The reentry to Earth as a valuable option at the end-of-life of Libration Point Orbit missions

Abstract Nowadays the mission design must comprise the implementation of end-of-life disposal solutions to preserve the space environment and for the sustainability of the project as a whole. In this work, the Earth’s reentry is presented as a disposal strategy that it is worth investigating also for Libration Point Orbit missions. Following a recent ESA study, the analysis is performed first in the Circular Restricted Three-Body Problem, and then considering a high-fidelity model. The test cases selected are Herschel, SOHO and Gaia. Attention is paid not only to the Δ v -budget, but also to the reentry angle, the time of flight and the regions on the surface of the Earth involved. A review on the known cases of hypervelocity reentries and the corresponding physics is given in order to find a reasonable approach to avoid dangerous fragmentations at low altitudes.

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