Space environment

Space environment is a branch of astronautics, aerospace engineering and space physics that seeks to understand and address conditions existing in space that affect the design and operation of spacecraft. A related subject, space weather, deals with dynamic processes in the solar-terrestrial system that can give rise to effects on spacecraft, but that can also affect the atmosphere, ionosphere and geomagnetic field, giving rise to several other kinds of effects on human technologies. Effects on spacecraft can arise from radiation, space debris and meteoroid impact, upper atmospheric drag and spacecraft electrostatic charging. Radiation in space usually comes from three main sources: The Van Allen radiation belts Solar proton events and solar energetic particles; and Galactic cosmic rays. For long-duration missions, the high doses of radiation can damage electronic components and solar cells. A major concern is also radiation-induced "single-event effects" such as single event upset. Crewed missions usually avoid the radiation belts and the International Space Station is at an altitude well below the most severe regions of the radiation belts. During solar energetic events (solar flares and coronal mass ejections) particles can be accelerated to very high energies and can reach the Earth in times as short as 30 minutes (but usually take some hours). These particles are mainly protons and heavier ions that can cause radiation damage, disruption to logic circuits, and even hazards to astronauts. Crewed missions to return to the Moon or to travel to Mars will have to deal with the major problems presented by solar particle events to radiation safety, in addition to the important contribution to doses from the low-level background cosmic rays. In near-Earth orbits, the Earth's geomagnetic field screens spacecraft from a large part of these hazards - a process called geomagnetic shielding. Space debris and meteoroids can impact spacecraft at high speeds, causing mechanical or electrical damage.

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Space physics

Space physics, also known as solar-terrestrial physics or space-plasma physics, is the study of plasmas as they occur naturally in the Earth's upper atmosphere (aeronomy) and within the Solar System. As such, it encompasses a far-ranging number of topics, such as heliophysics which includes the solar physics of the Sun, the solar wind, planetary magnetospheres and ionospheres, auroras, cosmic rays, and synchrotron radiation.

Space environment

Weightlessness

Weightlessness is the complete or near-complete absence of the sensation of weight. It is also termed zero gravity, zero G-force, or zero-G. Micro-g environment (also μg, often referred to by the term microgravity) is more or less synonymous, with the recognition that g-forces are never exactly zero. Weight is a measurement of the force on an object at rest in a relatively strong gravitational field (such as on the surface of the Earth). These weight-sensations originate from contact with supporting floors, seats, beds, scales, and the like.

This course is a "concepts" course. It introduces a variety of concepts in use in the design of a space mission, manned or unmanned, and in space operations. it is at least partly based on the practic

Space environment is different from what we can experience on Earth, requiring specific design approaches in order to achieve reliable operations. Engineers must hence face new challenges stimulating

The main objective of the course is to introduce the concept of space system design and engineering. The course will describe the various subsystems involved in the design of a satellite. It will also

Conservation Laws: Properties and Known Laws

Covers the definition of conservation laws and known laws related to momentum, energy, and helicity.

Radiation Balance in Spacecraft Design

Explains radiation balance in spacecraft design, including solar flux and material properties.

Introduction to Space Infrastructures: Overview and Enablers

Introduces space assets, economy enablers, and supply chain impact.