Elsevier, Advances in Space Research, 12(55), p. 2914-2930, 2015
DOI: 10.1016/j.asr.2015.03.012
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Nowadays the mission design must comprise the implementation of end-of-life disposal solutions to preserve the space environment and for the sustainability of the project as a whole. In this work, the Earth’s reentry is presented as a disposal strategy that it is worth investigating also for Libration Point Orbit missions. Following a recent ESA study, the analysis is performed first in the Circular Restricted Three–Body Problem, and then considering a high-fidelity model. The test cases selected are Herschel, SOHO and Gaia. Attention is paid not only to the Δv-budget, but also to the reentry angle, the time of flight and the regions on the surface of the Earth involved. A review on the known cases of hypervelocity reentries and the corresponding physics is given in order to find a reasonable approach to avoid dangerous fragmentations at low altitudes.