Questions tagged [design]
Questions about how space vehicles and related hardware are designed. See also [structural-design] and [engine-design].
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Manned Spacecraft/Space Station design Requirements
I am looking for some document that summarizes all the aspects that need to be taken care of during design (structural resistance, life support system, thermal regulation, etc.). Something similar to ...
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Why does PSLV use four stages to get to LEO, and why do they alternate solid, liquid, solid, liquid?
Is there a simple way to explain why ISRO's PSLV launch vehicle uses four stages to get to LEO, and why they alternate as follows:
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Why is a cartoon character visible in the artist's rendition of the McDonnell Douglas X-33 proposal?
I think I have figured out the what, it’s just the who, when, where and why that I don’t have the answer to.
In 1995 during Phase I of the X-33 program NASA received proposals from Rockwell, McDonnell ...
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Did NASA's Borg Collective-designed antennas work? Have similar designs ever been used in spacecraft beyond testing?
This interesting answer to the question Do antenna farms on spacecraft make any sense or are they purely aesthetic? in Worldbuilding SE links to the NASA Ames page 'Borg' Computer Collective Designs ...
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Articulable/tilt-able solar panels planned for, or already tried on Mars or the Moon to get rid of deadly dust accumulation on solar panels?
From Forbes.com's Mars Opportunity And Spirit Rovers Could Have Lived Practically Forever With One Tiny Change:
One option would be to install some mechanism such as wiper blades to remove any ...
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Why did SpaceX change Falcon 9’s engine configuration?
Why did the Falcon 9 go from a 3x3 configuration to a ring of 8 around a central engine? Was there some sort of aerodynamical advantage to be found or something?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
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Ariane 6 upper stage schematic showing integration of APU
I've been reading about the Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) on the Ariane 6 upper stage and am looking for a schematic showing how it's integrated into the stage.
From Thermal Control of the Cryogenic ...
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Biggest periscope camera that could fit inside a Starlink satellite; how thick are they?
If all Starlink satellites had phone tier cameras & simple scopes, could images processed by their super-resolution imaging network be competitive? is a cool question and to integrate a reasonable ...
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What colors were used in the Apollo Lunar Module interior, and why?
There are lots of publications and blog posts on the exterior colors of the Apollo Lunar Module (a function of material choices), but I've struggled to find any information on the interior colors and ...
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When sending a ship to mars what is the optimal travel path [duplicate]
its pretty self explanitory but I need to figure it out but not something from the past a ship that could be sent in the next 5-7 years what would be my time frame using the least amount of fuel and ...
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Why was the LES on Apollo white?
In below images they’re red for Mercury (both on the Redstone and Atlas boosters). But the Apollo ones are white. Why were the Launch Escape Systems of Apollo white?
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Can a Delta IV Medium fairing be put on a Delta IV Heavy for small payloads?
The Delta IV Heavy has a bigger fairing because it's able to lift heavier/bigger payloads, as we saw in this question. But if a payload is small and still needs a Delta IV Heavy because of its high ...
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Why is the Ariane 5 shorter than the Ariane 4?
Looking at below image, which compares heights of rockets, I couldn’t help but notice that the Ariane 5 was a short and fat rocket compared to the Ariane 4 (tall and thin). Why would this be ...
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Why is the Delta IV Heavy taller than the Delta IV Medium?
Looking at below picture, the Delta IV Heavy is clearly much taller than the Medium. Is there any specific reason why?
https://www.space.com/15078-rocket-launch-delta-4-milestone.html
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How does Atlas V maintain stable flight with asymmetric solid rocket boosters?
While watching a launch of an Atlas V, I couldn't help but notice that the boosters were positioned asymmetrically. There was one booster on one side of the rocket, and two boosters on the other side.
...
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Are few kilogram RTG's possible with similar mass-specific power to current designs?
This answer to Mass ratio of solar-electric versus radioisotope thermo-electric power for propulsion; beyond how many AU do RTGs win? estimates a crossover at about 4.3 AU, so a trip to the outer ...
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What changes to Voyager could have been made? [closed]
If during the planning and construction of the Voyager missions they knew what we know now, what changes to the missions would have been most helpful in augmenting the science obtained?
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Design constrains for non-aerobraking re-entry vehicle?
Currently, getting from orbit to ground always involves aerobraking to shed lots of orbital velocity. This is a dangerous, stressful maneuver which also cannot be repeated with same vehicle due to the ...
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Why was there a minimum height for astronauts?
According to this answer https://space.stackexchange.com/a/2254/44505 the minimum and maximum they could be were:
Pilots: Height between 62 and 75 inches. (1.57 to 1.90 meters)
Mission Specialists: ...
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What is the simplest rocket design that can reach orbit
I am curious on what the simplest possible rocket design that have been proposed which could reach orbit.
My first thoughts would be earlier rockets like the Atlas LV-3B, but then I consider the ...
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How would the antenna on a spacecraft in GEO be provided an electrical ground?
I would like to understand better what specifications or guidelines address the electrical grounding/Earthing a parabolic reflector Antenna in GEO to minimize the potential difference with respect to ...
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Why aren't off-axis reflector telescopes more popular for space telescopes? Have there ever been any?
It seems that:
The light gathering capabilities would be slightly better without the blocked aperture (clear aperture is a premium for fairing-limited space telescopes)
The diffraction patterns from ...
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What is the propellant tank weight or weight ratio on dry weight of liquid propellant rocket engine?
I need propellant tank ( or oxidizer tank)'s dry weight- without propellant and engine mass. For example ARES-V's dry mass at earth departure stage is 21,795 kg, What percent of this is tanks' dry ...
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Could a "modern" N-1 rocket be successfully created and flown? [closed]
As we know, during the Space Race, the United States and the Soviet Union were in fierce competition. Each trying to best the other by creating their idea of a moon rocket. While the United States's ...
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What is this term in the link budget equation from Space Mission Analysis and Design (SMAD)?
Looking at the 3rd edition of Space Mission Analysis and Design by Wertz and Larson, their equation (13-4) presents the link equation,
$\frac{E_b}{N_0} = \frac{PL_\ell G_t L_s L_a G_r}{k T_s R}$,
with ...
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Why is there a need for a "forward skirt" segment on SLS solid rockets?
The SLS solid rockets have a "forward skirt segment" above the five true rocket propellent segments. What is the purpose of this segment? I believe that it contains the avionics for the ...
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In Apollo hardware, why were sump tanks needed?
I'm looking at the Apollo CSM Propulsion Systems. These were bi-propellant hypergolic systems. However, for some reason each type of propellant was divided into a storage and sump tank.
For example, ...
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Selecting an optimal Isp / what makes an Isp too high (mostly for high Isp)
When, and why, is it possible to have an Isp (usually of an ion or nuclear engine with Isp far beyond the limits of chemical fuel) that's too high? What makes the Isp too high, and (other things being ...
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What are the "disks" seen on the walls of some NASA space shuttles?
I'm deep-dive researching older NASA shuttles, and a few elements in this image of a toilet (which could be found on display at JSC in the early aughts) stood out to me. See the red circles I added to ...
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How well would Max Faget's April 1, 1969 design for the Space Shuttle have actually worked? What would have been the major problems?
This answer to Who are the actual lead designers of manned spacecraft? says (in its entirety):
Max Faget was involved in the design of every US manned spacecraft flown to date. Mercury, Gemini, ...
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Material defects and its testing for manufacturing of parts
Is there any literature report on what is the level of testing at NASA on the defect sizes in raw material for manufacturing of parts for space shuttle and other space vehicles? For example, what is ...
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How would building rockets on other planets and moons influence their design?
John D. Clark's Ignition! says that a frequent problem with choosing propellants has been that they can be very challenging or dangerous to handle, or that they have a high melting point or a low ...
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Why wasn't the wind and thermal shield of Insight's deployable seismometer integrated into the instrument before deployment?
This fascinating question and answer covers how Insight's seismometer was deployed by its robot arm, and how a subsequent robot arm maneuver covered it with a wind and thermal shield.
What parts of ...
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Earth to Mars Transfer using GMAT
I saw a couple of people mention here that in order to change the epoch date from the given Mars transfer example on GMAT I would need to change and re-optimize initial conditions. How would I do that?...
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Wheels vs. tracks for rovers
On Earth, there are plenty of examples of vehicles that roam difficult terrain having tracks instead of wheels, while all (at least those I am aware of) extraterrestrial rovers have wheels.
Is there ...
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Why are rockets cylindrical?
What are the drag coefficients for a cylinder, a wedge, etc?
I know there are other reasons for a rocket to be cylindrical that aren't related to aerodynamics such as efficiency when mixing the ...
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What were Hubble's jerk and jounce limits? Did JWST have the same?
From Wikipedia:
In physics, jerk is the rate of change of acceleration; that is, the derivative of acceleration with respect to time, and as such the second derivative of velocity, or the third ...
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Can you really use Arduino for a small spacecraft?
A group of Russian geeks intends to shoot a small vehicle to the moon, which is supposed to photograph the places of the Apollo landings. This will be the ultimate proof that people actually visited ...
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Spinlaunch Safety
How could the Spinlaunch concept ever be made so that, in the event of an anomaly where it is released at the wrong angle, it wouldn't obliterate a small town or city center?
Launch sites at Cape ...
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Specifications for Spacecraft interior and exterior paint colours
Are there specifications for Crewed mission spacecrafts in terms of interior and exterior paint colours?
I.e. Only specific paint colours are required internally and externally.
Can these paint ...
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How do they know that the Dragonfly helicopter won't get quickly coated in tholin muck? Any desliming technology for camera lenses or propellors?
From Air and Space's Dragonfly Is the First Aircraft Built for the Outer Solar System; NASA returns to Saturn’s largest moon with a rover that can fly. which I just found in this heavily-sourced ...
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Using belt drive in LEO spacecraft?
I am designing a concept for a LEO spacecraft and need to transmit mechanical power (0.5Nm @200rpm rotation) over a distance (1-2ft). Chains or belts would be a natural choice for terrestrial ...
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Black/White patterns on SLS boosters, fairings - Are these still roll patterns
The main purpose of the large black/white patterns on many of the early rockets was to make it easier to spot whether the rocket is rolling. The pattern on the Saturn V was changed to avoid picking up ...
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Why were the Space Shuttle's main engines placed on the orbiter?
Since the main engines can't be used after external tank separation, what's the reason for having the engines on the orbiter rather than just building a third rocket on the stack instead of the ...
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Two-Stage Fully-Reusable Shuttle
In chapter 6 of SP-4221 "The Space Shuttle Decision" they are talking about the fall of the "Two-Stage Fully Reusable Shuttle".
In one paragraph they talk about how this Two-Stage ...
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Mystery balls! Gemini apparently had "thousands of hollow ping-pong-sized balls made of extremely thin aluminum embedded within its walls". What?
This fascinating answer says that "The Gemini capsule floated because it had thousands of hollow balls made of extremely thin aluminum, each composed of two half-spheres welded together, the size ...
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JWST - coordinates of each of the 18 mirror segments?
I am curious about the relative orientations and locations of each of the JWST’s 18 hexagonal mirrors, when they are in place.
The unfortunate (and subsequently corrected) problem with Hubble’s ...
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How is a desired chamber pressure achieved in a liquid rocket engine
Before everyone responds that this has been asked before, I have read through every relevant post I could find here and believe my question has not been clearly covered.
I also understand that "...
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Why are DART's solar panels aligned like this?
I've never noticed this before, but the two solar arrays of NASA and APL's DART spacecraft are at different "levels". In this image, the solar panel on the left extends out from the "...
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Why does Q-SAT look like a buckyball?
Tech.China.Com.cn's August 7, 2020 article Tsinghua University Successfully Launched Gravity and Atmospheric Science Satellite (Chinese, title translated to English) includes the image above of what I ...
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