Plasma Brake Approximate Trajectory. Part I: Geocentric Motion

The problem of space debris is a major concern for spacecraft operating in low Earth orbits. Accordingly, a deorbiting strategy must be currently considered in the preliminary mission design phase, in order to obtain a decay within 25 years after the end of the operative phase. One promising innovations in this field is the plasma brake technology, which exploits the electrostatic interaction between a charged tethers and the ionized particles in the upper stages of the Earth’s atmosphere to obtain a drag force. The aim of this paper is to present an approximate model capable of simulating the geocentric trajectory during the deorbiting phase and to provide an estimation of the decay time. The numerical results suggest that a plasma brake-enabled deorbiting of a nanosatellite would comply with the international guidelines.