Session
Technical Session VIII: The Horizion-- New Small Satellite Missions or Sensors to Broaden Our Understanding of Space: Section I
Abstract
Unless specifically designed to survive, space hardware reentering the Earth’s atmosphere will break apart due to aerodynamic heating and loads. Some materials will survive this severe environment and impact the earth, posing a hazard to people and property on the ground. At present, there is very little data that can be used to calibrate reentry breakup and hazard prediction models, yet these same models are used to predict risk and determine when satellite owners must plan for deorbiting into ocean areas—increasing mission cost and limiting payload mass. Occasionally, reentered debris is recovered on the Earth’s surface, but as a rule, little information is available on the reentry environment experienced by those objects, so information from this source is limited. The Aerospace Corporation is developing a “Reentry Breakup Recorder” (REBR) to fill this void. This small, lightweight, autonomous, self-contained device will be attached to satellite or launch stage and will record temperatures, attitude rates, and other information during the reentry and breakup of the hardware. Protected by a heat shield, it will survive reentry and will broadcast its data after the reentry has completed, but befor it impacts the earth’s surface. Information recovered by the recorder is expected to dramatically improve reentry hazard and survivability estimates, ultimately leading to designs of space hardware that respond in predictable and repeatable ways to the reentry environment. REBR may also be useful as a “black box” for reentry vehicles that are designed to survive, insuring that data on breakup of the vehicle will be returned should the vehicle unexpectedly fail during reentry. It may also be helpful in precisely calibrating the breakup characteristics of deorbit modules and other hardware associated with reentry vehicles. This paper discusses the recorder concept, its development and testing plans, and required resources. The paper will also discuss possibilities for how the data might be used to develop more accurate predictions of the reentry breakup process and how such predictions might affect space hardware design. Development and use of the recorder present opportunities for joint research projects and collaboration on the hardware itself, on launch and reentry opportunities, and on analysis of data returned.
Presentation Slides
The Reentry Breakup Recorder: A “Black Box” for Space Hardware
Unless specifically designed to survive, space hardware reentering the Earth’s atmosphere will break apart due to aerodynamic heating and loads. Some materials will survive this severe environment and impact the earth, posing a hazard to people and property on the ground. At present, there is very little data that can be used to calibrate reentry breakup and hazard prediction models, yet these same models are used to predict risk and determine when satellite owners must plan for deorbiting into ocean areas—increasing mission cost and limiting payload mass. Occasionally, reentered debris is recovered on the Earth’s surface, but as a rule, little information is available on the reentry environment experienced by those objects, so information from this source is limited. The Aerospace Corporation is developing a “Reentry Breakup Recorder” (REBR) to fill this void. This small, lightweight, autonomous, self-contained device will be attached to satellite or launch stage and will record temperatures, attitude rates, and other information during the reentry and breakup of the hardware. Protected by a heat shield, it will survive reentry and will broadcast its data after the reentry has completed, but befor it impacts the earth’s surface. Information recovered by the recorder is expected to dramatically improve reentry hazard and survivability estimates, ultimately leading to designs of space hardware that respond in predictable and repeatable ways to the reentry environment. REBR may also be useful as a “black box” for reentry vehicles that are designed to survive, insuring that data on breakup of the vehicle will be returned should the vehicle unexpectedly fail during reentry. It may also be helpful in precisely calibrating the breakup characteristics of deorbit modules and other hardware associated with reentry vehicles. This paper discusses the recorder concept, its development and testing plans, and required resources. The paper will also discuss possibilities for how the data might be used to develop more accurate predictions of the reentry breakup process and how such predictions might affect space hardware design. Development and use of the recorder present opportunities for joint research projects and collaboration on the hardware itself, on launch and reentry opportunities, and on analysis of data returned.
