OPTIMIZATION OF A REPRESENTATIVE LEO SATELLITE SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE FOR DEMISE

Kurzfassung

The rapid growth of low Earth orbit activity has increased the importance of end-of-life disposal and the safety implications of uncontrolled atmospheric re-entry. This work develops a methodology for progressively evaluating a representative LEO midmass satellite architecture for improved demise. A traceable baseline is used to define a bounded design space in which Design-for-Demise measures and architecture choices are translated into explicit variables. These are evaluated through a SCARAB simulation campaign, first individually and then in selected combinations to assess interactions. Total debris casualty area is used as the main comparison metric, supported by surviving mass and subsystem contributions. The singlevariable results show reductions in total debris casualty area of up to 38.0%, while some modifications reduce surviving mass but increase casualty area. Subsystem-level results also show that architecture changes can affect components other than those directly modified, and the preliminary interaction analysis shows that the response to a design change can vary when combined with other architecture modifications. The aim is to provide a structured and traceable methodology for identifying architecture changes that improve demisability and for assessing how their effects change when combined.