P5_4 Decommissioning the International Space Station

Abstract

The goal of this paper was to see whether it would be possible to de-orbit the International Space Station by completing a single Hohmann Transfer burn, using only the Progress module engine, reducing its orbital radius so that it experiences higher atmospheric drag. We found that 12,760 kg of fuel would be required to create a burn to achieve this, and therefore not possible with the Progress module in its current capacity.