Nebula Public Library

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Increasingly demanding space-based applications require a large primary mirror diameter, on which the optical instrument resolution depends. However, the mass and volume of a monolithic primary mirror would dramatically increase along with its size, which, in addition to cost and technical issues, is also limited by the available volumen in the launch vehicle fairing.

For the REACH assessment, the proposed method relies on both ESA’s existing Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) framework and the Materials & Processes Technology Board (MPTB) database. Then, the method was structured through three steps:

• Firstly, a commonality was found between the LCA and MPTB databases: ECSS classes, which help define small groups of materials defined as 'clusters', are used to 'bridge the gap' in terms of level of precision between the LCA model of a space system and the MPTB database;

Experience shows that shock specifications for release systems provided by suppliers rely on different test methods and test setups. As a consequence the specified SRS are not comparable and compliance statements given in proposal phases can still impose some risk. The selection of the release system thus strongly depends on individual experience and heritage.The objective is the definition of a standardised test setup for release systems, are the generation of a shock test database which includes most used releases systems (pyro and non-pyro).