LA PLATA, Maryland — The European Space Agency’s Zero Debris Technical Booklet is a compendium of practices and technologies needed to move toward a space ecosystem where, by 2030, the creation of new debris is much reduced.
A qualification procedure to avoid flaking in orbit; propulsion systems including drag sails, aerobrakes and tethers; vibro-acoustic sensors; temperature-based propellant gauging; standardized interfaces for removal from orbit — it’s 29 pages of what’s needed to prevent the further pollution of heavily trafficked orbits.
Published Jan . . .
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