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<title>AAS 98-174</title><body BGCOLOR="ffffff"> <h2>AAS 98-174</h2> <h2>THE REALITIES OF REENTRY DISPOSAL</h2> <h4>R. P. Patera, W. H. Ailor - The Aerospace Corp.</h4> <h2> Abstract </h2> Reentry and reentry breakup of space hardware are receiving increasing attention as spacecraft owners and operators plan for deorbiting space hardware at end of mission as a way of reducing the orbital debris hazard to other spacecraft. While many believe that hardware will be effectively burned-up during reentry into the Earth's atmosphere, and reentry is considered an effective and safe disposal method for spacecraft and stages at end of mission, there is evidence that significant pieces of debris may survive reentry and pose a hazard to people and property on the ground. This paper describes knowledge gained from several well-known reentries, including the Cosmos 954, Skylab, and the recent Delta II second stage reentry into Texas. These examples show that significant pieces of hardware can and do survive the reentry environment, and give notice that mission planners should include mitigation of the potential hazard such hardware might pose as part of their overall mission design. These reentries also provide information on the adequacy of current models for predicting the consequences of reentry. The paper outlines areas where additional research is required to refine our ability to model such events and suggests strategies spacecraft owners and operators can use to minimize hazards to people and property. <P><A HREF="http://www.space-flight.org/AAS_meetings/1998_winter/sessions.html">Back</A>