Space Mission Design and Operations Course

Lesson 1 • The Space Environment

Covers vacuum, radiation, thermal extremes, and microgravity as engineering constraints. Grounds all subsequent design decisions in physical reality.

Lesson 2 • Mission Objectives and Requirements

Translates stakeholder needs into measurable mission requirements. Establishes the requirements hierarchy used in all design chapters.

Lesson 3 • Mission Lifecycle Overview

Maps concept, development, launch, operations, and disposal phases. Provides the structural framework used throughout the course.

Lesson 1 • Orbit Types and Applications

Compares LEO, MEO, GEO, HEO, and special orbits by mission utility. Connects orbit choice to payload performance and coverage requirements.

Lesson 2 • Orbital Manoeuvres and Delta-V

Covers Hohmann transfers, plane changes, and combined manoeuvres with delta-v calculations. Directly feeds propulsion sizing in later chapters.

Lesson 3 • Launch Windows and Geometry

Analyses launch azimuth, inclination constraints, and window timing. Enables students to schedule launches for target orbit insertion.

Lesson 4 • Perturbations and Station-Keeping

Examines J2, atmospheric drag, solar pressure, and third-body effects on orbits. Prepares students to design station-keeping strategies.

Lesson 1 • Power Subsystem Design

Sizes solar arrays, batteries, and power distribution for mission phases. Introduces power budget methodology used in all subsequent design exercises.

Lesson 2 • Spacecraft Configuration and Structure

Addresses structural loads, mass properties, and configuration drivers. Connects launch vehicle constraints to spacecraft mechanical design.

Lesson 3 • Command and Data Handling

Covers onboard computers, data buses, and software architecture for spacecraft control. Links to communications and operations design in later chapters.

Lesson 4 • Thermal Control Subsystem

Applies passive and active thermal techniques to maintain component temperature limits. Integrates thermal analysis with structural and power design.

Lesson 1 • Chemical Propulsion Systems

Compares solid, liquid, and hybrid propulsion for spacecraft and launch vehicles. Enables informed propulsion selection based on mission delta-v and constraints.

Lesson 2 • Propulsion System Sizing

Integrates delta-v budget, Isp, and mass fraction to size the complete propulsion system. Produces a propulsion subsystem specification for the spacecraft design.

Lesson 3 • Launch Vehicle Selection

Evaluates payload capacity, fairing dimensions, and launch site compatibility. Connects delta-v budget and spacecraft mass to launch vehicle choice.

Lesson 4 • Rocket Propulsion Fundamentals

Derives thrust, specific impulse, and the rocket equation from first principles. Provides the analytical foundation for all propulsion sizing tasks.

Lesson 1 • Control Laws and Pointing Budgets

Applies PID and quaternion feedback control laws to meet pointing requirements. Produces a pointing error budget linking sensors, actuators, and disturbances.

Lesson 2 • Attitude Representation and Kinematics

Introduces Euler angles, quaternions, and direction cosine matrices for attitude description. Provides the mathematical language for all ADCS analysis.

Lesson 3 • Environmental Torques

Quantifies gravity gradient, magnetic, aerodynamic, and solar pressure torques. Feeds disturbance torque budgets used in actuator sizing.

Lesson 4 • Attitude Sensors

Compares sun sensors, star trackers, magnetometers, and gyroscopes by accuracy and cost. Guides sensor selection for required pointing knowledge.

Lesson 1 • Ground Station Architecture

Designs ground station networks for contact scheduling and data routing. Connects ground system capacity to mission data volume requirements.

Lesson 2 • Spacecraft Antenna Design

Compares omnidirectional, patch, and high-gain antennas for spacecraft applications. Links antenna selection to pointing requirements and link margin.

Lesson 3 • Link Budget Closure

Integrates all link parameters into a complete margin analysis for worst-case scenarios. Produces a verified link budget as a mission design deliverable.

Lesson 4 • Modulation and Coding

Introduces digital modulation schemes and forward error correction for reliable data transmission. Connects bit error rate requirements to link budget parameters.

Lesson 1 • Anomaly Detection and Resolution

Establishes telemetry limit monitoring, fault trees, and anomaly resolution procedures. Prepares operators to diagnose and recover from in-flight failures.

Lesson 2 • End-of-Life and Disposal

Plans propellant depletion, passivation, and deorbit or graveyard manoeuvres. Addresses responsible disposal in compliance with debris mitigation guidelines.

Lesson 3 • Launch and Early Orbit Phase

Covers separation, initial acquisition, and spacecraft checkout sequences. Establishes the highest-risk mission phase and its operational protocols.

Lesson 4 • Orbit Determination and Maintenance

Applies tracking data to determine and propagate the spacecraft state vector. Enables planning of station-keeping and collision avoidance manoeuvres.

Lesson 1 • Risk Assessment and Mitigation

Applies probability-consequence matrices and fault trees to mission-level risks. Produces a risk register with mitigation actions for each critical risk.

Lesson 2 • Mission Design Synthesis

Integrates orbit, spacecraft, propulsion, ADCS, and communications into a unified design. Identifies and resolves cross-subsystem conflicts and margin shortfalls.

Lesson 3 • Formal Design Reviews

Prepares and conducts mission design reviews from SRR through CDR. Trains students to present, defend, and respond to technical review boards.

Lesson 4 • Cost and Schedule Estimation

Uses parametric and analogy-based models to estimate mission cost and schedule. Connects design choices to budget and schedule outcomes.