ADEO-2

A GSTP activity is developing a subsystem that will recognise as soon as the satellite has come to the end of its mission or has failed, for example if it has had no signal for a month. It will then slowly unfurl a large aluminium-coated polyamide membrane, attached to four carbon-fibre reinforced booms. This membrane acts as a sail, to create a drag effect causing the spacecraft to decrease its orbit much faster, catching at the atmosphere to slow the worn-out spacecraft enough that it will burn up entirely. A process that can take quite long, depending on the spacecraft – up to 25 years.

This image shows such a subsystem undergoing mechanical tests at DLR in Bremen.