DeOrbisat
Preliminary satellite de-orbit design study
co-author
2013
Launched in 2002 with 10 observational and scientific instruments onboard, Envisat, at eight
tons is the largest civilian Earth observation mission to date, and was ESA's successor to the ERS satellite platform.
However, the Envisat mission ended on April 8, 2012, following the sudden loss of contact with the satellite and it's resultant non-responsiveness.
As it stands today, Envisat presents a serious and growing threat to space security and access in the form of the debris generation risk that it's continued existence represents.
With the goal of removing Envisat from orbit, satisfying the legal and liability responsibilities of ESA, and preventing a collisional cascade eventuality, a mission has been designed in order to safely, swiftly, and economically deorbit this rogue satellite. The DeOrbisat mission herein has been designed using currently available on-orbit service technologies and techniques in order to intercept the non-cooperating Envisat, grasp it firmly, and then deorbit it into the atmosphere above the Pacific Ocean.
However, the Envisat mission ended on April 8, 2012, following the sudden loss of contact with the satellite and it's resultant non-responsiveness.
As it stands today, Envisat presents a serious and growing threat to space security and access in the form of the debris generation risk that it's continued existence represents.
With the goal of removing Envisat from orbit, satisfying the legal and liability responsibilities of ESA, and preventing a collisional cascade eventuality, a mission has been designed in order to safely, swiftly, and economically deorbit this rogue satellite. The DeOrbisat mission herein has been designed using currently available on-orbit service technologies and techniques in order to intercept the non-cooperating Envisat, grasp it firmly, and then deorbit it into the atmosphere above the Pacific Ocean.
Launched in 2002 with 10 observational and scientific instruments onboard, Envisat, at eight
tons is the largest civilian Earth observation mission to date, and was ESA's successor to the ERS satellite platform. The addition of advanced imaging radar, radar altimeter, and temperature-measuring radiometric instruments with the launch of Envisat allowed an
extension of the data capture possible to ERS and facilitated a new on-orbit functionality and
usefulness. This increased utility was supplemented by new instruments including a mediumresolution spectrometer sensitive to both land features and ocean color, and two atmospheric sensors for monitoring trace gases.
However, the Envisat mission ended on April 8, 2012, following the sudden loss of contact with the satellite and it's resultant non-responsiveness. Following repeated attempts to re-establish contact and the subsequent investigation of failure scenarios, the end of the mission was declared in May 2012. As there were no signs of degradation before the loss of contact, the operations team has been collecting other information to help understand the satellite's condition and current position. With the addition of this data, the mitigation team has gradually developed possible failure scenarios. One such scenario can be seen possibly as a loss of the power regulator, blocking telemetry and tele-commands. Another scenario considered is a short circuit, triggering a ‘safe mode', a contingency feature designed to ensure Envisat's survival. In addition, a second, indeterminate anomaly may also have occurred during the transition to safe mode, leaving the satellite in an
intermediate and unknown condition (ESA, 2012).
As it stands today, Envisat presents a serious and growing threat to space security and access in the form of the debris generation risk that it's continued existence represents. With the growing capability that operationally responsive space missions possess, an on-orbit solution to the problem of Envisat can be considered as a reasonable and relatively economic alternative to the possibility of it remaining in orbit, non-responsive and potentially contributing to a massive cloud of debris if impacted by another object. If impacted at high velocity while onorbit, Envisat will cause a massive cloud of debris to form and will increase harm to future and current missions as well as expose it's launching state organization to liability from any harmed by resultant debris.
With the goal of removing Envisat from orbit, satisfying the legal and liability responsibilities of ESA, and preventing a collisional cascade eventuality, a mission has been designed in order to safely, swiftly, and economically deorbit this rogue satellite. The DeOrbisat mission herein has been designed using currently available on-orbit service technologies and techniques in order to intercept the non-cooperating Envisat, grasp it firmly, and then deorbit it into the atmosphere above the Pacific Ocean.
However, the Envisat mission ended on April 8, 2012, following the sudden loss of contact with the satellite and it's resultant non-responsiveness. Following repeated attempts to re-establish contact and the subsequent investigation of failure scenarios, the end of the mission was declared in May 2012. As there were no signs of degradation before the loss of contact, the operations team has been collecting other information to help understand the satellite's condition and current position. With the addition of this data, the mitigation team has gradually developed possible failure scenarios. One such scenario can be seen possibly as a loss of the power regulator, blocking telemetry and tele-commands. Another scenario considered is a short circuit, triggering a ‘safe mode', a contingency feature designed to ensure Envisat's survival. In addition, a second, indeterminate anomaly may also have occurred during the transition to safe mode, leaving the satellite in an
intermediate and unknown condition (ESA, 2012).
As it stands today, Envisat presents a serious and growing threat to space security and access in the form of the debris generation risk that it's continued existence represents. With the growing capability that operationally responsive space missions possess, an on-orbit solution to the problem of Envisat can be considered as a reasonable and relatively economic alternative to the possibility of it remaining in orbit, non-responsive and potentially contributing to a massive cloud of debris if impacted by another object. If impacted at high velocity while onorbit, Envisat will cause a massive cloud of debris to form and will increase harm to future and current missions as well as expose it's launching state organization to liability from any harmed by resultant debris.
With the goal of removing Envisat from orbit, satisfying the legal and liability responsibilities of ESA, and preventing a collisional cascade eventuality, a mission has been designed in order to safely, swiftly, and economically deorbit this rogue satellite. The DeOrbisat mission herein has been designed using currently available on-orbit service technologies and techniques in order to intercept the non-cooperating Envisat, grasp it firmly, and then deorbit it into the atmosphere above the Pacific Ocean.
︎︎︎ Home