Space debris end-to-end service guide for spacecraft design and operation

The mitigation of space debris has been recognised as an issue to be addressed by the space faring nations around the world. Current activities of their space agencies aim at the future establishment of mitigation guidelines on various levels. Increasing effort is spend to reach an international agreement on worldwide regulations (guidelines, handbooks, standards) for the mitigation of space debris. This paper introduces the "Space Debris End-to-End Service", which is the result of a national initiative of the German Aerospace Centre (DLR). The "Space Debris End-to-End Service Guide" (SDETES Guide) is the major output from that initiative. The Guide is formulated as simple but explicit step-by-step working instructions, guiding the engineers through debris related aspects of satellite design and operation. It aims at the establishment of an easy-to-use process to foster the acceptance, under-standing and thus the optimum consideration of debris mitigation measures. Fina lly, this paper will present the results and findings from the application of the SDTETES guide to a concrete satellite project.