Space debris are a primary environmental concern for the sustainability of space mission activities. When considering terrestrial applications, the Life Cycle Assessment represents a widely standardised technique for estimating the environmental impacts of human activities; however, its implementation in the space-related value chain is still in an early stage. In this study, the implications of two alternative materials in the development of a CubeSat structural bus are investigated with reference to the well-established categories for the Life Cycle Impact Assessment. Moreover, the potential impact of these materials on the orbital environment is quantified by the evaluation of the number of generated fragments upon collision for different significant low Earth orbits. The results of this study allow to quantify the impact of alternative design solutions for space systems on the terrestrial environment as well as the degradation of the orbital resources as a result of the space debris generation

Implementing materials fragmentation in the Life Cycle Assessment of orbital spacecraft

Mio A.;Dogo F.;Slejko E. A.
2024-01-01

Abstract

Space debris are a primary environmental concern for the sustainability of space mission activities. When considering terrestrial applications, the Life Cycle Assessment represents a widely standardised technique for estimating the environmental impacts of human activities; however, its implementation in the space-related value chain is still in an early stage. In this study, the implications of two alternative materials in the development of a CubeSat structural bus are investigated with reference to the well-established categories for the Life Cycle Impact Assessment. Moreover, the potential impact of these materials on the orbital environment is quantified by the evaluation of the number of generated fragments upon collision for different significant low Earth orbits. The results of this study allow to quantify the impact of alternative design solutions for space systems on the terrestrial environment as well as the degradation of the orbital resources as a result of the space debris generation
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
1-s2.0-S0273117723010219-main.pdf

Accesso chiuso

Tipologia: Documento in Versione Editoriale
Licenza: Copyright Editore
Dimensione 1.07 MB
Formato Adobe PDF
1.07 MB Adobe PDF   Visualizza/Apri   Richiedi una copia
1-s2.0-S0273117723010219-mmc1.pdf

Accesso chiuso

Descrizione: Appendix A. Supplementary data
Tipologia: Altro materiale allegato
Licenza: Copyright Editore
Dimensione 888.14 kB
Formato Adobe PDF
888.14 kB Adobe PDF   Visualizza/Apri   Richiedi una copia
1-s2.0-S0273117723010219-main-Post_print.pdf

embargo fino al 20/12/2024

Tipologia: Bozza finale post-referaggio (post-print)
Licenza: Creative commons
Dimensione 1.61 MB
Formato Adobe PDF
1.61 MB Adobe PDF   Visualizza/Apri   Richiedi una copia
Pubblicazioni consigliate

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11368/3067338
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus 0
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 0
social impact