HELIOS1A EOL: A SUCCESS. FOR THE FIRST TIME A LONG FINAL THRUST SCENARIO, RESPECTING THE FRENCH LAW ON SPACE OPERATIONS

摘要

HELIOS1A End Of Live (EOL) operations occurred in the early 2012. Through this EOL operation, CNES wanted to make an example of French Space Act compliance. Because the satellite wasn’t natively designed for such an EOL phase, the operation was touchy and risky. It was organized as a real full project in order to assess every scenario details with dedicated Mission Analysis, to secure the operations through detailed risk analysis at system level and to consider the major failures that could occur during the EOL. A short scenario allowing to reach several objectives with benefits was eventually selected. The main objective of this project was to preserve space environment. The operations were led on a “best effort” basis. The French Space Operations Act (FSOA) requirements were met: HELIOS-1A EOL operations had been led successfully.