The European Space Agency has released its Design for Demise guidelines – a vital step towards achieving zero debris.
The Design for Demise guidelines serve as the technical backbone for engineers tasked with ensuring that when a satellite returns to Earth, it leaves nothing behind but a streak of light in the sky.
By February 2021, more than 6,000 launches had placed more than 45,000 metric tonnes of debris into orbit, posing significant risks to life on Earth through atmospheric re-entry.
Re-entry events have become more common in recent years due to the increase in the number of satellites in LEO. Therefore, Design for Demise aims to reduce the risk of casualties on Earth and enable compliance with global efforts to mitigate those risks.
Concerns are growing over re-entry and public safety
For decades, the standard procedure for satellites in Low Earth Orbit was to let them naturally decay and burn up in the atmosphere.
However, as satellites grew larger and utilised more heat-resistant materials (like titanium and ceramics), many components survived the intense heat of re-entry. These survivors pose a significant casualty risk to people on the ground.
ESA’s updated Space Debris Mitigation requirements now stipulate a casualty risk threshold of less than 1 in 10,000 for any single re-entry. If a mission can’t meet this via uncontrolled re-entry, it must perform an expensive controlled re-entry into a remote ocean area.
However, Design for Demise offers a third way: engineering the spacecraft so that it completely vaporises during a standard uncontrolled re-entry, saving fuel and cost while ensuring safety.
The foundations of Design for Demise
The Design for Demise framework shifts the engineering mindset from “structural integrity at all costs” to “intentional vulnerability.”
The handbook outlines several core strategies to ensure a spacecraft breaks apart early enough and thoroughly enough for the atmosphere to consume it.
Material substitution
One of the primary hurdles to the demise of space debris is the use of materials with high melting points. The handbook encourages replacing titanium and stainless steel with aluminium or other low-melting-point alloys where possible. For example, replacing a titanium propellant tank with an aluminium one can be the difference between a 50kg fragment hitting the ground and total vaporisation.
Early break-up mechanisms
The document emphasises that the sooner a satellite’s internal components are exposed to the heat of re-entry (plasma), the more likely they are to melt.
This is achieved through shape-memory alloys or meltable joints that cause the external structure to shed early, exposing the satellite’s “guts” to extreme temperatures.
Containment and relocation
If a high-melting-point component must be used (such as an optical lens or a reaction wheel), the guidelines suggest placing it in a location where it experiences maximum heat flux or designing the surrounding structure to eject the component, so it isn’t shielded by other debris.
DRAMA software: Verifying the demise of new satellites
An important part of the Design for Demise guidelines is addressing how engineers verify that their designs will actually work, utilising the DRAMA (Debris Risk Assessment and Mitigation Analysis) software suite.
The guidelines provide a standardised methodology for modelling re-entry, from “Object-Oriented” models that track every nut and bolt to “Spacecraft-Oriented” models that simulate the aerodynamic tumbling of the entire vessel.
The 2025 handbook issue provides updated thermal coefficients and aerodynamic drag models based on recent flight data. This ensures that the “demisability” of a satellite is not just a guess, but a mathematically verified certainty before the craft ever leaves the launchpad.
How Design for Demise supports the Zero Debris framework
Design for Demise is a vital component of ESA’s Zero Debris Charter, which aims to stop the net growth of space debris by 2030. By making D4D a standard part of the procurement process, ESA is signalling to the global space industry that sustainability is now a requirement for flight.
The guidelines also address the impact on astronomy. By ensuring satellites’ demise completely, the industry avoids leaving defunct debris in orbit that can reflect sunlight and interfere with ground-based telescopes – a growing concern for the scientific community.
Towards sustainable, debris-free orbit
The release of Design by Demise marks a transition in space engineering, signalling that the world is moving away from an era of disposable space towards one of responsibility.
By providing a clear, technical roadmap for Design for Demise, ESA is empowering engineers to build satellites that perform brilliantly in life and vanish safely in death.
As we look towards 2030, these guidelines will likely become the global gold standard, ensuring that the final frontier remains open, safe, and clear for future generations of explorers.