![](\"http:\/\/www.esa.int\/var\/esa\/storage\/images\/esa_multimedia\/images\/2018\/03\/satellite_panel_following_reentry_testing\/17419940-1-eng-GB\/Satellite_panel_following_reentry_testing_small.jpg\")
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\nIdeally, no parts of a reentering satellite would survive their fiery return through the atmosphere, so testing is being used to understand how satellites break apart as they fall.\n<\/p>\n
\nESA subjected samples of typical satellite structures \u2013 such as the one shown, with a structural joint between two aluminium sandwich panels \u2013 to conditions equivalent to atmospheric reentry.\n<\/p>\n
\nThe testing made use of the Plasma Wind Tunnel<\/a> of the DLR German Aerospace Center in Cologne and the Reentry Chamber<\/a> of Austria\u2019s AAC company in Wiener Neustadt to produce the hypersonic winds and high heat flux required.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cThe objective was to understand the failure modes of the current structural joining technologies used on satellites,\u201d comments ESA materials researcher Benoit Bonvoisin.\n<\/p>\n \nIn future, the aim is to design satellites to disintegrate during reentry, known as \u2018design for demise\u2019 or D4D.\n<\/p>\n \nEngineer Tiago Soares is working on D4D as part of ESA\u2019s Clean Space<\/a> initiative, reducing the environmental impacts of the space sector on both Earth and in orbit: \u201cThe next step is to develop and test promising new technologies to ensure better fragmentation during reentry.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \nIdeally, no parts of a reentering satellite would survive their fiery return through the atmosphere, so testing is being used to understand how satellites break apart as they fall.\n<\/p>\n \nESA subjected samples of typical satellite structures – such as the one shown, with a structural joint between two aluminium sandwich panels – to conditions equivalent to atmospheric reentry.\n<\/p>\n \nThe testing made use of the Plasma Wind Tunnel<\/a> of the DLR German Aerospace Center in Cologne and the Reentry Chamber<\/a> of Austria’s AAC company in Wiener Neustadt to produce the hypersonic winds and high heat flux required.\n<\/p>\n \n“The objective was to understand the failure modes of the current structural joining technologies used on satellites,” comments ESA materials researcher Benoit Bonvoisin.\n<\/p>\n \nIn future, the aim is to design satellites to disintegrate during reentry, known as ‘design for demise’ or D4D.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n