Simple and Small De-orbiting Package for Nano-Satellites Using an Inflatable Balloon

Abstract

The paper proposes a de-orbiting system using inflatable balloon especially dedicated for nano-satellites. The system consists of a balloon of laminated aluminum film, gas supply system and electronics system which inflates the balloon when a certain signal comes from the satellite at the end of its life time. The balloon, once deployed, keeps its shape even after the gas expires. The package can be very small, low-cost and requires very little power for activation, which makes this system very attractive especially for university education satellites for which the satellite weight/size as well as cost are major concern. The BBM system has been developed and several ground experiments have been performed including deployment in vacuum environment and thermal cycle tests. We recognized that this system concept is viable and very promising as a de-orbiting system in the future when the satellite is ordered to have some method to avoid becoming space debris.