End-of-life disposal trajectories for libration point and highly elliptical orbit missions

In this paper a preliminary analysis of the possible disposal strategies for Lagrange Point Orbits (LPO) and Highly Elliptical Obits (HEO) is presented. Five ESA missions currently (or in the future) operating on LPO and HEO are selected, namely, Hershel, GAIA, SOHO as LPO, and Integral and XMM-Newton as HEO. LPO disposal options comprehend disposal through Earth re-entry, disposal towards the Moon, disposal towards the Sun or a planet; while for HEO disposal the proposed options are end-of-life disposal through Moon capture, disposal through Earth re-entry or graveyard orbit, or LPO targeting from HEO. For each strategy the design methodology is presented and results are shown in terms of Av requirements and disposal parameters. ©2013 by the International Astronautical Federation. All rights reserved.