Modeling and simulation of a CubeSat atmospheric re-entry trajectory

In the recent years, a growing concern about space debris is forcing space agencies and space sector actors to think new solutions to limit this phenomenon. A valuable strategy is to let satellites in LEO to re-enter in the atmosphere at the end of their mission. Understand on which parameters to act in order to be compliant with international guidelines is becoming more and more important. Furthermore, a better comprehension of the physics involved in an atmospheric re-entry could help to propose innovative solutions for enabling small spacecrafts to survive it and perform a new kind of missions. The complexity of this problem is related also to the difficulty of recreating similar conditions on Earth to perform tests and analyses. For this purpose, in the framework of this thesis project, an academic re-entry simulation tool, with a particular focus on CubeSat applications, has been developed. The current version is represented by an open-source fully customizable MATLAB/Simulink implementation of existing models. Some models have been simplified to fit the needs of academic inexpert users and help those approaching the problem for the first time. A performance comparison with other available tools is provided as well as a list of known issues to be solved.