Title 14

SECTION 417.211

417.211 Debris analysis.

§ 417.211 Debris analysis.

(a) General. A flight safety analysis must include a debris analysis. For an orbital or suborbital launch, a debris analysis must identify the inert, explosive, and other hazardous launch vehicle debris that results from normal and malfunctioning launch vehicle flight.

(b) Launch vehicle breakup. A debris analysis must account for each cause of launch vehicle breakup, including at a minimum:

(1) Any flight termination system activation;

(2) Launch vehicle explosion;

(3) Aerodynamic loads;

(4) Inertial loads;

(5) Atmospheric reentry heating; and

(6) Impact of intact vehicle.

(c) Debris fragment lists. A debris analysis must produce lists of debris fragments for each cause of breakup and any planned jettison of debris, launch vehicle components, or payload. The lists must account for all launch vehicle debris fragments, individually or in groupings of fragments whose characteristics are similar enough to be described by a single set of characteristics. The debris lists must describe the physical, aerodynamic, and harmful characteristics of each debris fragment, including at a minimum:

(1) Origin on the vehicle, by vehicle stage or component, from which each fragment originated;

(2) Whether it is inert or explosive;

(3) Weight, dimensions, and shape;

(4) Lift and drag characteristics;

(5) Properties of the incremental velocity distribution imparted by breakup; and

(6) Axial, transverse, and tumbling area.

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