Generalized Orbital Projections of a Sublimating Ice Particle
- Paper number
IAC-06-B6.2.08
- Author
Dr. Evgeny Menkin, ARES Aerospace, United States
- Coauthor
Dr. John Bacon, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Johnson Space Center, United States
- Year
2006
- Abstract
The issue of orbital debris resulting from human activities in space is a growing concern for the space users' community. Waste generated by objects already flying in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) can stay in orbit for a long time, a creating significant hazard for other spacecraft flying at lower intercepting orbits. Many spacecraft, especially crewed vehicles, are required to vent fluids into space. These fluids include propellant, wastewater, excess condensate, and others. It is important to study the behavior of particles that result from these activities, since each individual particle is capable of damaging or destroying a spacecraft in a lower, crossing orbit, and such particles are invisible to tracking radar systems on the ground. The deorbit trajectory of an ice particle is complex. It depends on factors including attitude of the vehicle during vent, initial velocities of particles, altitude at which vent occurred, and numerous evaporation and sublimation factors, including contamination within the vented water, evolution of bubbles within the clear water, and sun flux factors such as time of the year and current beta angle. The purpose of this study is to examine the influences of these factors on the trajectories of ice particles resulting from condensate water dumps, and to bind the safe trajectories of spacecraft that lie below the venting event.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
IAC-06-B6.2.08.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).
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