ISO 16164:2015

Space systems — Disposal of satellites operating in or crossing Low Earth Orbit

ISO 16164:2015 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; 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; c) manoeuvring it in a controlled manner to an orbit that has a decay lifetime short enough to meet all orbital debris mitigation requirements; 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; 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; 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 re-enter the LEO protected region within 100 years. ISO 16164:2015 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.

Systèmes spatiaux — Disposition des satellites opérant dans ou à cheval de l'orbite terrestre basse

General Information

• Status: Withdrawn
• Publication Date: 08-Jul-2015
• ICS: 49.140 - Space systems and operations
• Technical Committee: ISO/TC 20/SC 14 - Space systems and operations
• Drafting Committee: ISO/TC 20/SC 14 - Space systems and operations
• Current Stage: 9599 - Withdrawal of International Standard
• Completion Date: 14-Jul-2022

Relations

• Revised: ISO 23312:2022 - Space systems — Detailed space debris mitigation requirements for spacecraft
• Effective Date: 17-Jul-2021

Standards Content (Sample)

INTERNATIONAL ISO
STANDARD 16164
First edition
2015-07-01
Space systems — Disposal of satellites
operating in or crossing Low Earth Orbit
Systèmes spatiaux — Disposition des satellites opérant dans ou à
cheval de l’orbite terrestre basse
Reference number
ISO 16164:2015(E)
©
ISO 2015

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ISO 16164:2015(E)

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© ISO 2015, Published in Switzerland
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ii © ISO 2015 – All rights reserved

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ISO 16164:2015(E)

Contents Page
Foreword .iv
Introduction .v
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 2
4 Symbols and abbreviated terms . 2
5 LEO protected region . 2
6 Primary requirements. 3
6.1 General . 3
6.2 Ensuring execution of disposal actions . . 3
6.3 Priority in selection of a disposal option . 4
6.4 Post-mission lifetime . 4
6.5 Time in graveyard orbit . 4
6.6 Extendable antennas in graveyard orbit . 4
6.7 Passivation . 5
6.8 Probability of successful disposal. 5
7 Disposal planning requirements . 5
7.1 General . 5
7.2 Documentation of disposal plans . 5
7.3 Procedure for planning for disposal . 6
7.3.1 General. 6
7.3.2 Manoeuvring to a lower altitude orbit . 6
7.3.3 Augmenting the decay by deploying a device . 6
7.3.4 Manoeuvring to a higher altitude orbit . 7
7.4 Criteria for executing disposal actions . 7
7.5 Contingency planning . 7
8 Disposal manoeuvre requirements . 8
8.1 Guidelines for calculating the disposal manoeuvre . 8
8.2 Computing the decay orbit lifetime . 8
8.3 Computing the time in graveyard orbit. 8
8.4 Estimating propellant reserves . 8
8.5 Propellant depletion. 8
8.6 Determination whether the disposal should be a controlled manoeuvre . 8
Annex A (informative) Procedure to select a post-mission disposal option .9
Annex B (informative) Procedure for performing a post-mission disposal manoeuvre .10
Bibliography .11
© ISO 2015 – All rights reserved iii

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ISO 16164:2015(E)

Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards
bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out
through ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical
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electrotechnical standardization.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are
described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular the different approval criteria needed for the
different types of ISO documents should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the
editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives).
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to Trade (TBT), see the following URL: Foreword — Supplementary information.
The committee responsible for this document is ISO/TC 20, Space systems, Subcommittee SC 14, Space
systems and operations.
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ISO 16164:2015(E)

Introduction
This International Standard prescribes requirements for planning, executing manoeuvres, and
operations for the post-mission disposal of a spacecraft operating in or crossing Low Earth Orbit.
Included are requirements relating to the initiation and successful execution of these disposal actions.
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INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO 16164:2015(E)
Space systems — Disposal of satellites operating in or
crossing Low Earth Orbit
1 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;
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;
c) manoeuvring it in a controlled manner to an orbit that has a decay lifetime short enough to meet all
orbital debris mitigation requirements;
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;
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;
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 re-
enter 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.
2 Normative references
The following documents, in whole or in part, are normatively referenced in this document and are
indispensable for its application. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated
references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
ISO 23339, Space systems — Unmanned spacecraft — Estimating the mass of remaining usable propellant
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ISO 16164:2015(E)

ISO 24113:2011, Space systems — Space debris mitigation requirements
ISO 27852, Space systems — Orbit lifetime estimation
ISO 27875, Space systems — Re-entry risk management for unmanned spacecraft and launch vehicle
orbital stages
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions given in ISO 24113 and the following apply.
3.1
ballistic coefficient
product of the coefficient of drag and the average velocity-normal cross-sectional area divided by
the mass (C A/m)
d
3.2
decay phase
period that begins at the end of life of a spacecraft, when it has been placed into its disposal orbit, and
ends when the spacecraft has performed a re-entry
Note 1 to entry: Only applies for spacecraft performing re-entry.
3.3
disposal manoeuvre
action of moving a spacecraft to its disposal orbit
3.4
disposal orbit
orbit in which a spacecraft resides following the completion of its disposal manoeuvre
3.5
graveyard orbit
disposal orbit which locates a spacecraft outside of the protected region
3.6
passivation
act of permanently depleting or making safe all remaining on-board sources of stored energy in a
controlled sequence
4 Symbols and abbreviated terms
Z altitude above the surface of a spherical Earth
dV delta velocity
EOMDP end of mission disposal plan
GEO geostationary orbit
LEO Low Earth Orbit
SDMP space debris mitigation plan
5 LEO protected region
The LEO protected region, defined by ISO 24113 and indicated in Figure 1, is the volume within a shell that
extends from the surface of a spherical Earth (with a radius of 6 378 km) up to an altitude (Z) of 2 000 km.
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ISO 16164:2015(E)

Orbits in the LEO protected region tend to have a wide range of starting inclinations. In addition, due
to the proximity of the Earth, orbits tend to be strongly perturbed, which cause their parameters to
quickly change from the initial conditions. The combination of these two effects means that, while some
orbits are more popular than others, any orbit within this volume can be populated.
Z = 2 000 km
1
Z = Z
...