Demise and Survivability Criteria for Spacecraft Design Optimization

Abstract

ABSTRACT In a period where the evolution of the space environment is causing increasing concerns for the future of space exploitation and sustainability, the design-for-demise philosophy has gained an increased interest. However, satellites designed for demise still have to survive the space environment, polluted by space debris, for many years. Within this context, we are developing a framework to evaluate the effect of preliminary design choices on the survivability and on the demisability of a spacecraft configuration. Two models are presented to analyze the spacecraft against the demisability and the survivability, and two corresponding evaluation criteria for the requirements are introduced. Considering common spacecraft components such as tanks and batteries, a set of maps are presented, which shows the variation of the survivability and the demisability as function of the component geometry and material. Furthermore, a preliminary multi-objective optimization is performed to evaluate a simple spacecraft configuration and define an optimal design according to the demise and the survivability criteria.