By Dean Murray via SWNS
Space scientists are paying nearly $19 million to destroy a satellite.
The European Space Agency (ESA) has awarded a private company a contract to bring the spacecraft to a fiery end as it re-enters Earth’s atmosphere.
The Destructive Reentry Assessment Container Object (Draco) mission will collect unique measurements during the reentry and breakup of a satellite from the inside.
A 40cm capsule specially designed to survive the destruction will descend on a parachute and transmit the valuable telemetry shortly after.
Spanish company Deimos has signed a first contract worth £2.5m for the start of the development of the satellite.
ESA said: “Over the nearly 70 years of spaceflight, about 10,000 intact satellites and rocket bodies have reentered the atmosphere with many more to follow. Yet for such a ubiquitous event, we still lack a clear view on what actually happens to a satellite during its fiery last moments.”
The Draco mission is described by ESA as a “small and fast design-to-launch Space Safety mission”, with the launch scheduled for 2027.
ESA adds: “To keep Earth’s valuable orbits clean and prevent the creation of more space debris, it is important to remove a satellite quickly from orbit after its mission comes to an end. ESA is committed to its ambitious Zero Debris approach, stopping the further creation of space debris by 2030.”
Satellites can be built for controlled reentries, or with extra effort some may go through assisted reentries or targeted reentries. Yet it is more efficient to meet Space Debris Mitigation Guidelines by being ‘designed for demise’ from the start and disintegrating entirely during reentry.
Holger Krag, ESA Head of Space Safety, said: “Reentry science is an essential element of the design for demise efforts. We need to gain more insight into what happens when satellites burn up in the atmosphere as well as validate our re-entry models.
“That’s why the unique data collected by Draco will help guide the development of new technologies to build more demisable satellites by 2030.”
