AbstractDuring more than seven years of operations by the International Space Station, approximately three dozen pieces of debris were released and subsequently cataloged by the U.S. Space Surveillance Network. The individual mass of these objects ranged from less than 1 to 70kg. Although some of these debris were separated from the International Space Station accidentally, some were intentionally cast-off, especially the larger items. In addition, small operational satellites are candidates for launch from the International Space Station, such as the TNS-0 satellite deployed from International Space Station in March 2005. Recently an official International Space Station Jettison Policy was developed to ensure that decisions to deliberately release objects in the future were based upon a complete evaluation of the benefits and risks to the International Space Station, other resident space objects, and people on the Earth. The policy identifies four categories of items which might be considered for release: (1) items that pose a safety issue for return on-board a visiting vehicle, (2) items that negatively impact International Space Station utilization, return, or on-orbit stowage manifests, (3) items that permit a reduction in the duration of an extravehicular activity, and (4) items that are designed for jettison. Some of the principal issues to be addressed during this evaluation process are the potential for the object to recontact the International Space Station within the first two days after jettison, the potential of the object to break up prior to reentry, the ability of the U.S. Space Surveillance Network to track the object, and the risk to people on Earth from components which might survive reentry. This paper summarizes the history of objects released from International Space Station, examines the specifics of the International Space Station Jettison Policy, and addresses the overall impact of International Space Station debris on the space environment.
The new Jettison Policy for the International Space Station
Advances in Space Research ; 38 , 9 ; 2077-2083
2006-09-04
7 pages
Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
English
New Jettison Policy for the International Space Station
NTIS | 2006
|The new Jettison Policy for the International Space Station
Online Contents | 2006
|The new Jettison Policy for the International Space Station
British Library Conference Proceedings | 2006
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