Reports recently said a new experiment used a plasma wind tunnel in simulation to determine how space junk is burning out the Earth's atmosphere.
A Mail Online report said the experiment used the said tunnel to simulate reentry conditions by heating gas in the test chamber to higher than 12,000 degrees Fahrenheit and developing winds are flowing thousands of miles an hour.
Essentially, the European Space Agency is testing the temperature threshold of satellites in the said test chamber that could help engineers develop spacecraft to burn safer in this planet's atmosphere.
Researchers initially developed a virtual representation of a satellite to test various melting points. The solar array drive mechanism, or SADM, which is part of the satellite that is directing its solar panel, was then put in the chamber and totally vaporized in just a few seconds.
SADM
In a statement, ESA said, when a spacecraft is reentering on an uncontrolled basis, its operator needs to prove that the on-ground casualty danger posed by its satellite is below one in 10,000.
Therefore, in 2020, the statement also specified, Kongsberg Defense & Aerospace, the SADM manufacturer initiated an investigation backed by ESA, Hyperschall Technologie Göttingen GmbH, or HTG, and the German Aerospace Center to demonstrate one of its satellite products' desmisability.
The team established software models of the SADM, which enabled them to test various melting points before using a 3D prototype in the plasma wind tunnel.
The virtual design comprises a final shaft, motor, gearbox, main bearing, and crown wheel, all of which can be found on a real SADM.
Nonetheless, scientists utilized a new aluminum screw that they believed would more easily melt upon reentry.
3D Prototype Developed
Once the research team had a better notion of the melting point, they created the 3D prototype with the new screws and put it in the test chamber where it was exposed to wind speeds of thousands of miles an hour, a Live Science report specified.
In just a few seconds, the SADM was vaporized, just as the software projected, the ESA statement indicated. Additionally, ESA said, the main conclusion was that the "demise phenomenology observed in test" matched quite well the test projections attained through simulations.
Nevertheless, because of some uncertainties in certain parameters like material properties and heat flux, the models needed some modification to match the tests, not to mention be validated.
'Space Junk'
According to NASA, at least 26,000 million pieces of space junk revolving around this planet are similar to a softball's size, which moves around 17,500mph.
Because of the size and speed, the debris has the capability of a satellite on impact. NASA noted, too, that over 500,000 pieces are a "mission-ending threat" due to their ability to affect protective systems, as well as fuel tanks and spacecraft cabins.
This report also specified, majority of the space debris, if not all of it, will ultimately fall to Earth and ESA is hoping its mimicry can help every piece burn up quicker and safer upon reentry.
A similar report is shown on VideoFromSpaces's YouTube video below:
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