Re-entry disposal analysis for libration point orbit missions

Nowadays, the mission design comprises the implementation of end-of-life disposal solutions to preserve the space environment. These solutions must be conceived as feasible, sustainable and not demanding from the point of view of the operations. In this work, the Earth's re-entry is presented as a promising disposal strategy to be adopted at the end-of-life of Libration Point Orbit missions, following a recent ESA study. The analysis is performed selecting as test cases Herschel, SOHO and Gaia. We first exploit the natural dynamics corresponding to the Circular Restricted Three-Body Problem and then we develop, within a full dynamical model, a differential correction procedure aimed at computing the precise maneuver which allows reaching the Earth. We pay attention not only on the Dv-budget, but also to the re-entry angle, the time of flight and the regions on the surface of the Earth affected by the re-entry.