Identify and validate containment techniques that can be broadly applied in spacecraft critical elements designs to reduce the re-entry casualty area

 

Design for Demise is being applied in order to reduce the on-ground casualty risk. However, several parts of the spacecraft, due to performance requirements or long development cycles (e.g. Optical instruments, large mechanisms, etc.), may not be able to significantly change materials or design. During re-entry, each of these elements may generate several debris surviving re-entry increasing significantly the on-ground casualty risk.

 

Containment allows to limit the risk of a casualty on ground by reducing the number of independent fragments reaching the ground. In some cases, this may be enough to render a mission feasible within the cost and schedule as it may avoid major design changes. To take the best benefit of these techniques their application must be analysed at system level. The inclusion of this new function in the designs shall not be analysed in isolation in order to mitigate the mass impact and promote potential positive impacts.

 

The tasks to be carried out are:

 

? Identify and assessment of different containment options, trade-off system impacts and applicability to different critical S/C equipment

? Select best containment options and apply them to a number of study cases to address in detail the design impacts

? Assess current modelling capabilities to capture containment techniques and existing test data

? Propose and implement modelling improvements to capture containment techniques

? Analyse potential positive system impacts that can result from the selected technique (e.g. Structural reinforcement, shielding, etc.)

? Develop a proof of concept to be tested in re-entry conditions and to demonstrate its feasibility during nominal lifetime including other system impacts identified.