GTO upper stage deorbit

Spacecraft and rocket upper stage passivation

The predominant upper stage is the Centaur mentioned above.

The upper stage then has to take measures to minimize debris.

These are the result of rocket upper stage explosions, intentional distractions and other unknown factors.

Guideline 4 2 of this document addresses the issue of spacecraft and upper stage passivation.

In general, the components of the system for releasing the spacecraft remain with the upper stage.

The perigee altitude of the upper stage could be selected to ensure a limited orbital lifetime.

A series of explosion experiments for modelling the breakup of a rocket upper stage is also planned.

The final perigee altitude of the upper stage could be selected to ensure a limited orbital lifetime.

A special release system has been developed for the upper stage of the Chinese Long March 4 launcher.

Pyrotechnic valves to empty the tanks and decrease the internal pressures are added to passivate the upper stage.

The basic requirement is to leave no more than one piece of passivated debris in orbit per payload. That means the upper stage of the launcher in the case of a single launch and the upper stage with link structure in the case of a dual launch.

For missions to the geostationary orbit (GSO), the pertinent considerations for disposal of the upper rocket stage are the launch date, launch azimuth and the perigee of the transfer stage.

Substantial progress has also been made in the development of Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle, GSLV, including its cryogenic upper stage.

One is to leave the upper stage attached for delivery of the spacecraft to orbit to maximize its manoeuvre capability.

The other United States upper stages that can be used, the payload assist module (PAM D2), Transtage, inertial upper stage (IUS) and transfer orbit stage (TOS), have not flown, or been scheduled to fly, since debris avoidance manoeuvres have been required, so no explicit procedures have been defined.

The upper stage is used in conjunction with NASA s space shuttle to place payloads up to 900 kg into geotransfer orbit.

As many as 82 per cent of all upper stage break ups could have been prevented by executing proper passivation techniques.

For example, to deorbit an upper stage, devices such as batteries, attitude control system and fuel may need to be added.

Proposed Don Quijote mission the Sancho and Hidalgo spacecraft as they would appear on top of the Soyuz Fregat launcher upper stage

One is to leave the upper stage attached for delivery of the spacecraft to orbit in order to maximize its manoeuvre capability.

It was developed in cooperation with NASA and launched from the space shuttle by the Italian IRIS upper stage in October 1992.

29. For missions using the elliptical geostationary transfer orbit (GTO), the pertinent considerations for disposal of the upper rocket stage are the launch date, launch azimuth, and the perigee of the transfer stage.

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Figure I shows the Don Quijote mission with its two components, Sancho and Hidalgo, on top of the Soyuz Fregat launcher upper stage.

12. The debris produced by upper stage fragmentations now accounts for more than 30 per cent of the catalogued Earth orbiting object population.

In 1996, the French CERISE spacecraft was struck and partially disabled by the impact of a fragment of an exploded Ariane upper stage.

For future launches of the Globalstar programme, an additional pyrotechnic valve will be installed on the upper part of the second stage oxidizer tank.

The de orbiting technology will be used on the improved Long March 2 launcher to make possible the earlier re entry of its upper stage.

The NASDA Debris Mitigation Standard and the draft Space Debris Mitigation Handbook of the European Space Agency (ESA) also strongly recommend upper stage passivation measures.

In 1996, the first recorded natural collision occurred between two catalogued objects, the operational Cerise satellite and a fragment from an exploded Ariane upper stage.

Two break ups (one a spacecraft and one an upper stage) have been identified, and some evidence suggests that additional break ups may have occurred.

Although some of these events originated with old upper stages already in orbit for a long time, the vast majority of the vehicles were launched in 1988 or later, after widespread attention had been given to the issue of upper stage passivation.

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17. The principal energy source of upper stage break ups clearly appears to be residual propellants, whether in the form of hypergolics, cryogenics, monopropellants or simple oxidizers.

(a) A new DM upper stage of the Proton launcher is under development, incorporating provisions to eliminate the separation of the engine starting system (SOZ motor) from the stage during its powered ascent into orbit, so that no additional debris is created.

For example, a new DM upper stage of the Proton launcher is under development, incorporating provisions to eliminate the separation of the engine starting system (SOZ motor) from the stage during its powered ascent into orbit, so that no additional debris are created.

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