Abstract
The International Space Station (ISS) is the single largest and most complex scientific and engineering space structure in human history. Its orbital parameters make it extremely vulnerable to atmospheric drag force. The complex interactions between the atmosphere's molecular structure, solar energetic particles, extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation and the geomagnetic field cause heating and subsequent expansion of the upper atmosphere. This condition increases drag on low Earth orbit satellites and varies with current space weather conditions. In this work we applied empirical atmospheric density model as a function of space environmental parameters, to model drag force impact on a model LEO Satellite during variation of solar activity. Applying the resulting drag model on a model ISS satellite we found that depending on the severity of solar events, stage of the solar cycle and orbital parameters, a massive artificial satellite could experience orbit decay rate of up to 2.95 km/month during solar maximum and up to 1km/month during solar minimum.
