Spacecraft design can be an arduous undertaking. Even using modern executable model-based engineering tools, multiple iterations and flight experience must be accumulated in order to produce optimal designs.
Spaceships are more than mere containers for advanced technology; they act as mirrors of culture and society they represent. From sleek X-wings to the menacing Borg cube, each detail tells its own tale.
Structure
Spacecraft are engineered for various missions and come in all sizes, shapes, complexities and purposes. Their designs aim to remain resilient – meaning they should still function when something goes wrong rather than fail outright.
Radiators, thermal control, communications and propulsion systems are among the typical components found on spacecraft. Radiators transfer heat generated in electronics equipment to the spacecraft body; typically constructed of aluminum face sheets sandwiching a honeycomb core that minimizes thermal expansion.
Spacecraft are usually designed for specific missions, with shapes that either spin in space or remain stationary during launch. A launch vehicle must be strong enough to support their weight as well as that of their payload and survive space’s extreme environment, including high vacuum, microgravity, large temperature variations and radiation – these challenges must also be met without fail in spacecraft structures tested through static load tests, shear/bending/torsional/lateral load tests using tournament devices and shear load tests using tournament devices.
Payload
Spacecraft design involves engineers from diverse fields working collaboratively, such as engineering, physics, mathematics and computer science. This complex undertaking often serves to inspire young students into STEM subjects – inspiring the next generation of engineers, scientists and innovators!
Payload of a spacecraft includes instruments and devices designed to carry out its mission. For instance, a probe sent to Mercury must be designed so it can withstand its extreme conditions.
Payload design considerations also include propulsion systems to minimize launch costs and orbital debris; solar sails which use pressure from sunlight as thrust; communication systems capable of high-speed, low-latency data transmissions and positioning control onboard the spacecraft; as well as atomic clocks which provide precise timing and positioning control onboard. Reusable spacecraft that can be reused multiple times for missions is another major aspect of payload design.
Thermal Management
Spacecraft must withstand many different environmental factors when traveling to destinations like the Moon or other planets, including thermal control systems that ensure optimal system performance, protect materials from degradation and shield astronauts and lander components against structural failure in space.
Passive thermal control methods don’t rely on external power to maintain spacecraft temperature regulation, usually consisting of multiple layers of insulation, thermal coatings and heat pipes that transport heat by evaporating and condensing aluminum/ammonia working fluid into radiators for cooling purposes.
Once preliminary design is complete, the mission is officially “adopted”, followed by detailed designs laid out for Engineering Model and Qualification Model phases, before an industrial prime contractor to handle manufacturing, integration, flight model production and launch vehicle operations is selected and spacecraft construction and testing begins.
Communication
This course introduces spacecraft subsystems, including power, avionics, communication and command and data handling. A bus connects these subsystems to their payload; which could include satellite or planetary probe (like GRACE, Starlink or OSIRIS-REx) or human carrying spacecraft such as the International Space Station, Orion or Neutron-1.
Command, Control and Communications Architecture is the bridge between mission operations and your spacecraft; this consists of wired or wireless links from your spacecraft to a ground station and eventually to your mission control center. Long distance communication using satellite relay networks or Deep Space Network terminals are also included here.
Space communications involve using transmitters with relatively low RF power consumption, enhanced by high-gain antennas, as well as a network of terminals located around the world to receive and relay them. Signals traveling at lightspeed present real-time communication difficulties – thus prompting many missions to use amateur radio operators/ham radio enthusiasts to monitor and report back their progress.