The end-of-life disposal of satellites in libration-point orbits using solar radiation pressure

This paper proposes an end-of-life propellant-free disposal strategy for libration-point orbits which uses solar radiation pressure to restrict the evolution of the spacecraft motion. The spacecraft is initially disposed into the unstable manifold leaving the libration-point orbit, before a reflective sun-pointing surface is deployed to enhance the effect of solar radiation pressure. Therefore, the consequent increase in energy prevents the spacecraft's return to Earth. Three European Space Agency missions are selected as test case scenarios: Herschel, SOHO and Gaia. Guidelines for the end-of-life disposal of future libration-point orbit missions are proposed and a preliminary study on the effect of the Earth's orbital eccentricity on the disposal strategy is shown for the Gaia mission.