Phys.org June 17, 2019
An international team of researchers (UK, Germany, Portugal) working on ESA’s Clean Space initiative, placed a 4 x 10 cm magnetotorquer in a plasma wind tunnel reproducing reentry conditions to study how satellites burn up during reentry. They noted some similarities but also some discrepancies with the prediction models. They observed the behaviour of the equipment at different heat flux set-ups for the plasma wind tunnel in order to derive more information about materials properties and demisability. A big source of uncertainty in the demise process is the tendency for parts to fragment, generating multiple items of debris and driving up the casualty risk. The study is helping fill gaps in knowledge of reentry behaviour with practical simulations…read more. Video
A rod-shaped magnetotorquer inside a plasma wind tunnel. Credit: ESA/DLR