On Earth, death equals silence, but not in space. Abandoned satellites tend to fall in unpredictable ways, and the ESA project, together with the Institute of Astronomy at the University of Bern, sought to better understand this behavior.

ESA’s Clean Space initiative plans to remove dead satellites from high-traffic orbits. The preferred “Active Debris Clearance” method involves capturing the target object; In this case it is vital to know its exact direction and movement. Therefore, it is obvious that it is necessary to understand that almost all satellites and rockets will crash after completing their mission.

The project combined optical, laser and radar observations to develop the existing Orbit Rollover Analysis computer model to identify, understand and predict the angular motion of a completely nonexistent satellite over several passes. More than 20 objects were detected during the two-year campaign.

A long list of triggers for disturbances includes “eddy currents” resulting from the interaction of internal magnetic fields with the Earth’s magnetosphere, the resistance of the primordial atmosphere, gravitational gradients between the upper part and the lower part of the object, gas release, and fuel emissions. leak, weak. – known as “solar radiation pressure” – effects of micrometeoroids and debris, even spatter of fuel debris.

Among the findings of the research, it was revealed that rocket bodies and satellites in low orbits are mostly affected by gravitational gradients and eddy currents, while satellites with large solar panels at fixed altitudes are sensitive to solar radiation pressure.