Spacecraft Engineering

Fall 2021

Dr. Rehan Mahmood

Director, SSTRL
Asst Prof, EE

Institute of Space Technology, Pakistan

Course Outline
• Space environment and Orbits (1 Week)
• Power Budget – Power Subsystem (1 Week)
• Communication Link Budget (1 Week)
• Thermal Budget – Thermal Subsystem (1 Week)
• Electronics/Radiation effects on Electronics (2
Weeks)
• Spacecraft OBC (1 Week)
• Spacecraft Attitude (1 Week)
• Spacecraft propulsion (1 Week)
• Workshops (3-4 weeks)
Spacecraft - Satellite

• A spacecraft is a vehicle, vessel or machine

designed to fly in outer space.
• Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes
• Communications
• Earth observation
• Meteorology
• Navigation
• Planetary exploration
• Transportation of humans and cargo.
Spacecraft/Satellite Electronics Engineering

• Involves techniques from a variety of scientific and

engineering disciplines
• The aim of this module is to introduce the key space
system design & engineering principles and
techniques
• The module focuses on the different subsystems of a
spacecraft along with electrical, mechanical &
thermal design of key sub-systems
Space Mission Elements
Launcher
Data Center
Orbit

Space
mission

Mission Operation

Spacecraft
Payload

Subject (science)
Space mission product tree

Space Ground
segment Segment

Telemetry Attitude
Thermal Propulsion Electric Mission
tracking and Structures Payload(s) Control
Control system Power Operation
command System

Ground
Multi Layer Attitude
Antennas Housing Camera Thrusters Solar panels station or GS
Insulation sensors
network

Magnetomet Data storage

Radios Heat pipes Booms Mag torq. Tanks Batteries
er and delivery

Science
Health Reaction
Louvres Chassis Radar Lines, valves Regulators team/ Sales
sensors wheels
team

On Board Power Launcher

Data Radiometer distribution
Handling harness
Mission Design Process
Orbit
Consider:
• Measurement coverage,
revisit time
• Launcher and cost
• Radiation environment
• Communication solution
and data budget
• Power budget
• Thermal solution
Launcher
• A lot of energy has to be used to
reach the orbit.
• The rocket has to carry also all the
needed energy.
• Handling the amount of energy
and acceleration is difficult.

• The spacecraft has to be as light as

possible.
• The spacecraft has to be as strong
as possible.
How to reach SPACE?
How to reach SPACE?

• 11.2 kilometers per second

is required by rocket to
reach space
• Also known as escape
velocity
• If the kinetic energy of an
object launched from the
Earth were equal in
magnitude to the
gravitational potential
energy, then in the absence
of friction resistance it could
escape from the Earth
Different orbits
Geostationary Orbit

• Directly above the

Earth’s equator (0o
latitude)
• Period equal to the
Earth rotational period
Challenges of space
• Firstly
• It is by no means straightforward to design highly
sophisticated instruments to work in the very hostile physical
environment experienced in orbit.
• Secondly
• Since the instruments will work remotely from the design
team, the processes of design, build, test, calibrate, launch
and operate, must have an extremely high probability of
producing the performance required for the mission to be
regarded as a success.
• Thirdly
• The design and manufacture must achieve the performance
requirements with access to a very strictly limited range of
resources such as mass, power and size.
Environmental Issues
• The environment of space is very different to environments typically
encountered on Earth, and in many respects may be considered as
"hostile". The principal environments of concern are:
• Pre-Launch Environment (handling, storage)
• Launch environment (loads, vibrations, acoustics)
• Vacuum (out-gassing)
• Neutral and residual atmosphere (atomic oxygen, drag)
• Magnetic field, plasma (surface charging, deep dielectric charging)
• Ionising radiation (total-dose damage, single-event effects)
• Weightlessness and microgravity (physiological effects, fluid flows)
• Thermal (solar radiation, temperature control)
• Space dust and debris (impacts, collisions)
PRE-LAUNCH ENVIRONMENT

• The design, manufacture and assembly of a spacecraft is

typically lengthy process, lasting perhaps 5-10 years
• Components may need to be stored for months or even years
before launch
• These need to be kept clean (free of dust and contaminants)
• Careful control of temperature and humidity is necessary in
order to avoid components degrading prior to launch
• This is usually achieved by means of clean room facilities
• Particular care is needed if optical components are present
and extra facilities such as laminar flow cabinets may be
used to keep their local environment even cleaner
• Components and structures need careful handling and
transport so as to avoid over-stressing
Clean Rooms
SSL- Clean Environmental Cabinet
Launch Environment
• The launch of a rocket is accompanied by high levels of acoustic noise
• This impinges on a satellite structure held in the launch vehicle's shroud (nose-
cone)
• The launch is associated with high levels of vibration, both due to this
noise, and also due to structural vibrations from motors and airflow
• Modest-to-high levels of acceleration ("g"-force) are associated with liftoff
and ascent and intense mechanical shocks are associated with pyrotechnic
device operation (for example during staging).
• There can also be a challenging thermal environment, due to the presence
of cryogenic propellants, and the frictional heating of airflow.
• Also there is a rapid change in the ambient pressure due to the rapid
ascent.
Launch Environment
• Mechanical Shock
Environment:
• Mechanical shocks occur at
booster ignition, or when
pyrotechnic devices such as
explosive bolts are fired -
e.g. at stage separation
• Thermal/Pressure
Environment:
• Atmospheric pressure drops
rapidly with altitude (e.g. 10
mbar per second for Ariane
4). The spacecraft must
therefore be adequately
vented
Vacuum Environment
• The ultra-low pressure environment of space (typically 10-11 –
10-15 Pa) means that astronauts cannot survive unless sealed in
a spacecraft or spacesuit
• Apart from this, there are four principal effects of concern to
space system designers:
• Volatile materials outgas (sublime) – This occurs when the ambient
pressure is comparable to the vapour pressure of the material. These
can re-condense on and contaminate other spacecraft surfaces (e.g.
optics).
• Materials - particularly metals - in close contact may become cold-
welded. Lubrication is difficult due to the sublimation of oils and
greases.
• Once pressure falls below 10-6 Pa heat transfer by convection becomes
ineffective, thus heat flow from the space vehicle to the environment is
dominated by radiation
• Under certain low pressure conditions, electric breakdown (arcing)
may occur in regions of high electric field (e.g. in high-voltage or
certain radio-frequency systems).
Vacuum Environment

• Outgassing:
• The tendency for materials to sublime (i.e. to turn to gas) in vacuum
means that we are restricted in the range of materials we can use in
space.
• Solids can also release absorbed gasses (e.g. water, air) creating a
rarefied gaseous environment around objects put into space
• Similarly liquids boil off in vacuum conditions so, for example, we are
unable to use most oils and greases for lubrication
• Most metals and ceramics are useable as they have low vapour
pressures, however many plastics, glues, paints, etc. are not - for
example we cannot use common plastic materials such as polythene,
PVC, etc., which are often used in terrestrial components
• However, some plastics are usable, e.g. Teflon® (PTFE), Mylar® (PETP)
and Kapton® (Polyimide). For example, we often use PTFE for electrical
insulation on wires.
Vacuum Environment
Material type Name Use Key TML CVCM
White malt
Silicone PC8-Z 0.6 0.10
• Outgassing:
paint.
conductive
I'RDHANE A 276 White paint 0.99 OOX
• Outgassing decreases with Thermolit RT 876 Wire.
insulation
Th 0.8 0.08

time, and is strongly sleeve

temperature dependent. Silicone rubber Eccoshield SV-R

Conductive
seals
E 0.3 0()X
Epoxy Araldtte AV 100/ Adhesive A LI 0.07
• ESA and NASA have adopted Grease
HV 100
BRAY COLE 602 Lubricant B 0.15 006
a testing regime to determine Epoxy Stycast 1090/9 Potting foam St 0.55 0.04
the suitability of materials for PETF
Urcthane
Glide Space DPTH
Aeroglaje Z 306
Harness tape
Black paint
H
Z
0.5
0.92
0.04
0.03
space use: the Total Mass Polyester Scotch 850 Silver Thermal tape Sc 0.6 0.03
Loss (TML) -Collected Volatile Epoxy Scotch weld 1838 Adhesive
Sealant,
Sw 065 0.03

Condensable Material Silicotic RTV 566

adhesive
R 027 0.03

(CVCM) test: Polyinnde

Fluorocarbon
KAPLON H
Viton B9I0
(Thermal) film
RUBBER SEALS
K
Vt
1 03
0.5
0.02
0.02
Polyacctyl Delrin 550 Plastic parts D 0 39 0.02
• TML after 24 hours at 125 °C Urcthane Torrseal Sealing resin To 1.0 0.015

and 0.13 mPa (10-5 torr) must PETP

Epoxy-Carbon
Mylar A
Cycon C89 /
(Thermal) film
Structure
M
C
0.25
0.6
0.015
0.01
be < 1.0% HM-S (40/601
composite

• CVCM collected for 24 hours

Urcthane Solithanc 113 Potting resin So 0.37 0.01
Fluor alkylet her Fomblin Z 25 Lubricating oil F 0.06 0.0!
on an adjacent plate at 25 °C Polvintide Vespel SP-3
Machined
insulators
Ve 1.08 0
must be < 0.1% DAP
Connector
0.44 0
bodies
Bearings,
PTFE/glass/MoSi Duroid 5813 Du 008 0
composite
Thermal
Glass, woven Beiackxh W 0.03 0
blanket
Vacuum Environment
Vacuum Environment
• Cold-Welding & Lubrication:
• No surface is truly flat, thus when two surfaces are brought together
they touch in only a few places
• On Earth, there is always a thin layer of air in between surfaces,
however in space, the high vacuum conditions mean that the atoms
of one surface really are in close proximity with atoms of the other
surface - albeit at a few points.
• These atoms can form bonds - particularly if the surfaces are of the
same material and are brought together under compressive load,
thus they can stick together - a phenomenon called cold-welding.
 Vacuum Environment

• Venting:
• During the ascent of the launch vehicle,
the pressure inside a spacecraft falls
rapidly
• To prevent overstressing by differential
pressure, the spacecraft's systems need
to be adequately vented - that is there
must be a path for air to escape
sufficiently rapidly
• Once in orbit, even a well vented
spacecraft may take several hours to
reach ambient pressure (i.e. vacuum).
• This is a dangerous phase, as low
pressure (but not vacuum) gas regimes
can promote Paschen breakdown
(electrical arcing) for high electric field
systems.
Neutral Environment and Residual Atmosphere

• The degree of residual atmosphere present at space altitudes can be illustrated by

considering the free-mean paths between molecules.
• Orbits much below ~200 km are very strongly affected by atmospheric drag, and
have very short lifetimes. Below ~ 140 km, the frictional heating caused by motion
through the atmosphere becomes very great and, unless specifically designed to re-
enter the atmosphere, the spacecraft will vaporize.
• Atomic oxygen is highly chemically reactive and can significantly erode materials on
the surfaces of spacecraft - particularly in the ram direction (direction of travel)

Altitude (km) Free-Mean Path (m) Altitude (km) Free-Mean Path

(m)

100 0.142 300 2.6 x 103

120 3.31 400 16 x 103

140 18 500 77 x 103
160 53 600 280x103
180 120 700 730x103

200 240 800 1400x 103

Adapted from Fortescue, P., Stark, J. and Swinerd, G. (Eds) Spacecraft Systems Engineering,
pp.24, John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, 2003.
 Magnetic Environment

• To a first
approximation, close
to the Earth, the
geomagnetic field has
a dipolar characteristic
(like that of a bar
magnet), but the field
centre is displaced
from the centre of the
Earth, and the dipole
is tilted with respect to
the Earth's rotational
axis - by ~11°.
OG I 2005 HASTINGS, D. AND GARRETT, H. Spacecraft Environment Interactions, pp.53-54,
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1996
Magnetic Environment

• The field at LEO may be modeled approximately as a dipole with a

dipole moment of M = 0.311 G.RE3 (where RE = radius of Earth) in SI
units this is 7.9 x 1015 T.m3.
• The magnetic field strength (B) is greatest at the poles (~60 µT at sea
level) and is least near the Equator (~30 µT).
Magnetic Environment

• Any magnetized material on the spacecraft, or any

ferromagnetic material such as iron, nickel, most steels,
ferrites, etc., will interact with the geomagnetic field and
cause disturbances to the attitude of the spacecraft
• Unless deliberately intended, these materials should be
avoided where at all possible
• Stainless steel is virtually non-magnetic, so this may be used
as a structural material, otherwise we are restricted to non-
ferrous materials such as strong aluminum alloys, titanium,
etc.
• Thus, electromagnets (magnetorquers) may be used to
control the attitude of spacecraft through producing a
torque T = m X B , where m is the magnetic moment of the
coil. This is especially effective at low altitude (note the 1/r3
dependence of the magnetic field strength).
 Plasma Environment
• Low-Earth Orbit:
• At LEO, plasmas are not energetic enough to
penetrate spacecraft, but they do impinge
upon their surfaces and can cause surfaces to
become electrically charged - often to
potentials in the kV range.
• Differential charging must be avoided
otherwise large potential differences can
build up, which may cause damaging
discharges.
• Thus, spacecraft surfaces should have a low
electrical impedance (i.e. they should be
conductive). Insulating materials (polymers,
glass, etc.) should therefore be coated with
conductive material.
• Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) is often used as a
transparent but conductive coating for this
purpose, for example on thermal surfaces or
solar cell cover glasses.
Ionising Radiation Environment

• Spacecraft are subject to an ionising radiation environment

due to high energy photons from the Sun (UV, X-rays) and
also from electrons, protons and heavy ions which are of a
different order of energy to space plasmas - i.e. above 100
keV for electrons and above 1 MeV per nucleon for ions.
• (Rest mass energy E=mc2 for an electron is 511 keV and 938 MeV
for a proton)
• There are four primary sources of this radiation:
• Solar UV, X-Rays - especially during solar flares
• The Van Allen Belts - geomagnetically trapped radiation
• Galactic Cosmic Rays - primarily protons and heavy ions from
deep space sources
• Solar Cosmic Rays - protons and heavy ions associated
with solar particle events
Ionising Radiation Environment

• Van Allen Belts:

• The Van Allen belts comprise primarily
energetic electrons and protons that are
trapped in the geomagnetic field.
• The Lorentz force causes the particles to
execute cyclotronic motion about the magnetic
field lines, revolving about these lines
approximately a million times per second.
• The particles move along the field lines until
they feel the repulsive force of the converging
lines near to the poles. They then "bounce"
from this mirror point and move towards a
symmetrical mirror point in the opposite
hemisphere - executing this motion about once
per second.
• They also drift slowly around the Earth -
electrons drifting eastwards and protons
westwards.
• Many millions of particles moving in this way
create the belts of particles around the Earth.
Ionising Radiation Environment

Figure 2.26 Electron and Proton Flux Contours for the Inner and Outer Van Allen Belts
Ionising Radiation Environment

• Van Allen Belts:

• The offset and tilt of the magnetic dipole axis with
respect to the Earth's rotational axis means that the
Van Allen belts are closest to the Earth's surface over
the South Atlantic - the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA).
 Ionising Radiation Environment

• Van Allen Belts:

• The Van Allen Belts are a significant
source of total ionising radiation
dose
• Material shielding can help to some
extent especially against electrons -
but cannot prevent all radiation
damage
• ~ 3 g cm-2 of shielding is required to
stop most of the electrons.
• The energetic protons cannot be
stopped by realistic thicknesses of
material shielding
• Density of Aluminium = 2.7 g cm-3, Hastings, D. and Garrett, H. Spacecraft Environment Interactions, pp.73, Cambridge University
so 3 gcm-2 = 1.1 cm Al Press, Cambridge, 1996.
Ionising Radiation Environment
• Galactic Cosmic Rays:
• GCRs are highly energetic ions
(typically a few GeV) that originate
in deep space. They comprise
primarily protons (-85%), alpha-
particles (-14%) and other ions
• They are highly penetrating and are
a significant cause of single-event-
effects -including the most
damaging single-event latch-up.
• However, the flux of cosmic-rays is
too small (~2-4 particles cm-2 s-1) to
be a significant source of radiation
dose in comparison with trapped
radiation or solar particle events.
Hastings, D. and Garrett, H. Spacecraft Environment Interactions. pp.76, Cambridge University
Press, Cambridge, 1996.
 Ionising Radiation Environment
• Total Dose Effects:
• lonisation causes electron-hole pair generation in
semiconductors. The holes become trapped in the
oxide layers of MOS devices, leading to charge
build-up.
• Such charge in the gate oxides of MOSFET devices
leads eventually to their failure (i.e. they become
permanently switched on or off).
• It also leads to greater leakage currents, causing
circuit power consumption to increase.
• Optical materials may darken when exposed to
significant doses, and other chemical changes may
take place causing materials to become brittle.
• Living tissue is damaged by exposure, and this
damage cannot be reversed once the source of
radiation has been removed, thus astronauts are at
higher risk than their terrestrial counterparts to
develop cancers in later life.
Ionising Radiation Environment

• Single Event Effects:

• A single particle strike by a heavy ion or even a proton can
cause significant effects - particularly in electronic devices.
• Transistors may change state causing a single-event upset
(SEU). Thus, data and program codes need protecting -
usually by means of error-detecting and correcting (EDAC)
codes.
• CMOS devices may exhibit destructive single-event latch-up
(SEL). This can be mitigated by the use of fast acting over-
current detecting power switches.
• Power devices may suffer single-event burn-out (SEB) or
single-event gate-rupture (SEGR) both of which represent
permanent damage.
IONISING RADIATION ENVIRONMENT
• Health Effects:
• Astronauts are exposed to radiation levels in space that are necessarily
higher than would be allowed for terrestrial workers.
• Most missions are carried out in low inclination (< 60°), low-altitude (<500
km) orbits, which minimises exposure to SPEs or to the trapped radiation.
None-the-less, there is still exposure to significant radiation levels -
particularly in the SAA.
• Astronauts who travel beyond Earth (e.g. on the Apollo missions to the
Moon) leave the protection of the magnetosphere behind, and, for a few
days, are at significant risk should a SPE occur.
• Such astronauts also cross the Van Allen belts, but this is done in a matter
of hours, so the accumulated dose is reasonable.
• The most exposed astronauts are those (cosmonauts) who worked on the
Mir Space-station or ISS for periods, in some cases, exceeding a year.
• Whilst drugs can help "mop up" free-radicals, the best protection against
the possibility of radiation induced cancers occurring is to delay spaceflight
until you are sufficiently old!
Microgravity Environment
• Spacecraft are often said to be in "zero gravity" - this is wrong!
(why?)
• The effect of microgravity on astronauts is:
• Decreased hydrostatic gradient - fluid shift - astronauts go red in the face
and they feel as if they have a permanent head cold. The heart beat
becomes irregular and the heart muscle weakens. On return to Earth, a
"head rush" effect is experienced - sometime leading to blackout.
• Altered vestibular functions - motion sickness - most astronauts suffer
this during the first few days of spaceflight and take drugs to try to
prevent vomiting;
• Reduced load on weight bearing tissues - astronauts become weak,
muscles begin to waste away even with exercise in space. They and have
difficulty standing upon return to Earth. Their bones lose calcium and this
could lead to increased probability of bone fractures. The bone marrow is
also affected.
• Microgravity can be simulated for a few minutes at a time by an aircraft
flying in a ballistic trajectory - euphemistically known as the "vomit
comet".
Microgravity Environment
• Microgravity allows very flimsy(fragile) structures to be
deployed
• For example large solar panels or long booms, which could not
support their own weight on Earth. Note however that momentum
is mass dependent not weight dependent, so objects still have
inertia.
• Microgravity means that buoyancy effects do not apply
• For example an air bubble will stay embedded in water, convection
currents do not occur, fluids do not flow by gravity - instead surface
forces (surface tension) becomes an important mechanism of fluid
flow - this has important consequences for rocket propellant
management and for heat transfer in spacecraft.
• Hot air does not rise
• this affects flame dynamics (a fire on-board a spacecraft is very
serious)
• the C02 an astronaut breathes out goes nowhere without forced
ventilation.
Microgravity Environment
• Gravity Gradient:
• The force of gravity decays with
increasing radial distance from the
centre of the Earth, r, by the
inverse-square law
• Therefore for any elongated
spacecraft, the force of gravity at
one end may not be equal to the
force at the other, depending upon
its angle to the vertical.
• This gives rise to a torque which
tends to align the long axis of the
satellite vertically.

• Where Iz and lx are the

longitudinal and transverse
moments of inertia respectively.
Thermal Environment
• The Sun:
• The Sun is a major source of heat
input to a spacecraft - both directly
and by reflection from the Earth
(albedo).
• The Sun's output matches closely
that of a blackbody radiator at a
temperature of 5800 K.
• At Earth's mean distance from the
Sun (1 International Astronomical
Unit = 149,600,000 km), it delivers a
power flux of 1353 Wm-2 (the Solar
Constant).
• This varies as the Earth revolves
around its orbit, reaching a peak of
~1399 Wm-2 at perihelion (2nd
January) and dropping to -1310 W
m-2 at aphelion (2nd July).
• For LEO spacecraft, infra-red also
heat the spacecraft.
Thermal Environment
• Satellite Thermal Environment:
• Because of the large free mean path,
the temperature of the residual
atmosphere (-1000 K) has no impact
on spacecraft temperature.
• Unless the satellite is at very low
altitude < -140 km, aerodynamic
heating is negligible.
• Thus, a satellite's temperature results
from any internal source of heat (e.g.
electrical power dissipation) and its
radiative energy balance with the
external environment (Sun, Earth, and
space).
• Therefore the thermo-optical
properties of the spacecraft's surfaces
are the principal means for controlling Langton. N.H. The Space Environment, pp.54, British Interplanetary Society, London, 1969.

its thermal behavior.

Thermal Environment
• Satellite Eclipses:
• Eclipse duration has a large
effect on spacecraft
temperature, as well as on the
orbit-average power
generation.
• For a circular orbit, the
fraction of time a satellite
spends in sunlight is given by:
• Where R is the radius of
the Earth and h is the
height of the satellite.
Space Dust and Debris Environment

• The relative velocity of objects in the solar system can be as high as

70 km s-1. At such hyper-velocities, even a small piece of dust carries
tremendous energy (kinetic energy, KE = 1/2 mv2)
• Naturally occurring material falls onto the Earth at the rate of several
thousand tonnes per year. Much of this is in the form of dust, even
so such dust can penetrate spacecraft and cause damage.

Figure 2.33 Mass Distribution of ihe Mctcoroid Flu* Measured from LDEF
Space Dust and Debris Environment
• Orbital Debris:
• The effects of orbital debris depend on
velocity and mass, for example, head
on collision velocity in LEO is - 16 kms-
1.

• For debris sizes - 0.01 cm, surface

pitting and erosion occur. For debris
larger than 0.1 cm structural damage
becomes an important consideration.
The problem is that objects smaller
than -10 cm cannot be tracked from
the ground!
• Whipple shields (double-walled
surfaces) can help mitigate impacts -
the outer surface vaporises the
impactor, whilst the inner surface
absorbs the impact of the resulting
gas/plasma.
• Space (LEO and GEO) is getting
crowded so defunct spacecraft
(including spent upper stages) Figure 2-11. Altitude Distribution of Objects in Low Earth Orbit

increasingly will need to be disposed

of in the atmosphere, or dumped in
"graveyard" orbits.
Space Dust and Debris Environment

• Orbital Debris - Predictions: (SPENVIS)

Figure 2.34 Predicted Flux Levels for Two Growth Assumptions

Orbital Debris
Conclusions:

• The space environment is complex and is still under

active investigation.
• Knowledge of the space environment and its effects is
vital to the design of space systems.