MS thesis abstract - Andringa, Jason

Author:	Andringa, Jason
Degree:	Masters of Science
SERC #:	2-01
File type:	PDF, 1511 kB
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A System Study on how to Dispose of Small Satellites

A systems study was conducted to determine the most mass-efficient method of achieving spacecraft disposal by atmospheric reentry. The focus of the study was on disposal of constellations of small microsatellites in low earth orbit. The impact of constellations of spacecraft on the orbital debris population will be substantial in the future. There is currently a trend in the space community toward constellations of satellites involving increasingly larger numbers of spacecraft. Advantages of distributed constellations of microsatellites over traditional single-satellite deployments include increased performance, redundancy, and the possibility of reduced overall cost. MEMS and the concept of the silicon satellite make the development of microsatellites feasible. Policy, tracking limitations, storage orbits, and natural orbit decay are important considerations with regards to spacecraft disposal. Various chemical and electrical propulsive technologies are compared against tethers and ballistic coefficient-altering techniques to determine the most mass-efficient method for disposal of spacecraft by atmospheric reentry within one year. It was determined that tethers and ballistic-coefficient altering methods are indeed the most efficient method of achieving atmospheric reentry of spacecraft within a certain range of initial altitude and mass. Tethers are the most mass-efficient method of spacecraft disposal for large satellites while decreasing the ballistic coefficient by deploying a balloon around the spacecraft or deploying a drag parachute is the most mass-efficient method for small spacecraft with a low initial altitude. The development of more advanced propulsion systems will be necessary to deorbit small spacecraft at high initial altitudes.