DEFINITION:

It includes:

• Modelling and Risk Analysis:

Includes population models for meteoroids and debris (current and future evolution), statistical and operational risk analysis in space and re-entry survivability and safety analysis on the ground.

• Mitigation, Remediation and Protection:

Includes identification, standardisation and verification of the implementation of mitigation measures and accompanying models, environment prediction modelling, active removal techniques as well as HVI test techniques, development and validation of numerical simulations, evaluation and modelling of materials for shielding.

(Source: ESA TD 11B and 11C)

SUBDOMAINS:

1.1 Debris and Meteoroid Environment Models: Development and application of models for the characterisation of impact flux on orbital surfaces. Development and operation of databases on space objects, launch and space event information.

1.2 In-orbit Risks: Operational collision avoidance, conjunction detection and analysis, orbit refinement, avoidance manoeuvre optimisation. Statistical risk assessment and analysis of requirements for collision avoidance (delta-V, remaining risk) for mission planning.

1.3 Re-entry Risks: Structural analysis to determine the survivability of spacecraft components under the influence of aerothermal and aerodynamic stress during controlled and uncontrolled re-entries. Development of simulation models and models of the spacecraft geometry, materials. Computation of ground safety. Prediction of re-entry windows (date and location) of risk objects from surveillance data.

2.1 Space Debris Mitigation: Development of models and tools for the analysis of mitigation requirements for a space mission, which includes the prediction of orbital lifetime, fuel assessments, re-entry survivability and mission survivability with respect to debris impacts, as well as standardisation of these activities.

2.2 Space Debris Environment Remediation: Long-term environment projections using models for traffic and mitigation actions. Identification of removal targets and evaluation of removal options.

2.3 Protection against Debris and Meteoroids: Testing, evaluation and development of HVI test techniques, development and validation of numerical simulations, evaluation and modelling of materials under HVI, impact damage data on S/C configuration, shield optimisation.