WILD RIDE mission ends with fireworks of success for deorbit sail ADEO-N2

WILD RIDE mission ends with fireworks of success for deorbit sail ADEO-N2

Three days ago, on December 8, 2024, HPS received confirmation that ADEO-N2 completed its mission with launch in 2021 and end-of-business with deployment of the dragsail at 506 km orbit altitude in December 2022 in a record time of only two years with a firework of success, beating international rules and regulations by three full years. This is further proof of the success of the German ADEO model, which is manufactured in series production by the German world market leader HPS for all sizes of LEO satellites in five ADEO versions. ADEO fulfils the “5-year rule” already issued by several states and organizations for obtaining launch and operating permits for satellites, and with “Wild Ride” this has now even been verified in orbit by precisely tracking the deorbit curve until the satellite burns up completely at an orbital altitude of approx. 127 km (see image).

About the mission:
On June 30, 2021, D-Orbit, a leading company in the space logistics and orbital transportation industry from Italy, announced the successful launch of another ION Satellite Carrier (ION SCV 003), its proprietary orbital transport vehicle. It lifted off at 9:31 p.m. CEST on June 30, 2021 atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS), Florida. That same day, 60 minutes after launch, the vehicle was successfully placed into a 500 km high Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO).
ION Satellite Carrier is a space transporter developed, manufactured and operated by D-Orbit. ION is capable of accommodating multiple satellites, transporting them into space, performing orbital maneuvers and precisely releasing them into dedicated orbital positions.
At the end of the so-called WILD RIDE mission, the ION SCV 003, weighing 210 kg at the time, entered the deorbit phase on December 15,2022 with the deployment of ADEO-N2 (effective sail size 3.6 m2, christened “Show me your Wings”) entered the deorbit phase and began testing the world’s first precise functional in-situ verification of a dragsail, with official “end of flight” on 08.12.2024 [source: NORAD], i.e. within exactly 2 years in a completely natural way and without exhaust gases from any propulsion system. Without sails, SCV-003’s deorbit would have taken twice to three times as long.

About ADEO:
ADEO-N is a 1U-sized deorbit sail module developed by the German space company HPS, in cooperation with several companies and institutions (e.g. DLR and Fraunhofer), co-funded by the ESA-GSTP program, the German national technology program, and the Bavarian technology program. In accordance with the new rules, ADEO ensures the removal of end-of-life satellites from LEO within a maximum of 5 years.