Building Space Capability

in the 21st Century

Dr. Peter Van Wirt

Dr Peter Van Wirt Phone: 719 494-9739 E-Mail: pvanwirt@tsti.net Slide # 1 3/10
 Building Space Capability in the 21st Century
• Outline
– What is the Need?, the Goals?, the Objectives?
– Human Capitol Development
– Engineering Disciplines
– Domains of Expertise
– Payload Expertise
– Early Opportunities
– Cubesat/Smallsat developments
– EyasSat Laboratory Satellites
– Operations

Dr Peter Van Wirt Phone: 719 494-9739 E-Mail: pvanwirt@tsti.net Slide # 2 3/10
 Building Space Capability in the 21st Century
• Need Statement: In the 21st Century a modern
society needs the capability to design, build, test
and operate space systems
• Goals and Objectives
– Need to develop the human capitol with the correct
expertise
» Correct engineering disciplines must be developed
» Domain expertise must be developed
– Space development experience must be obtained
» Production and Test facilities must be acquired
» Operations expertise must be developed
– Need to develop production and test capability and skills

Dr Peter Van Wirt Phone: 719 494-9739 E-Mail: pvanwirt@tsti.net Slide # 3 3/10
 Building Space Capability in the 21st Century
– People are the only expensive thing in the space business.
» Not completely true, but pretty close.
» At the core, all expensive items in our business are linked to…
– Intellectual Property
– Non-Recurring Engineering Costs
– Touch Labor
– Energy Costs
– It is the same question as the Buy vs. Build decision.
“Do you spend the effort to develop your own human talent or do
you buy the expertise from outside?”
– So what kind of talents and expertise to do we need to
develop?

Dr Peter Van Wirt Phone: 719 494-9739 E-Mail: pvanwirt@tsti.net Slide # 4 3/10
 Building Space Capability in the 21st Century
• Important Engineering Disciplines
– We don’t need to start with Aerospace or Astronautical
Engineering.
– Most engineers in the US space business are mechanical
and electrical engineers.
– Certainly aerospace, with an emphasis on space, or
Astronautical engineers are an important subset.
– Computer Engineers and/or Software Engineers are critical.

Dr Peter Van Wirt Phone: 719 494-9739 E-Mail: pvanwirt@tsti.net Slide # 5 3/10
 Building Space Capability in the 21st Century
• Domains of Expertise
– Structures
– Mechanism Design
– Thermal Control
– Communications
– Computers
– Control Systems
– Power Systems
– Orbital Mechanics
– Propulsion
– Systems Engineering

Dr Peter Van Wirt Phone: 719 494-9739 E-Mail: pvanwirt@tsti.net Slide # 6 3/10
 Building Space Capability in the 21st Century
• Developing Domain Expertise
– Masters Degrees and Certificate Programs
» TU Graz Spacetech
» http://portal.tugraz.at/portal/page/portal/TU_Graz/Studium_Le
hre/Life_Long_Learning/SpaceTech
» Stevens Institute of Technology
» http://www.stevens.edu/sse/academics/graduate/space-
systems-engineering
– Experience working with other programs in other industries
» Power specialists can come from terrestrial and aeronautics
– Training opportunities
» TSTI,
» Tom Sarafin, etc.

Dr Peter Van Wirt Phone: 719 494-9739 E-Mail: pvanwirt@tsti.net Slide # 7 3/10
 Building Space Capability in the 21st Century
• Gaining Experience
– Want low cost, short duration developments to
gain experience
– CubeSat and/or smallsat developments meet
this need.
» CubeSat community has lots of off the shelf tools
to assist in development
» www.clyde-space.com
» http://www.cubesatshop.com
» SmallSats can do many missions and are
generally short development times
» Smallsats usually don’t pay for launch.
– Rideshare Opportunities
» www.sstl.co.uk

Dr Peter Van Wirt Phone: 719 494-9739 E-Mail: pvanwirt@tsti.net Slide # 8 3/10
 Building Space Capability in the 21st Century
• EyasSat Laboratory Satellites
– Not Space Qualified Equipment (around $10k instead of
$50k - $100k)
– Provides all the functionality of a complete spacecraft
– Can be used to develop understanding of satellite
architecture, test, operations
http://eyassat.com

Dr Peter Van Wirt Phone: 719 494-9739 E-Mail: pvanwirt@tsti.net Slide # 9 3/10
 Building Space Capability in the 21st Century
• Space Operations Expertise
– Classroom Training (Space Mission Operations class)
– Training with Simulations
– Gaining Practical Experience
» Nominal Operations
» Anomaly Response and Resolution

Dr Peter Van Wirt Phone: 719 494-9739 E-Mail: pvanwirt@tsti.net Slide # 10 3/10
 Building Space Capability in the 21st Century
• Production Facilities have their own unique
challenges
– Clean Room environments and attitudes
– Configuration Management and component tracing

• Test Facilities
– Vibration Stands
» Single axis should suffice
– Acoustic Chamber
» Could use the Orbital approach
– Thermal Vacuum Chamber
» Cryogenic Nitrogen Shroud
» IR heaters to transfer heat onto spacecraft

Dr Peter Van Wirt Phone: 719 494-9739 E-Mail: pvanwirt@tsti.net Slide # 11 3/10
 Building Space Capability in the 21st Century
• TSTI’s Space System Verification and Validation
Course
– Four day Satellite Laboratory
– Developing verification and validation plans
– Implementation and Test strategies
– EyasSat Assemble Integration and Verification (IAV)
– www.tsti.net

Dr Peter Van Wirt Phone: 719 494-9739 E-Mail: pvanwirt@tsti.net Slide # 12 3/10
 Building Space Capability in the 21st Century
• Production skills for space systems
can have special challenges.
– Restricted manufacturing techniques
» Circuit Board construction vs.
outgassing
» Soldering techniques and space
qualified solder
– Your space system will never be
touched or even seen again once it is
launched
» Everything that happens to the
hardware prior to that must be
documented

Dr Peter Van Wirt Phone: 719 494-9739 E-Mail: pvanwirt@tsti.net Slide # 13 3/10
 Building Space Capability in the 21st Century
• Building Space capability in the 21st Century should
become more routine.
– Many organizations wanting to assist.
– Training tools are becoming more global.
– Start small and build complexity, both as an organization
and for specific space missions.

Dr Peter Van Wirt Phone: 719 494-9739 E-Mail: pvanwirt@tsti.net Slide # 14 3/10