Lecture 1 Flashcards
What is “SRU”?
- Space Resource Utilisation
- General term including all possible ways of utilisation
What is an example of SRU?
Capturing an asteroid and bringing it back to Earth for terrestrial utilisation
What is “ISRU”?
- In-Situ Resource Utilisation
- Specific utilisation of resources locally in space, “living off the land”
What is an example of ISRU?
Mining water and oxygen from the Moon to supply humans on/around the Moon
What are “ISCP”, “ISPP” and “ISFR”?
- In-Situ Consumable Production
- In-Situ Propellant Production
- In-Situ Fabrication and Repair
What are 3 fundamental questions of ISRU?
- What is needed / Who needs it (Demand)
- What is locally available (Availability)
- How can it be used (Product)
What are some human needs for ISRU?
- Oxygen
- Nutrition
- Water
- Sunlight
What are the 2 most relevant types of propellant for ISRU and where can they be supplied?
- Hydrolox (LOX and LH2), Moon
- Methalox (LOX and LCH4), Mars
What are advantages and disadvantages of Hydrolox compared to Methalox?
+ Higher specific impulse
+ Cleaner
- Boiloff
- Hydrogen embrittlement
What are advantages and disadvantages of Methalox compared to Hydrolox?
+ Higher boiling temperature, making it easier to store and handle
+ No hydrogen embrittlement
- Lower specific impulse
- Less clean
What are some machine needs for ISRU and why are they important?
- Spare parts and tools (mainly metal alloys and polymers)
- Material and tools for repairs
- Important for mission flexibility
What are some building/settlement needs for ISRU?
- Construction material
- Semi-finished parts
- Structures
- Shielding
- Logistical infrastructure
What are 3 sources from which resources can be extracted in space?
- Atmosphere
- Regolith
- Sunlight
In which areas can ISRU provide needed products for space missions?
- Construction
- Life Support
- Propulsion
- Power
- Fabrication
What are 5 benefits of ISRU?
- Mass and Cost Reduction
- Reduced Emissions
- Space Commercialisation
- Risk Reduction and Flexibility
- Human Presence
What are the effective exhaust velocities for Hydrolox and Methalox thrusters?
- Hydrolox: 4,5 km/s
- Methalox: 3,6 km/s
What are the escape velocities of Earth, Moon, Mars, Venus and Mercury?
- Earth: 11,2 km/s
- Moon: 2,3 km/s
- Mars: 5,0 km/s
- Venus: 10,2 km/s
- Mercury: 4,3 km/s
What are 3 popular application scenarios for refuelling stations?
- Lunar surface (refuel landed spacecraft for return capability)
- EML1 (staging and refuelling spacecraft for Mars departure)
- LEO (refuelling upper stages to travel to and beyond GEO)
What byproducts/emissions are created during a launch on Earth with Hydrolox/Methalox?
- Hydrolox: NOx
- Methalox: NOx, CO2
What is an example of motivation for space exploration by economic reasons?
Communication satellite industry
How much market revenue is the SRU industry expected to generate over the 2018-2045 period?
170 Billion €
What are possible customers of products generated by SRU?
- Space agencies
- Companies
- Consumers
- Military
What are the goals for risk reduction and flexibility by ISRU?
- Reduce risk for failures in launches from Earth
- Minimise mission risk from transportation delays and failures
- Failure recovery (account for probability of hardware failures)
- Enable long-term stays (no mass-limitations for shielding)
- Adjust to changing needs during the mission
- Take advantage of the modularity (e.g. same interfaces for propellant/consumables)
