NASA Orbital Debris Program Office

Controlling the growth of the orbital debris population is a high priority for NASA, the United States, and the major space-faring nations of the world to preserve near-Earth space for future generations.Other countries and organizations, including Japan, France, Russia, and the European Space Agency (ESA), have followed suit with their own orbital debris mitigation guidelines.These guidelines were formally presented to the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space in February 2003.Orbital decay may be achieved by firing engines to lower the perigee altitude so that atmospheric drag will eventually cause the spacecraft to enter.Spacecraft that re-enter from either orbital decay or controlled entry usually break up at altitudes between 84-72 km due to aerodynamic forces causing the allowable structural loads to be exceeded.Solar arrays frequently break off the spacecraft parent body around 90-95 km because of the aerodynamic forces causing the allowable bending moment to be exceeded at the array/spacecraft attach point.After spacecraft (or parent body) breakup, individual components or fragments will continue to lose altitude and receive aeroheating until they either demise or survive to impact the Earth.