HOME
Current Schedule
Onsite Courses
Register Online
Request Brochure
Download Catalog
Distance Learning
What we're about
Contact ATI Courses
Search Site
Attendees Testimonials
The ATI FAQ Sheet
Suggestions/Wait List
New Courses for 2008
Become an ATI Instructor
Acoustics & Sonar
Rockets & Space
ATI Space News
ATI Site Map
ATI Staff Tutorials
ATI Sampler Page
 

Implications for Spacecraft Design

ATI's Space Environment course

Summary:

    Adverse interactions between the space environment and an orbiting spacecraft may lead to a degradation of spacecraft subsystem performance and possibly even loss of the spacecraft itself. This course presents an introduction to the space environment and its effect on spacecraft. Emphasis is placed on problem solving techniques and design guidelines that will provide the student with an understanding of how space environment effects may be minimized through proactive spacecraft design.

    Each student will receive a copy of the course text, a complete set of course notes, including copies of all viewgraphs used in the presentation, and a comprehensive bibliography.

Instructor:

    Dr. Alan C. Tribble has provided space environments effects analysis to more than one dozen NASA, DoD, and commercial programs, including the International Space Station, the Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites, and survival surveillance spacecraft. He holds a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Iowa and has been twice a Principal Investigator for the NASA Space Environments and Effects Program. He is the author of four books, including the course text: The Space Environment - Implications for Space Design, and over 20 additional technical publications. He is an Associate Editor of the Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, and Associate Fellow of the AIAA and a Senior Member of the IEEE. He has taught a variety of classes at the University of Southern California, California State University Long Beach, the University of Iowa, and has been teaching courses on space environments and effects since 1992.

Who Should Attend:

    Engineers who need to know how to design systems with adequate performance margins, program managers who oversee spacecraft survivability tasks, and scientists who need to understand how environmental interactions can affect instrument performance.

Review of the Course Text:

    “There is, to my knowledge, no other book that provides its intended readership with an comprehensive and authoritative, yet compact and accessible, coverage of the subject of spacecraft environmental engineering.”

    — James A. Van Allen, Regent Distinguished Professor, University of Iowa.

Recent Attendee Comments:

    “I got exactly what I wanted from this course – an overview of the spacecraft environment.The charts outlining the interactions and synergism were excellent.The list of references is extensive and will be consulted often.”

    “Broad experience over many design teams allowed for excellent examples of applications of this information.”

Course Outline:

  1. Introduction. Spacecraft Subsystem Design, Orbital Mechanics, The Solar-Planetary Relationship, Space Weather.

  2. The Vacuum Environment. Basic Description – Pressure vs. Altitude, Solar UV Radiation.

  3. Vacuum Environment Effects. Solar UV Degradation, Molecular Contamination, Particulate Contamination.

  4. The Neutral Environment. Basic Atmospheric Physics, Elementary Kinetic Theory, Hydrostatic Equilibrium, Neutral Atmospheric Models.

  5. Neutral Environment Effects. Aerodynamic Drag, Sputtering, Atomic Oxygen Attack, Spacecraft Glow.

  6. The Plasma Environment. Basic Plasma Physics - Single Particle Motion, Debye Shielding, Plasma Oscillations.

  7. Plasma Environment Effects. Spacecraft Charging, Arc Discharging.

  8. The Radiation Environment. Basic Radiation Physics, Stopping Charged Particles, Stopping Energetic Photons, Stopping Neutrons.

  9. Radiation in Space. Trapped Radiation Belts, Solar Proton Events, Galactic Cosmic Rays, Hostile Environments.

  10. Radiation Environment Effects. Total Dose Effects - Solar Cell Degradation, Electronics Degradation; Single Event Effects - Upset, Latchup, Burnout; Dose Rate Effects.

  11. . The Micrometeoroid and Orbital Debris Environment. Hypervelocity Impact Physics, Micrometeoroids, Orbital Debris.

  12. Additional Topics. Design Examples - The Long Duration Exposure Facility; Environmental Space Station; Models and Tools; Available Internet Resources.

Tuition:

    Tuition for this two-day course is $1040 per person at one of our scheduled public courses. Onsite pricing is available. Please call us at 410-956-8805 or send an email to ati@ATIcourses.com.