Implementation of Space Debris Mitigation Guidelines at CNES

Paper number

IAC-05-B6.3.08

Author

Mr. Fernand Alby, Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES), France

Year

2005

Abstract

The space debris issue has conducted the main space agencies to adopt mitigation guidelines with the objective to reduce the population of objects orbiting the Earth. The CNES standard, published in 1999, served as a basis to develop the European Code of Conduct which now gives the management, design and operation rules. This document is fully compliant with the IADC Mitigation Guidelines adopted in 2002 by 11 Agencies or countries and submitted to UN COPUOS in February 2003.
These rules in particular require to protect the LEO (Low Eart Orbit) and GEO (Geostationary Orbit) regions. The protection of the LEO region implies actions on the vehicle during the mission phase and at the end of life. CNES is in charge to control several Earth observation satellites on the same orbit and a particular attention is given to the collision risk. It is also required to conduct dedicated operations at end of life to limit the on-orbit lifetime and to reduce the on-ground casualty risk. Astra1K and Spot1 de-orbiting operations are the most recent examples. In a near future similar operations will be performed on the ATV (Automated Transfer Vehicle), the control center being located in the Toulouse space center.
The protection of the GEO region requires also the implementation of mitigation measures. In particular, dedicated operations are necessary at end of life to move the satellite outside the protected region. Strategies with an optimal control of the eccentricity allow to meet the objective of the IADC guidelines and minimize the necessary amount of propellant. These strategies were studied and applied on several GEO satellites controlled by CNES.
The operational implemention of the guidelines imply to solve several difficulties: one the most important is the accurate determination of propellant remaining in the tanks. In addition on-going studies analyze different issues linked to the passivation process, such as fluid and gas passivation, in order to prepare the future operations. The micro satellites represent also a new challenge: some platforms have no propulsion system and other solutions such as inflatable devices have to be analyzed.
Finally, this paper presents the CNES organization to implement space debris measures, not only in new projects but also in the case of older satellites already in orbit.

Abstract document

IAC-05-B6.3.08.pdf

Manuscript document

IAC-05-B6.3.08.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).

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