Interface between the long-term propagation and the destructive re-entry phases exploiting the overshoot boundary

TL;DR

This paper presents a numerical model that links long-term satellite orbit propagation with atmospheric re-entry analysis, emphasizing the impact of early solar panel break-off on re-entry predictions, demonstrated through ESA's INTEGRAL mission.

Contribution

It introduces a novel integrated approach combining semi-analytical orbit propagation with destructive re-entry modeling using overshoot boundary concepts.

Findings

Early solar panel break-off significantly affects re-entry predictions.

The model accurately simulates the complete re-entry process of a satellite.

Demisability of critical components is effectively incorporated into the simulation.

Abstract

In recent years, due to the constant increase of the density of satellites in the space environment, several studies have been focused on the development of active and passive strategies to remove and mitigate space debris. This work investigates the feasibility of developing a reliable and fast approach to analyze the re-entry of a satellite. The numerical model interfaces the long-term orbit propagation obtained through semi-analytical methods with the atmospheric destructive re-entry phase exploiting the concept of overshoot boundary, highlighting the effect that an early break-off of the solar panels can have on the re-entry prediction. The re-entry of ESA's INTEGRAL mission is chosen as a test case to demonstrate the efficiency of the model in producing a complete simulation of the re-entry. The simulation of the destructive re-entry phase is produced using an object-oriented approach, paying attention to the demisability process of the most critical components of the space system.