Abstract Nowadays, space companies are investing more and more in smaller satellites aiming to reduce projects costs and complexity. Despite the use of Pico/Nano and Micro-sats has considerably increased throughout the last few years, a reserved launch vehicle is still missing. This paper analyses both the economic and technical feasibility of a reusable stratospheric launch pad based on lighter-than-air (LTA) technology. The possibility to lift the launch pad up to stratospheric altitude with the use of airship technology has been investigated. Around 20-25 km of height the rocket ascension is less affected by some typical losses, such as air drag and atmospheric loss. Thus, stratospheric launch can ensure higher performance of the rocket, higher mass ratio, and less fuel is required. The above mentioned configuration seems promising for a small satellite launcher. Being tailored to service the smaller spacecraft it will be able to provide a much better and more reliable service with respect to the piggyback solution. Thanks to atmospheric condition in which the rocket will operate, LTA design would not only ensure advantages but it will be also able to provide a larger launch window availability with respect to the ground launch station. Indeed, thanks to its capability to fly above the jet streams it would be possible to ignore weather condition that usually provokes ground launch delay and abort. Moreover, it would be able to ensure launch operation to a wider range of orbit with respect to any kind of ground launch pad. Starting from the market analysis (section 1), the future need of a dedicated launch system for small satellites has been proved. This analysis identified the payload mass requirement. Since the production and development cost evaluation of this system is based on the size of the airship, a preliminary environment analysis and mass breakdown is required. For this reason section 2 and 3 are focused on these aspects. In order to evaluate the economical feasibility of the project, the final section will outline the cost comparison between Airship Assisted Launch System (AALS) and traditional launch facilities. If feasible, AALS could ensure valuable advantages in small satellites launches. The serviceable orbits and the launching window availability are just two among the most important benefits that air launch based on LTA technology could provide.
Feasibility study of LTA launch system for micro and smaller satellites
01.01.2018
10 pages
Aufsatz/Kapitel (Buch)
Elektronische Ressource
Englisch
A Custom Launch System for Satellites Smaller than 1 kg
British Library Conference Proceedings | 2006
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