GEO disposal orbit eccentricity - IADC action item 22.1

In order to preserve the geosynchronous region, the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (IADC) proposed and endorsed a re-orbiting strategy for spacecraft at the end-of-life: they should be disposed above the synchronous altitude and passivated, to reduce the risk of inadvertent explosions. The recommended perigee altitude of the disposal orbit took into account all relevant perturbations and was a function of the expected perturbing acceleration induced by solar radiation pressure. It was intended to prevent any further interference with a properly defined geostationary protected region. This presentation addresses the role played by the initial eccentricity vector on the trajectory evolution of disposed satellites.