A quantitative assessment is made of the long-term risk of earth reencounter and reentry associated with aborted disposal of hazardous material in the space environment. Numerical results are presented for 10 candidate disposal options covering a broad spectrum of disposal destinations and deployment propulsion systems. Based on representative models of system failure, the probability that a single payload will return and collide with earth within a period of 250,000 years is found to lie in the range .0002-.006. Proportionately smaller risk attaches to shorter time intervals. Risk-critical factors related to trajectory geometry and system reliability are identified as possible mechanisms of hazard reduction.


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    Title :

    Earth reencounter probabilities for aborted space disposal of hazardous nuclear waste


    Contributors:

    Conference:

    Astrodynamics Specialist Conference


    Publication date :

    1977-09-01


    Type of media :

    Conference paper


    Type of material :

    No indication


    Language :

    English


    Keywords :


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