ADEO sail: ESA tests braking sail for quickly deorbiting small satellites

It bears a striking resemblance to the Planetary Society's LightSail 2, which utilized sunlight for propulsion in a world first. However, ESA makes no mention of flight by light. Instead, its braking sail passively increases atmospheric drag, causing an accelerated decay in the CubeSat's orbital altitude.

Ultimately, this will allow operators to deorbit satellites faster once their mission is complete, meaning they will burn up in Earth's atmosphere rather than floating in orbit as space debris for long periods. The ADEO test system was designed to deorbit small satellites weighing between 2.2 and 220 pounds (1 to 100 kilograms). However, ESA explains that the sail can be scaled up to deorbit larger satellites.

Space sail technology to tackle space debris problem

In a tweet last week, ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher wrote that the demonstration was a "positive contribution towards ESA's Zero Debris Initiative."

The European Space Agency says on its website that there are roughly 36,500 pieces of space junk measuring 4 inches (10 centimeters) orbiting our planet. Its Zero Debris Initiative aims to remove all satellites from valuable orbits once they are no longer in use.

The camera view from a satellite 🛰️as it deploys a sail⛵️ - intended to help it burn up in the atmosphere faster 🔥 to keep space clear. This 3.6-m-area Drag Augmentation Deorbiting System, or ADEO, was developed by @HPS_GmbH 🇩🇪, supported by #ESATech https://t.co/fDJE8ykIIx pic.twitter.com/2ZIozXAIog

— ESA Technology (@ESA_Tech) February 1, 2023

The ADEO sail is light and easy to carry to orbit as it is deployed from a compartment measuring only 3.93 by 3.93 by 3.93 inches (ten by ten by ten centimeters). The unfurling process was captured on camera by Italian firm D-Orbit's Ion satellite carrier, which deployed the system into orbit. You can watch the process in the video above.

ESA isn't the only organization to test this type of technology. Last year, China also tested a drag sail by deorbiting a piece of space machinery that otherwise would have hung around as space debris.