MISSION ENGINEERING

&

SPACECRAFT DESIGN

Alpbach 2007 - D.J.P. Moura - CNES

MISSION ENGINEERING (1)

OVERALL MISSION ENGINEERING IS A COMPLEX TASK

SINCE AT THE BEGINNING THE PROBLEM IS GENERALLY BADLY EXPRESSED

(too much solutions or none) AND THUS REQUIRES

HIGH INTERACTION BETWEEN SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS

THIS ENGINEERING PHASE IS VERY IMPORTANT SINCE ANY MISTAKES ARE

PAINFULL TO CORRECT LATER, IN THE DEVELOPMENT OR TEST PHASES

THIS WORK REQUIRES SENIOR SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS (OR TUTORS)

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 MISSION ENGINEERING (2)

FOR EASING THIS PROCESS, THE SCIENTISTS HAVE TO EXPRESS

THE MISSION DRIVERS (core/minimal mission objectives & requirements)

AND THE « NICE TO HAVE » SPECS (enhanced mission objectives or additional ones)

THE ENGINEERS HAVE TO DESIGN THE MISSION ACCORDING THESE DRIVERS.

IF A SOLUTION IS FOUND, ACCOMMODATION OF THE « NICE TO HAVE » SPECS

IS EVALUATED, WITHIN THE GIVEN RESOURCES.

IF NO SOLUTION CAN BE FOUND, THEY PROPOSE BACK-UP STRATEGIES

(axis for scientific descoping, pre-development works …)

MISSION ENGINEERING (3)

AT FIRST, WORK CAN BE CONCENTRATED ON THE FOLLOWING 5 MAIN FIELDS

SCIENCE

MISSION DESIGN
PAYLOAD PROPULSION
LAUNCHERS

SPACECRAFT GROUND SEG.

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 MISSION ENGINEERING (4)

SCIENCE

EXPRESS THE MAIN SCIENTIFIC QUESTIONS ADDRESSED BY THE MISSION,

THE ASSOCIATED SCIENTIFIC OBJECTIVES AND THE EXPECTED SCIENTIFIC

RETURN/PRODUCTS

EXPRESS THE RATIONALE OF THE MISSION (why realize a space mission now to answer

these questions and/or fulfill these objectives ?)

=> SCIENTIFIC REQUIREMENTS IN TERMS OF MEASUREMENTS, OBSERVATIONS

& DATA : wavelength, angular & spectral resolutions, sensitivity, pointed directions/areas …

MISSION ENGINEERING (5)

PAYLOAD

ENGINEERING, DEFINITION AND COSTING OF THE SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENT(S) :

detectors, collectors, electronics, coolers, interface with spacecraft & ground segment,

critical points (for R&T) …

=> INSTRUMENT REQUIREMENTS ON THE SPACECRAFT (accommodation, pointing,

data management, thermal control, operational modes ...) AND THE GROUND SEGMENT

(science interaction with the operations, data processing, distribution and storage ...)

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 MISSION ENGINEERING (6)

MISSION DESIGN, PROPULSION & LAUNCHER

ENGINEERING AND DEFINITION OF THE OPERATIONAL ORBIT(S) AND THE

TRANSFER STRATEGIES (from the launcher injection to the operational location)

TRADE-OFF ON PROPULSION TECHNOLOGIES AND COMPUTATION OF THE

PROPELLANT BUDGETS

=> GEOMETRIC ASPECTS, OBSERVATION & COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES,

LAUNCHER(S), PROPULSION S/S REQUIREMENTS

MISSION ENGINEERING (7)

GROUND SEGMENT, OPERATIONS & COMMUNICATIONS

DEFINITION OF THE OPERATION STRATEGY (functional sharing spacecraft/ground)

COMPUTATION OF THE TELECOMMAND & TELEMETRY LINK BUDGETS,

IDENTIFICATION OF THE POSSIBLE EARTH STATION(S)

ENGINEERING, DEFINITION & COSTING OF THE GROUND SEGMENT, INCLUDING

DATA PROCESSING, DISTRIBUTION & ARCHIVING PHILOSOPHIES

=> OPERATIONAL PROFILE, COMMUNICATION S/S REQUIREMENTS

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 MISSION ENGINEERING (8)

SPACECRAFT DESIGN

DEFINITION OF THE SPACECRAFT MODES (operational or not)

INTERFACE OPTIMISATION WITH THE PAYLOAD AND THE GROUND SEGMENT

ENGINEERING, DEFINITION AND COSTING OF THE SPACECRAFT : mechanical

architecture (under fairing and operational configurations) and electrical one (data and

power lines), system budgets (mass, data & power), critical points (for R&T) ...

DEFINITION OF A PRELIMINARY DEVELOPMENT PLAN OF THE MISSION

MISSION ENGINEERING (9)

MAIN INTERACTIONS BETWEEN THE 5 FIELDS

SCIENCE

Observation requirements
Scientific measurements requirements
A. Santovincento
Data requirements

MISSION DESIGN
Observation strategy
PAYLOAD PROPULSION
LAUNCHERS
Sun geometry
Propulsion S/S
Earth geometry
Instrument(s) parameters & requirements Propellants mass Communication strategy
Selected launcher

SPACECRAFT GROUND SEG.

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 MISSION ENGINEERING (10)

MISSION CLASSES

LAUNCHER SELECTION IS DIRECTLY LINKED WITH THE MISSION COST/CLASS

LAUNCHER SELECTION IS POLITICALLY SENSIBLE : ESA MISSIONS SHOULD NOW

BE LAUNCHED BY EUROPEAN LAUNCHERS (if no cooperation)

ARIANE 5 SOYUZ (from Kourou) VEGA

PERFO SSO > 10 T ~ 4.5 T ~ 1.5 T

PERFO GTO ~ 10 T ~3T -

4.1 m 2.6 m
FAIRING D 5.4 m

FAIRING L 17 m max 11.4 m max 7.9 m max

COST ~ 150 M€ ~ 50 M€ ~ 20 M€

The detailed user’s manuals can be downloaded from the arianespace web site

MISSION ENGINEERING (11)

SYNTHESIS

WHATEVER IS THE QUALITY OF THE PERFORMED WORK, THE MESSAGE GIVEN TO

EXTERNAL PEOPLE IS ESSENTIAL AND THUS EFFORTS HAVE TO BE MADE TO

PRODUCE EFFECTIVE SYNTHESIS COVERING AT LEAST :

- MISSION OBJECTIVES AND RATIONALE (why)

- MEASUREMENTS, ORBIT & MISSION DESIGN (what)

- PAYLOAD, SPACECRAFT & GROUND SEGMENT DESIGNS (how)

- RISK ASSESSMENT AND ASSOCIATED MITIGATION PLAN (warnings)

- PRELIMINARY DEVELOPMENT PLAN & COST ESTIMATION (how long, how much)

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 SPACECRAFT DESIGN ENGINEERING (1)

SPACECRAFT

PAYLOAD PLATFORM

EXPERIMENTS
(scientific satellite)
THERMAL CONTROL DATA MANAGEMENT

STRUCTURE ORBIT & ATTITUDE CONTROL

RECEIVERS/AMPLIFIERS/ANTENNAS
(telecoms satellite) MECHANISMS COMMUNICATIONS

PROPULSION POWER/ENERGY SUPPLY

TELESCOPE/DETECTOR/ELECTRONICS
(observation satellite) POWER CONDITIONNING
& DISTRIBUTION

HARNESS

Sub-systems

SPACECRAFT DESIGN ENGINEERING (2)

DESIGN ENGINEERING IS MAINLY DONE DURING PROJECT EARLY PHASES (A & B).

THIS WORK STARTS WITH ANALYSIS OF THE BASIC INPUTS SUCH AS :

MISSION PROFILE (maneuvers, mission duration, distances, angles …)

PAYLOAD REQUESTS (mass, volume, pointing, data handling, thermal needs, power, cleanliness …)

LAUNCH REQUIREMENTS (mass, volume, mechanical loads & frequency …)

GROUND SEGMENT CONSTRAINTS (frequency, station characteristics & availability …)

THE ALLOWED TECHNICAL COMPLEXITY (linked with the available time and money)

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 SPACECRAFT DESIGN ENGINEERING (3)

AT TECHNICAL LEVEL, THE MAIN TRADE-OFFS & OPTIMISATIONS

IMPACTING THE OVERALL SPACECRAFT CONFIGURATION ARE DONE, SUCH AS :

POWER SOURCES (solar array/RTG / batteries size & type)

PROPULSION (solid, cold gaz, monopropellant, bipropellant, electrical)

STABILISATION CONCEPT (spin or 3 axis stabilization)

TELECOMMUNICATIONS ANTENNAS (type, size, pointing)

PAYLOAD ACCOMODATION (internal/external, autonomous pointing...)

AUTONOMY LEVEL & OPERATIONAL INTERFACE WITH THE GROUND

AND TO FINISH …

YOU WILL GET THIS

ADDITIONAL DOCUMENT

GIVING THE NEEDED BASES

FOR PERFORMING FIRST

ORDER COMPUTATIONS

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 ADDITIONAL CHARTS

SPACECRAFT ARCHITECTURE DEFINITIONS (1)

A SPACECRAFT IS MADE OF A LOT OF VARIOUS UNITS REQUIRING

A LARGE SET OF SKILL AND EXPERTISE.

IN ADDITION, ITS DESIGN MUST ALLOW PARALLEL WORK

THIS IS WHY, A SPACRAFT IS DIVIDED INTO :

• A PAYLOAD (the part which realizes the service justifying the mission)

• A PLATFORM (the part giving the needed ressources to the payload)

FURTHER MORE, THESE 2 PARTS ARE ALSO SUB-DIVIDED INTO

« FUNCTIONAL CHAINS » (sub-systems for the platform)

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 SPACECRAFT ARCHITECTURE DEFINITIONS (2)

USUALLY, THREE DIFFERENT TYPES OF ARCHITECTURE CAN BE DEFINED :

• THERMAL

• MECHANICAL

• ELECTRICAL

Nota : mechanical & thermal architectures are very close and thus we speak often about

mechanical & thermal architecture

THIS ALLOWS PARALLEL ENGINEERING, DEVELOPMENT, ASSEMBLY & TESTS,

AS WELL AS OPTIMIZED WORK DISTRIBUTION BETWEEN CONTRACTORS

MECHANICAL ARCHITECTURE

THE MAIN GOAL IS TO DEFINE AN OVERALL TECHNICAL CONFIGURATION FITTING

WITH THE FOLLOWING CONSTRAINTS :

• MECHANICAL : launcher loads, stiffness, dimensional stability

• GEOMETRICAL : payload mounting area, views angles, radiative area, launcher interface

• OTHER : electrical & thermal conductivity, radiation protection …

TYPICALLY, THIS CONCERNS THE SPACECRAFT STRUCTURE,

ALL THE BIG ITEMS (tanks, solar array, antennas …) AND THE MECHANISMS

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 THERMAL ARCHITECTURE

THE MAIN GOAL IS TO DEFINE A TECHNICAL SOLUTION WHICH ALLOWS TO :

KEEP ALL THE UNITS (internal or external)

WITHIN THEIR SPECIFIED TEMPERATURE RANGES

AND DURING ALL THE MISSION PHASES AND MODES

(under the fairing, in sun or shadow, in stand-by or in full operation)

TYPICALLY, THIS CONCERNS THE SPACECRAFT THERMAL CONTROL (and its interfaces

with the power s/s) AS WELL AS THE THERMAL CONTROL OF SOME SPECIFIC ITEMS

ELECTRICAL ARCHITECTURE

WE CAN DIVIDE THIS PART ACCORDING 2 ASPECTS :

• POWER/ENERGY : GENERATION, STORAGE, CONTROL & DISTRIBUTION

(type and number of power lines, protection philosophy …)

• DATA HANDLING

(command/control, on board data processing and storage, redundancy management,

autonomy, operational interfaces …)

ALL S/S HAVING ELECTRICAL INTERFACES ARE CONCERNED (i.e. all except structure)

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 SPACECRAFT DESIGN VERIFICATION (1)

DESIGN VERIFICATIONS ARE DONE ACCORDING VARIOUS MEANS

MATHEMATICAL MODELS (thermal & mechanical architectures),

USED TO PERFORM SIMULATIONS (IN PHASE C)

AND TEST PREDICTIONS (IN PHASE D)

PHYSICAL MODELS USED IN PHASE D TO PERFORM REAL TESTS :

IN ORDER TO EASE THE TECHNICAL WORK,

USUALLY 3 PHYSICAL MODELS ARE DEVELOPPED …

SPACECRAFT DESIGN VERIFICATION (2)

MECHANICAL & THERMAL MODEL (STM)

USED TO VALIDATE (qualification) THE MECHANICAL & THERMAL ARCHITECTURE AND

GENERATE THE FINAL MECHANICAL & THERMAL SPECIFICATIONS OF ALL THE UNITS

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 SPACECRAFT DESIGN VERIFICATION (3)

ELECTRICAL MODEL (EM) USED TO VALIDATE (qualification) THE ELECTRICAL

ARCHITECTURE AND PERFORM SOME SPECIFIC TESTS (such as EMC ones)

SPACECRAFT DESIGN VERIFICATION (4)

FLIGHT MODEL (FM) WHERE TESTS ARE LIMITED TO VERIFICATION & CONTROL

(acceptance) SINCE ITS DESIGN IS AS CLOSE AS POSSIBLE FROM STM AND EM ONES.

Nota 1 : spare models are also developped to be used in case of problem

Nota 2 : in the case of spacecraft family, a Proto Fligth Model approach can be followed (i.e. qualification is done on the FM).

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