High

Battery thermal runaway

Risk of lithium-ion batteries overheating and causing fire or explosion, potentially leading to satellite fragmentation and debris creation.

Journal of Space Safety Engineering NASA Technical Report: Satellite End-of-Life Best Practices

Obligations (1)

End-of-life passivation requirement

High

Satellites must be passivated at end of life — all stored energy sources (batteries, fuel, pressurised systems) must be depleted to prevent accidental explosions.

ISO 24113 — Space Debris Mitigation UN Space Debris Mitigation Guidelines