Additional Historical Solid Rocket Motor Burns
- Paper number
IAC-06-B6.2.07
- Author
Mr. Carsten Wiedemann, Institute of Aerospace Systems, Germany
- Coauthor
Mrs. Maren Homeister, Institute of Aerospace Systems, Germany
- Coauthor
Mr. Sebastian Stabroth, Technical University of Braunschweig, Germany
- Coauthor
Mr. Michael Oswald, Institute of Aerospace Systems, Germany
- Coauthor
Dr. Heiner Klinkrad, European Space Agency/ESOC, Germany
- Coauthor
Mr. Peter Voersmann, Institute of Aerospace Systems, Germany
- Year
2006
- Abstract
The use of orbital solid rocket motors (SRM) is responsible for the release of a high number of slag and Al2O3 dust particles which contribute to the space debris environment. This contribution has been modeled for the ESA space debris model MASTER (Meteoroid and Space Debris Terrestrial Environment Reference). The current model version, MASTER-2005, is based on the simulation of 1,076 orbital SRM firings which mainly contributed to the long-term debris environment. SRM firings on very low earth orbits which produce only short living particles are not considered. A comparison of the modeled flux with impact data from returned surfaces shows that the shape and quantity of the modeled SRM dust distribution matches that of recent Hubble Space Telescope (HST) solar array measurements very well. However, the absolute flux level for dust is underpredicted for some of the analyzed Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) surfaces. This indicates that some past SRM firings are not included in the current event database. Thus it is necessary to investigate, if additional historical SRM burns, like the retro-burn of low orbiting re-entry capsules, may be responsible for these dust impacts. The most suitable candidates for these firings are the large number of SRM retro-burns of return capsules. This paper focuses on the SRM retro-burns of Russian photoreconnaissance satellites, which were used in high numbers during the time of the LDEF mission. It is discussed which types of satellites and motors may have been responsible for this historical contribution. Altogether, 870 additional SRM retro-burns have been identified. An important task is the identification of such missions to complete the current event data base. Different types of motors have been used to de-orbit both large satellites and small film return capsules. The results of simulation runs are presented in terms of spatial density.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
IAC-06-B6.2.07.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).
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