Re-entry safety: Analysis and plasma wind tunnel testing of spacecraft design solutions to reduce on-ground casualty risk

Abstract

In compliance with ISO 24,113 and ESA Space Debris Mitigation requirements, spacecrafts in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) must be removed from their operational orbit within 25 years and re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere having an on-ground casualty risk lower than 1 in 10,0 0 0. To maximize the number of uncontrolled re-entries, which have much less impact on system mass and costs, ESA’s Clean Space initiative is investigating design for containment (D4C) techniques and collaborating with European industries and space agencies to assess, model, analyse, and test new concepts through re-entry tools and plasma wind tunnel experiments. The main objectives are to understand the survivability of materials and techniques suitable for different containment concepts, to improve re-entry modelling, and implement effective D4C measures. This paper shows the results of these activities, that have been the first milestones in the knowledge of D4C, although further investigations are needed.