable risk based on the categories of the classification.
The actual operational experiences for the 2 launches, with the relevant results, will be detailed in this paper.

Speaker: Mr Pierluigi Righetti (EUMETSAT)

125 Pilot use and expansion of decision support and coordination systems

The rapid growth of active satellites and the increasing density of orbital traffic demand a new generation of autonomous systems capable of supporting safe and efficient space operations. Within this context, the Pilot Use and Expansion of Decision Support and Coordination Systems activity advances two key technological components of ESA’s CREAM cornerstone: Automated Collision Avoidance (AutoCA) and Autonomous Space Traffic Management (AutoSTM). Together, these systems form the core of a fully integrated framework designed to automate conjunction analysis, streamline operator coordination, and enhance trust in data exchange mechanisms across the wider space traffic management ecosystem.
1. Automated Collision Avoidance (CREAM#1: AutoCA): a standalone, operator‑side decision support tool capable of autonomously assessing collision risk and recommending optimal avoidance strategies. Its architecture combines a configurable web‑based GUI, a workflow‑oriented API layer, and a computational backend responsible for ingestion, analysis, and manoeuvre design. AutoCA evaluates incoming Conjunction Data Messages, groups alerts into events, and computes collision risk using deterministic methods combined with AI/ML models trained on historical CDM datasets. These models enable prediction of future CDM evolution, improving responsiveness in dynamically evolving events and supporting more informed decision-making. The tool incorporates additional functionalities such as data fusion, uncertainty evaluation, and safety envelope determination, thereby improving the reliability of collision predictions.
2. Autonomous Space Traffic Management (CREAM#3: AutoSTM) complements AutoCA by addressing the coordination challenges that emerge during active‑vs‑active conjunction events. It provides a centralised platform where satellite operators, space surveillance providers, and mediators can exchange manoeuvre intentions and supporting data using CCSDS‑compliant standards. Building on rule‑based logic and multi‑agent negotiation principles, AutoSTM automates the filtering of events, identification of responsible parties, evaluation of proposed CAMs, and execution of negotiation or mediation procedures when required.
The combined deployment of AutoCA and AutoSTM provides significant benefits for operators and service providers. AutoCA reflects the need for late decision‑making, rapid evaluation of manoeuvre feasibility, and minimisation of false alerts reduces the need for continuous expert monitoring and accelerates the identification of avoidance manoeuvres, supporting 24/7 operations with less manpower, increasing robustness in collision avoidance operations. AutoSTM, in turn, addresses one of the most resource‑intensive aspects of space traffic management: coordinating manoeuvre responsibilities in shared orbital environments, by guiding actors through structured decision pathways, enforcing harmonised rules, and supporting complex multi‑party interactions. Their integration enables an end‑to‑end workflow—from risk assessment to coordinated mitigation—while ensuring that sensitive orbital data can be exchanged securely. Both systems are designed for iterative improvement within pilot environments, using real and simulated mission data, user feedback, and operator‑driven shadow operations to refine algorithms, interfaces, and decision logic. Complex validation and public demonstration will be performed by executing shadow avoidance and coordination operations, with a final public hosting of the system for satellite operations.
By advancing automation, data fusion, machine‑learning‑enabled prediction, and secure coordination, these systems collectively elevate the maturity of Europe’s space traffic management infrastructure. Their deployment represents a decisive step toward scalable, operator‑trusted autonomy in orbital safety processes, ensuring that future congested environments can be managed with higher reliability, transparency, and efficiency.

Speaker: Daniel-Iulian Gugeanu (GMV)

126 OB-ASTRA: ENABLING AUTONOMOUS ONBOARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE

The growing number of active satellites and resident space objects is pushing the limits of ground-based collision avoidance workflows. Latency in decision loops, scalability limitations, and coordination overhead in dense orbital environments are increasingly incompatible with the responsiveness that effective collision risk management demands. Achieving zero debris ambitions at scale requires not only robust mitigation at end-of-life, but also active, responsive, and autonomous collision avoidance throughout a spacecraft's operational lifetime.

OB-ASTRA (On-Board Autonomous Space Traffic Risk Avoidance) is an autonomous onboard collision avoidance system developed under the ESA ARTES 4.0 Advanced Technology Programme by a consortium led by Nautilus – Navigation in Space Srl, together with the University of Bologna, SpaceDyS, and INAF. The system relocates conjunction detection, collision probability estimation, maneuver planning, and inter-spacecraft coordination directly onboard the spacecraft, reducing reliance on ground infrastructure while remaining interoperable with existing Space Situational Awareness (SSA) services through a ground companion application and CDM ingestion capability. As a result, OB-ASTRA enables the hosting spacecraft to autonomously mitigate the risk of collisions, contributing to the long term preservation of the orbital environment.

OB-ASTRA is implemented as a compact, standalone subsystem and leverages sensors already standard on most spacecraft platforms: a GNSS receiver for precise onboard orbit determination and a star tracker for attitude knowledge and optical tracking of secondary objects. This design philosophy minimises integration burden across a wide range of platform classes and avoids additional sensor mass while enhancing navigation fidelity. An onboard ephemeris catalogue enables autonomous conjunction screening independent of ground contact, and a low power LoRa-based Inter-Satellite Link (ISL) supports cooperative ephemeris and intent exchange between equipped spacecraft.

A central feature of OB-ASTRA's operational concept is its progressive, late-commitment risk refinement strategy. As the time of closest approach nears, state uncertainty is reduced through updated onboard orbit determination of the hosting spacecraft and, where possible, ephemeris updates on the secondary object, either via optical tracking for uncooperative targets or ISL data exchange for cooperative ones. This just-in-time approach minimizes unnecessary maneuvers and associated propellant expenditure, directly supporting mission lifetime and sustainable operations.

The Concept of Operations is organized around two decision deadlines: a first checkpoint for maneuver drafting and coordination initiation, and a second for final commitment. Established traffic coordination rules and inter-spacecraft intent sharing are applied during this window, promoting predictable and transparent collision avoidance behavior consistent with emerging space traffic management frameworks.

OB-ASTRA has currently entered Critical Design Review (CDR) and is progressing toward engineering model manufacturing and integration, followed by a test campaign in Q3 2026, with TRL 5 validation targeted by year end. The validation will be conducted using a high-fidelity sensors-in-the-loop testbed, in which representative conjunction scenarios are reproduced by stimulating the GNSS receiver, ISL transceiver, and star tracker through dedicated signal and optical scene emulators.

These activities are expected to demonstrate how scalable onboard autonomy can strengthen collision risk management in increasingly congested orbital environments.

Speaker: Virginia Angelini (Nautilus - Navigation in Space)

127 OCAD - ON-BOARD AUTONOMOUS COLLISION AVOIDANCE DETECTION TESTBED

The increasingly crowded space environment and the growing risk of collisions with space debris, active and inactive satellites necessitate a shift from traditional ground-based orbit maintenance and collision avoidance (CA) strategies to autonomous onboard solutions. This paper expands upon the work presented by GMV at the 9th European Conference on Space “A Modular And Scalable Collision Avoidance System For Enhanced Satellite Autonomy, 2025” focusing on developments within the OCAD project.
OCAD (On-board Autonomous Collision Avoidance Detection Testbed) aims to develop a testbed to validate the design of a standalone satellite payload capable of performing autonomous on-board collision avoidance, including capability as inter-satellite communication and on-board secondary detection.
The self-contained payload (of mass < 10kg) is designed to provide real-time orbit determination and propagation, conjunction detection, risk assessment and autonomous collision-avoidance manoeuvre computation to a host-satellites, using standard spacecraft interfaces.
Its primary function is to detect potential conjunction with other spacecraft operating in its vicinity and to continuously forecast its own short-term orbital position and velocity. These forecasts are also shared with nearby spacecraft equipped with an OCAD payload while at the same time, it receives orbit-prediction data from neighbouring spacecraft which is added to an on-board minicatalogue of neighbourhood objects uploaded from ground. This functionality not only allows to provide more up-to-date and accurate spacecraft states for the CA decision chain but also can enable cooperative CA strategies.
For any potential collision risks, a safe and efficient CA manoeuvre is computed with consideration given to safe corridors and potential downstream conjunctions. Validated manoeuvres are provided to the host platform AOCS via thrust vectors and a decision flag.
To support its autonomous decision-making, OCAD will perform onboard orbit determination and produce short-term forecasts of its orbital position and velocity and corresponding covariance, providing improved accuracy compared to longer-horizon estimates generated by ground-based surveillance systems. The payload is designed to operate in both LEO and GEO environments through the selection of robust methods for both short-term and long-term encounters.
On-board autonomous secondary orbit determination of uncatalogued debris objects or the refinement of catalogued object covariance using an optical payload is also a baseline capability of the payload. Any identified objects could be added to the minicatalogue providing enhanced situational awareness further decreasing the risk of collisions. The benefits of such a solution are under study and will be an outcome of the testbed development.
The OCAD system enhances a spacecraft’s ability to take timely and effective action to avoid collisions, directly contributing to the implementation of ESA’s Space Debris Mitigation Policy by enabling autonomous collision-avoidance capabilities that reduce the risk of in-orbit fragmentation events. Overall, OCAD strengthens compliance with ESA guidelines aimed at preventing the creation of new debris and ensuring long-term orbital safety. This paper will present the OCAD testbed design which will be used to model the proposed payload and assess the autonomous capabilities of the stand-alone system.

Speaker: Mr Danilo Forte (GMV)

128 Ensuring Orbital Safety from T-0: The Critical Imperative for Immediate Post- Launch Collision Avoidance

As the density of the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) environment increases, driven by frequent rideshare missions and the deployment of mega-constellations, the initial phase of satellite operations has emerged as a period of heightened orbital risk. Historically, collision avoidance (COLA) processes have relied on established tracking by Space Situational Awareness (SSA) providers. However, this study demonstrates that waiting for third-party identification is no longer a viable strategy for responsible space actors. This paper identifies three primary catalysts for immediate post-launch COLA. First, there is a significant "blind spot" in space traffic management: other operators do not receive Conjunction Data Messages (CDMs) for newly released objects until they are officially catalogued. Second, during mass-launch events, the 18th Space Defense Squadron (Space-Track) often faces identification latencies lasting several weeks to months; during this period, operator-provided ephemerides are the only reliable source
of orbital information for the SSA community. Third, the evolving regulatory landscape, exemplified by the ESA Zero Debris Charter, mandates proactive debris prevention from the moment of separation.
The research provides a comprehensive statistical analysis of collision probabilities during the first days of flight, alongside real-life case studies of close approach events. The findings underscore that independent orbit determination capabilities and early communication protocols are essential safety requirements, even for spacecraft
without manoeuvre capabilities. While relevant for all satellites, small satellites are at higher risk, as they often lack these capabilities. We conclude that shifting COLA responsibilities to the immediate post-deployment phase is a fundamental requirement for the long-term sustainability of a clean space environment.

Speaker: Mr Quirin Funke (MAITY Space GmbH)

11:00 Coffee Break

Eco-Design: Sustainability into a Space System - Discussion

ISAM: ISAM Use Case Design Workshop - Registered Participants Only

Zero Debris: Space Debris Mitigation requirements compliance & evolution

129 The Zero Debris Thresholds Study: Results and Lessons Learnt for Spacecraft Vulnerability Assessment

Following the release of ESA’s Space Debris Mitigation requirements in 2023, ESA has been working towards future policy evolutions, with updated thresholds and requirements adapted to the dynamic orbital environment.

The ESA funded Zero Debris Threshold study performed by a consortium led by Thales Alenia Space France with the participation of Thales Alenia Space Italia and GMV, focused on the potential future thresholds evolution of the requirements related to Orbital Clearance and Vulnerability to Space Debris impacts, taking into account their technical and programmatic implementation on different type of missions.

Several study cases, among different satellite classes and orbital regions, were selected to analyze the impact at system level of the different thresholds evolution. Leveraging its expertise in hypervelocity impact testing and MicroMeteoroids and Orbital Debris (MMOD) shielding, Thales Alenia Space Italia has been responsible for the activities related to the vulnerability aspects. In particular, TASI was tasked to assess the risk of the S/C large fragmentation events induced by impacts with meteoroids and space debris, with the aim of assessing the potential relevant modification of the requirements dealing with the probability of S/C break-up in Earth orbit.

Several aspects and sources contributing to the MMOD induced on-orbit break-up risk were analyzed for each study case. To evaluate the MMOD related break-up risks, a simplified 3D ESABASE/Debris model has been developed for each study case. The obtained results were then combined with RAMs internal failure estimations to evaluate how close each case was to the threshold. Furthermore, design improvements were proposed for those cases that did not comply with the threshold. In the last phase of the study, a critical assessment of the tools and the methodology adopted was performed. This presentation will summarize the study’s key findings, discuss implications for vulnerability threshold evolution, and outline the next steps towards enhancing spacecraft robustness.

Speaker: Lucia Suriani (Thales Alenia Space)

130 Impact and Evolution of Zero Debris Requirements for Lunar Orbit Missions

The expansion of lunar exploration activities over the coming decade introduces new challenges for the application and evolution of space debris mitigation principles beyond Earth orbit. While existing debris mitigation standards have been largely developed for Earth orbital regimes, the increasing number of planned lunar orbit missions requires the definition of adapted guidelines and technical solutions consistent with the objectives of the Zero Debris initiative.

This activity investigates the implications of the Zero Debris approach for spacecraft operating in lunar orbit and cislunar space, with particular focus on requirements compliance, operational constraints, and potential evolution of mitigation guidelines. The work analyses the applicability of existing debris mitigation requirements to lunar orbital environments and proposes their evolution, including disposal strategies, trackability considerations, collision risk management, and spacecraft design measures aimed at preventing the generation of long-lived debris.

In addition, the study explores enabling technologies and infrastructure that support Zero Debris compliance for lunar missions, including enhanced trackability solutions, controlled end of life disposal concepts, and modelling tools for predicting impact outcomes and debris generation. The results contribute to ongoing discussions on how debris mitigation policies and engineering practices should evolve to support sustainable operations in the cislunar environment while maintaining alignment with the broader objectives of the Zero Debris initiative.

Speaker: Sara Sanchis Climent (OHB System AG)

131 Status of ESA Missions Compliance and Evolution of Requirements

Status of ESA Missions Compliance and Evolution of Requirements

Speaker: Dr Francesca Letizia (European Space Agency)

132 Debris mitigation compliance assessments associated with interplanetary return trajectories

The expansion of interplanetary missions into cislunar, libration point, and deep-space environments introduces new challenges for debris mitigation compliance. In these regimes, chaotic dynamics and longer time scales increase trajectory uncertainty, creating the risk of Earth return at super-orbital velocities with potential impacts on satellites and ground populations. These risks are currently difficult to quantify due to the lack of dedicated standards and assessment tools.
This work presents a unified framework for debris mitigation compliance assessment of interplanetary return trajectories. A Monte Carlo-based approach is employed to model trajectory uncertainty and derive statistically robust risk metrics. The framework integrates trajectory propagation, collision risk estimation in protected regions, atmospheric re-entry and fragmentation modelling, and ground casualty risk assessment.
A simulated observation and orbit determination chain is included to evaluate cataloguing performance for objects beyond Earth orbit. The computational layer takes advantage of two ESA-developed astrodynamics libraries: CUDAjectory, for fast deep space propagation exploiting GPU parallelization, and GODOT, for near-Earth trajectory integration and measurement simulation. Collision risk is computed using a flux-based method adapted to hyperbolic trajectories, while re-entry and casualty risk are assessed using ESA’s DRAMA/SARA tool.
The methodology is demonstrated on three mission classes: heliocentric (JUICE upper stage), libration point (GAIA), and cislunar (Orion Gateway service module), highlighting its applicability across diverse operational scenarios.

Speaker: Marc Torras Ribell (GMV GmbH)

Eco-Design: Conclusion and Wrap-up

13:00 LUNCH

General: Clean Space Days 2026: Wrap Up

Eco-Design: OASIS Training

General: B2B Networking

Zero Debris: D4D Session by DLR

133 Experimental and Numerical Assessment of Demisable Joints for Controlled Break-up of Large Sandwich Panel Structures

Design-for-demise is becoming a key requirement for future satellite systems in the context of Zero Debris and sustainable space operations. Structural concepts enabling controlled disintegration while preserving in-orbit performance are therefore of increasing interest. Demisable joints for sandwich panel primary structures represent a promising solution by introducing temperature-triggered structural discontinuities at predefined locations.

Building on a previously developed joint design concept based on tailored material combinations and geometry-driven thermal weakening, this work presents recent progress in experimental validation and system-level re-entry modelling. Plasma wind tunnel tests were performed on representative joint configurations to investigate their thermo-mechanical response under re-entry-like heat fluxes. The experiments showed very promising results, with successful separation of the connected sandwich panels achieved in the majority of test cases, especially under comparatively low and more realistic heat flux conditions. These findings provide strong evidence for the robustness and effectiveness of the trigger mechanism, while also offering detailed insight into failure initiation and the interaction between joint constituents and sandwich panel facesheets and cores.

A modelling strategy was developed to represent the behaviour of demisable joints within SCARAB re-entry simulations. The approach captures joint failure through temperature-dependent degradation laws, derived from both design assumptions and experimental observations. Particular emphasis is placed on the definition and variation of trigger temperatures, enabling a systematic assessment of their influence on break-up timing and fragmentation behaviour. Re-entry simulations were conducted using a spacecraft model based on a large Earth observation mission, representative of current large satellite architectures with optical payloads. A parametric analysis investigates the influence of initial attitude, joint trigger temperature, and joint integration strategies within the primary structure. The results show that demisable joints can significantly alter fragmentation sequences and improve the demise of otherwise critical components by promoting earlier structural disintegration and increased exposure to aerothermal loads.

The combined experimental and numerical findings highlight the significant potential of the current demisable joint design to actively control structural break-up and improve demise performance at system level. Future work will therefore focus on advancing the concept towards higher Technology Readiness Levels, alongside the exploration of new demisable joint architectures addressing the latest ESA and industry-driven design-for-demise requirements.

Speaker: Alexander Ring (DLR)

134 PVD-based Coatings for Enhanced Demisability of Structural and Functional Alloys

Safe and sustainable end-of-life disposal is becoming a key requirement in satellite design, particularly for reducing ground risk from surviving debris during uncontrolled atmospheric re-entry. In this study, a substrate-level Design-for-Demise (D4D) approach is being investigated that uses physical vapour deposition (PVD) coatings to increase the demisability of otherwise robust structural and functional alloys.
The objective of this work is to assess whether surface engineering can provide a scalable, component-compatible method to promote earlier heating and accelerated degradation during re-entry, without requiring substitution of structural and functional materials. The coating concept is designed to modify the thermo-chemical interaction between the surface and the re-entry environment by (i) reducing radiative heat losses, (ii) enhancing surface-driven chemical processes that increase net heat transfer to the substrate, and (iii) enabling diffusion-driven compositional changes that can lower the local melting range of the substrate material. In this way, the approach aims to shift the thermal balance toward faster temperature rise and earlier structural failure of high-survivability components.
A combined laboratory and ground-test campaign was conducted to evaluate coating performance, robustness, and degradation mechanisms. In this study, stainless steel was used as the substrate material. Laboratory exposures in air at temperatures up to 1200 °C were used to investigate oxidation behaviour, coating adhesion, interdiffusion, and thermally induced microstructural evolution on representative metallic substrates. Complementary tests in an arc-heated wind tunnel reproduced key features of atmospheric re-entry, including hypersonic high-enthalpy flow and chemically aggressive non-equilibrium conditions. Surface and internal temperature measurements were used to reconstruct absorbed heat flux and compare the thermal response of coated and reference samples under consistent loading conditions.
Post-test characterization using diffraction, microscopy, and compositional analysis was performed to correlate thermo-chemical response with coating morphology and degradation pathways. The results demonstrate the potential of PVD-based surface engineering as a generic D4D tool for improving the demise behaviour of structural satellite components.

Speaker: Dr Ronja Anton (German Aerospace Center (DLR))

135 High-Fidelity Coupled Flow-Structure Simulation of the Reentry of the Satellite Eu:CROPIS

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 non-negligible risk to ground safety. Typical risk assessment tools for satellites reentry are based on simplified geometrical and physical assumptions, limiting their capabilities to accurately capture local aerothermal effects.
Especially, inner components of satellite are shielded from the hypersonic flow during the early phase of the reentry, greatly delaying their burn up. To get a better understanding of the early reentry phase (ranging from 120km to 100km), this study applies high-fidelity numerical methods to investigate the reentry behavior of the Eu:CROPIS satellite.

DSMC (Direct Simulation Monte Carlo) simulations are applied to the satellite Eu:CROPIS reentry and coupled with a structural FEM solver to investigate the aerothermal heating of the satellite during early reentry. A non-reactive three species mixture (O₂, N₂, O) flow is simulated assuming isothermal walls and diffuse reflection with full thermal accommodation. An aerothermal database, which serves as the input to the structural solver, is then built from the surface heat flux on 11 trajectory points ranging from 120km to 100km altitude. The coupling between flow and structure is achieved using Conffass framework (Coupled Numerical Fluid, Flightmechanics And Structure Simulations).
High fidelity FEM structural simulation, accounting for both outer and inner radiation, are performed, simulating the transient thermal response of the satellite along the reentry trajectory. Initial temperature of the whole satellite is set to -23°C at the starting altitude 120km.

Peak surface heat fluxes from the DSMC simulations reach up to 83 kW/m² at 100km altitude on the windward faces, driving the rapid heating of the outer structure while inner components remain shielded. The coupled flow-structure simulation shows that the inner components of the satellite are indeed shielded during the early stage of the reentry, thus delaying greatly the burn up of them. While the outer structure of the satellite quickly reaches temperature over 630°C after 1840s at 115km altitude, the inner components remain comparatively cold like the inner payload which temperature does not excide 80°C. These findings highlight the importance of accounting for structural shielding in reentry risk assessments. The use of demisable joints, as developed in the TEMIS-Debris project, to artificially open up earlier the structure, appears promising to enhance the global demisability of satellites. Indeed, exposing the internal components to the outside hypersonic flow earlier would enable an earlier temperature rise and thus enhance the burn up.

Speaker: Lukas Lemaitre (DLR)

Zero Debris: Interactive demonstration of THEMIS 2.0

136 Interactive demonstration of the capabilities of the THEMIS 2.0 for Tracking the Health of the Environment and Missions in Space and interactions with satellite operators

Space debris indicators are powerful tools for the quantitative evaluation of the environmental impact of space missions towards space debris and the effectiveness of space debris mitigation adoptions. This work presents the advancements of the THEMIS 2.0 software for “Tracking the Health of the Environment and Missions in Space” within the project S2-SD-02 - Extended Methods for Space Debris Consequence and Space Capacity Analyses lead by Politecnico di Milano, in partnership with GMV UK, funded by the ESA Space Safety Programme.
The impact of a space mission is measured in terms of risk that the undeliberate fragmentation of such mission might cause on the overall active spacecraft population. Such formulation is thought to give an estimation of the increased operational effort that all spacecraft operation will have to sustain in case an object fragments in another orbital bin. The THEMIS debris indicator can be then used for evaluating possible mission design options in terms of orbit selection, and spacecraft characteristics. When the THEMIS index of each active object in the population of active satellites is aggregated, it is used as a measure of the overall space carrying capacity. This metric can be exploited to compare various future scenarios of the evolution of the space environment and evaluate the risk of operating in a specific orbital slot. Improved capabilities cover the improved PMD modelling, improved constellation design, more precise mapping of the trackability of small debris fragments, possibility to evaluate the risk effect over different time frames etc.
This session will presents in an interactive way the capabilities of the THEMIS 2.0 software though its web based front-end. The frontend of the software is opened to the space community of space operators, manufacturer, regulators and space debris experts through an application for volunteer beta testers. Already 20 spacecraft operator, space debris experts and regulators have been involved in using the software, performing some guided exercises and asked to provide feedback in their use and their applicability to preliminary mission design, space safety operations and end-of-life disposal design.
This session will also serve as interaction with the end-used of the tools will be shown to demonstrate its applicability to a sustainable mission design and the evaluation of mitigation guidelines.

Speakers: Andrea Muciaccia (Politecnico di Milano), Ben Johnson, Camilla Colombo (Politecnico di Milano), Daniel Luck (Politecnico di Milano), Diego Ramirez, Emma Stevenson (ESA), Francesca Letizia (ESA), Juan Luis Gonzalo (Politecnico di Milano), Martina Rusconi (Politecnico di Milano), Wiebke Retagne (Politecnico di Milano)

Friday 3 July

ISAM: ISAM Use Case Design Workshop - Registered Participants Only

Eco-Design: [PEFCR4Space] TS meeting (Only for Technical Secretariate Representatives)

Zero Debris: Technical Forum Workshop (Hybrid event)

11:00 Coffee Break

Eco-Design: [PEFCR4Space] TS meeting (Only for Technical Secretariate Representatives)

ISAM: ISAM Use Case Design Workshop - Registered Participants Only

Zero Debris: Technical Forum Workshop (Hybrid event)