Space debris, the product of rockets and satellites that we have launched into orbit, is a growing problem. As time goes on, more out-of-control objects move around Earth, creating a risky scenario for current and future missions. China, which is an increasingly important player in the aerospace industry, has just tested a solution to controlled deorbiting of disused satellites.
It is a drag sail developed and manufactured by the 508 Institute of the Shanghai Academy of Spacecraft Technology (SAST) that was installed on a test payload (a satellite) sent into space on a Long March 2D Y64 rocket. last June 23. Shortly after reaching orbit, on June 24, the system successfully lifted off, according to the researchers explained to the Chinese media Global Times.
The Chinese deorbiting system
The drag sail has been made of ultra-thin materials (thickness is less than a tenth of the diameter of a hair), light and highly extensible. These characteristics, according to the SAST, allow can be installed on board almost any satellite for its controlled deorbitation.
In the test carried out on June 24, a 25-square-meter sail was extended with the ability to force a payload of about 300 kilograms to re-enter the atmosphere. Of course, although it is a premeditated maneuver, it is not instantaneous: the estimated time for the satellite to completely leave orbit is two years.
However, two years is a very auspicious period of time if one takes into account that a satellite of about 15 kilograms that moves at a height of 1,000 kilometers above the surface of the planet can remain in orbit 120 years after the end of its life. Useful. This is why there is so much space debris that we have already lost control of many objects.
Regarding the operation of the system, it should be noted that acts like a giant kite. The sail uses the aerodynamic resistance formed by the thin atmosphere of the LEO orbit environment to slowly decelerate and gradually leave the original orbit. The time it takes for the satellite to complete the deorbiting process will depend on the size of the sail used.
For example, a 2.25-square-meter sail can reduce the de-orbit time of a 15-kilogram satellite in LEO orbit to less than 10 years. China has already tested this type of small candles in 2019. For now It has not been specified for how long the tests will continue and when this system could begin to be used in satellites.
That is if, for now, alternatives appear on the horizon to control the problem of space debris. The private sector, which would benefit from juicy contracts from space agencies, has begun to work on different initiatives. The United States, for its part, has pledged never to conduct anti-satellite missile tests from Earth again and has urged other nations to follow the same path.
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