Risk to space sustainability from large constellations of satellites
Risk to space sustainability from large constellations of satellites
The number of artificial objects in orbit continues to increase and, with it, a key threat to space sustainability. In response, space agencies have identified a set of mitigation guidelines aimed at enabling space users to reduce the generation of space debris by, for example, limiting the orbital lifetime of their spacecraft and launcher stages after the end of their mission. Planned, large constellations of satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO), though addressing the lack of basic internet coverage in some world regions, may disrupt the sustainability of the space environment enabled by these mitigation practices. We analyse the response of the space object population to the introduction of a large constellation conforming to the post-mission disposal guideline with differing levels of success and with different disposal orbit options. The results show that a high success rate of post-mission disposal by constellation satellites is a key driver for space sustainability.
154-162
Virgili, B.
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Lewis, H.
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Radtke, J.
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Krag, H.
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Revelin, B.
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Cazaux, C.
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Colombo, C.
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Crowther, R.
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Metz, M
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September 2016
Virgili, B.
107b5ab1-194e-4ffd-810d-2bf0031172ac
Lewis, H.
e9048cd8-c188-49cb-8e2a-45f6b316336a
Radtke, J.
916f4bf2-7c9a-4adb-8962-a71e492699e7
Krag, H.
b08ba6ad-c485-40ea-8510-7474c5a2a6fd
Revelin, B.
b9fa2d78-2265-4c0f-9774-b49c85f2d843
Cazaux, C.
e6a275c7-1499-46d4-a4a9-0e51cb2ae50d
Colombo, C.
595ced96-9494-40f2-9763-ad4a0f96bc86
Crowther, R.
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Metz, M
084ba722-056b-4eaa-a084-fe9e600d1a6f
Virgili, B., Lewis, H., Radtke, J., Krag, H., Revelin, B., Cazaux, C., Colombo, C., Crowther, R. and Metz, M
(2016)
Risk to space sustainability from large constellations of satellites.
Acta Astronautica, 126, .
(doi:10.1016/j.actaastro.2016.03.034).
Abstract
The number of artificial objects in orbit continues to increase and, with it, a key threat to space sustainability. In response, space agencies have identified a set of mitigation guidelines aimed at enabling space users to reduce the generation of space debris by, for example, limiting the orbital lifetime of their spacecraft and launcher stages after the end of their mission. Planned, large constellations of satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO), though addressing the lack of basic internet coverage in some world regions, may disrupt the sustainability of the space environment enabled by these mitigation practices. We analyse the response of the space object population to the introduction of a large constellation conforming to the post-mission disposal guideline with differing levels of success and with different disposal orbit options. The results show that a high success rate of post-mission disposal by constellation satellites is a key driver for space sustainability.
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- Accepted Manuscript
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Accepted/In Press date: 10 March 2016
e-pub ahead of print date: 26 April 2016
Published date: September 2016
Organisations:
Astronautics Group
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Local EPrints ID: 391464
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/391464
ISSN: 0094-5765
PURE UUID: 2d3ed6ea-d4a7-4873-ab94-5c1deef73f96
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Date deposited: 13 Apr 2016 15:27
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 05:29
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Contributors
Author:
B. Virgili
Author:
J. Radtke
Author:
H. Krag
Author:
B. Revelin
Author:
C. Cazaux
Author:
C. Colombo
Author:
R. Crowther
Author:
M Metz
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