There is a lot of junk around our planet, from tiny shards of paint to non-functioning rocket stages. While solutions to remove existing debris are being developed, a private German space company has successfully tested a method of deorbiting an end-of-life satellite to prevent it from becoming space debris. bottom.
The Drag Augmentation Deorbit System (ADEO) brake sail was developed by High Performance Space Structure Systems as a way to deorbit a satellite at the end of a mission. In his December 2022 space-based test called “Show Me Your Wings,” ADEO will ION satellite carrier built by Private space company D-Orbit. ADEO successfully pushed the satellite carrier out of orbit, sent it into the atmosphere, and set it on fire.
“show me your wings marks the in-flight final qualification test of as ADEO Proof of concept after testing began in 2018.the European Space Agency ADEO helps prevent future obsolete satellites from orbiting space debriscould pose a threat to space operations.
“We want to establish a zero-debris policy, which means that once the spacecraft is in orbit, it must be removed.” Press release.
ADEO is 38 square feet (3.5 square feet)-m2) Sail consisting of an aluminium-coated polyamide membrane fixed to four arms reinforced with carbon fibre. They are arranged in an X shape. T.he sails To increase Decays more quickly due to surface drag when deployed from the satellite trajectory. ADEO can also scale up or down depending on the size of the satellite it is attached to. The largest version can reach 1,076 square feet (100 square meters) and the smallest sail is 37 square feet (3.5 square meters).
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NASA 27,000 space debris orbits the earth, most of which bigger than a softball It travels at approximately 17,500 miles per hour (28,000 kilometers per hour). The ESA previously announced plans to remove the existing space debris in the form of obsolete satelliteADEO is an attempt to prevent satellites from becoming debris.
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