Passivation (spacecraft)
The passivation of a
Internally stored energy generally takes the form of unused
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and United Nations (UN) recommend that satellites in geosynchronous orbit be designed to move themselves to a disposal orbit some 350 kilometres (220 mi) above the GEO belt, and then remove internally stored energy. Most GEO satellites conform to these recommendations, although there are no enforcement mechanisms.[1]
Standard practices
Within national regimes, where national governments can control the
The U.S. government has a set of standard practices for civilian (NASA) and military (DoD/USSF) orbital debris mitigation that require passivation for space launches with U.S. launch licenses. "All on-board sources of stored energy of a spacecraft or upper stage should be depleted or safed when they are no longer required for mission operations or postmission disposal. Depletion should occur as soon as such an operation does not pose an unacceptable risk to the payload. Propellant depletion burns and compressed gas releases should be designed to minimize the probability of subsequent accidental collision and to minimize the impact of a subsequent accidental explosion."[5][6]
Passivation practice on many launches in recent decades has not mitigated second-stage breakups. Upper stage deflagration/breakup events have continued even with newer rocket designs of the 2010s, long after the
- 30 August 2018: Atlas V Centaur passivated second stage launched on 17 September 2014 broke up, creating space debris.[7]
- 23–25 March 2018: Atlas V Centaur passivated second stage launched on 8 September 2009 broke up.[8][9]
- 6 April 2019: Atlas V Centaur passivated second stage launched on 17 October 2018 broke up.[10][11]
References
- ^ a b c d Johnson, Nicholas (2011-12-05). Livingston, David (ed.). "Broadcast 1666 (Special Edition) - Topic: Space debris issues" (podcast). The Space Show. 1:03:05–1:06:20. Retrieved 2015-01-05.
- ^ S2CID 110656798.
- ^ 50-Year Old Rocket Stage Involved in Orbital Debris Event, Spaceflight 101.
- ^ A. Rossi et al, "Effects of the RORSAT NaK Drops on the Long Term Evolution of the Space Debris Population", University of Pisa, 1997.
- ^ "U.S. Government Orbital Debris Mitigation Standard Practices" (PDF). NASA. United States Federal Government. Retrieved 2013-11-28.
- ^ "Orbital Debris – Important Reference Documents". NASA Orbital Debris Program Office. Archived from the original on 2016-07-02.
- ^ Agapov, Vladimir (29 September 2018). "Major fragmentation of Atlas 5 Centaur upper stage 2014‐055B (SSN #40209)" (PDF). Bremen: International Academy of Astronautics Space Debris Committee. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
- ^ "Rocket break up provides rare chance to test debris formation". European Space Agency. 12 April 2019. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
- ^ David, Leonard (April 23, 2019). "Cluttering Up Space: U.S. Rocket Stage Explodes". Retrieved 22 April 2019.
- ^ @18SPCS (April 24, 2019). "#18SPCS confirmed breakup of ATLAS 5 CENTAUR R/B (2018-079B, #43652) on 6 April 2019. Tracking 14 associated pieces – no indication caused by collision" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "ATLAS 5 CENTAUR R/B". N2YO.com. Retrieved 22 April 2019.