Small spacecraft’s inflatable aerodynamic decelerator design issues analysis

The space debris problem is becoming more and more relevant with the increasing availability of space. Thus, the necessity to equip new spacecrafts with special disposal devices arises. One of the possible ways to dispose of a disabled satellite is its transferring to the dense atmosphere using decelerator devices. Design and technology issues of small spacecraft’s inflatable aerodynamic decelerator (IAD) were analyzed.