ISO 16164:2015
Space systems - Disposal of satellites operating in or crossing Low Earth Orbit

Standard No.

ISO 16164:2015

Release Date

2015

Published By

International Organization for Standardization (ISO)

Latest

ISO 16164:2015

Scope

This International Standard focuses on the post-mission disposal of spacecraft operating in, or crossing, Low Earth Orbit (LEO). The disposal of orbital launch stages operating in, or crossing, LEO is not dealt with in this International Standard. Post-mission disposal of an Earth-orbiting spacecraft broadly means removing the spacecraft from its operational orbit after the end of mission, manoeuvring it to a region of space where it is less likely to interfere or collide with other operational spacecraft or with orbital debris and passivating. For a spacecraft operating in, or crossing LEO, there are six disposal options that might be used to ensure its compliance with orbital debris mitigation requirements (as stated in ISO 24113). In order of preference, these are the following: a) retrieving it and performing a controlled re-entry to recover it safely on the Earth; c) manoeuvring it in a controlled manner to an orbit that has a decay lifetime short enough to meet all orbital debris mitigation requirements; e) allowing its orbit to decay naturally, given that all orbital debris mitigation requirements will be met without the need for a disposal manoeuvre or other action; b) manoeuvring it in a controlled manner into a targeted re-entry with a well-defined impact footprint on the surface of the Earth to limit the possibility of human casualty; d) augmenting its orbital decay by deploying a device so that the remaining orbital lifetime is short enough to meet all orbital debris mitigation requirements; f) manoeuvring it in a controlled manner to an orbit with a perigee altitude sufficiently above the LEO protected region (i.e. a graveyard orbit) that long-term perturbation forces do not cause it to reenter the LEO protected region within 100 years. This International Standard specifies requirements for the following: a) planning for disposal and passivation of spacecraft operating in LEO to ensure that final disposal is sufficiently characterized and that adequate propellant will be reserved for any propulsive manoeuvre required, b) selecting a disposal orbit where the spacecraft will re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere within the next 25-years, or where the spacecraft will not re-enter the protected region within the next 100-years, and c) estimating, prior to launch, a 90 % or better probability of successfully executing the disposal manoeuvre. Techniques for planning and executing space hardware disposal are provided that reflect current internationally accepted guidelines and consider current operational procedures and best practices.

ISO 16164:2015 Referenced Document

• ISO 16127:2014 Space systems - Prevention of break-up of unmanned spacecraft
• ISO 23339:2010 Space systems - Unmanned spacecraft - Estimating the mass of remaining usable propellant
• ISO 24113:2011 Space systems - Space debris mitigation requirements
• ISO 27852:2011 Space systems - Estimation of orbit lifetime
• ISO 27875:2010 Space systems - Re-entry risk management for unmanned spacecraft and launch vehicle orbital stages

ISO 16164:2015 history

• 2015 ISO 16164:2015 Space systems - Disposal of satellites operating in or crossing Low Earth Orbit