Lecture 2 Flashcards
What is the purpose of the PLATO 2.0 mission?
To provide a large catalogue of highly accurate bulk planet parameters.
What is the purpose of the ARIEL mission?
To observe 1000 planets orbiting distant stars and make the first large-scale survey of the chemistry of exoplanet atmospheres.
What is the purpose of the EUCLID mission?
To study dark matter and dark energy through gravitational lensing and baryonic acoustical oscillations.
What is the purpose of the ATHENA mission?
To map hot gas structures and determining their physical properties, also to search for supermassive black holes
Describe the rough life cycle of a space mission.
Concept exploration -> Detailed development -> Production and deployment -> Operations and support
Describe the space mission analysis and design process.
Define Objectives
A. Define broad objectives and constraints
B. Estimate quantitative mission needs and requirements
Characterize the mission
C. Define alternative mission concepts
D. Define alternative mission architechtures
E. Identify system drivers for each
F. Characterize mission concepts and architechtures
Evaluate the mission
G. Identify driving requirements
H. Evaluate mission utility
I. Define mission concept (baseline)
Define requirements
J. Define system requirements
K. Allocate requirements to system elements
Define objectives -> Characterize the mission -> Evaluate mission -> Define requirements
What are the 4 types of spacecraft orbits?
Parking orbit(Temporary orbit for check-out, storage & end-of-life), Transfer orbit(Orbit that takes you somewhere, e.g. Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO), Interplanetary Orbit to Mars), space referenced orbit(Operational orbit somewhere in space, e.g. Lagrange point, drift-away orbit, Voyager orbit) and earth referenced orbit(Operational orbit centered on Earth)
Describe the spacecraft orbit design process.
- Establish orbit type (Pick one of the four).
- Establish Orbit Related mission requirements ( Like limits, altitude, coverage and lifetime)
- Assess specialised orbits ( eg if the orbit should be geostationary, have a specific altitude, inclination aso)
- Single satellite or constellation (Do we want just one large with many instruments or several small with a single instrument)
- Mission orbit design trades (Reusability?)
Give an example of a Low earth orbit (LEO) <2000km object.
The ISS, military communication, space shuttle.
Give an example of a Medium earth orbit (MEO) <20000km object.
GPS (NAVSTAR, Galileo)
What is a lagrange point?
Lagrange points are points near two large orbiting bodies. In these points the gravitational forces of the bodies cancel out and do not alter the orbit of whatever object resides there. For example a satellite in a lagrange point of the earth and sun can have the same orbital period as the earth.
