Space Science Missions Long Term Perspective from Industry Matthew Stuttard National Lead – Future Science Programmes

Royal Astronomical Society Discussion Meeting - 12 Nov 2012

Future UK Space Missions

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ESA’s Science Programme ‘Cosmic Vision’

Four big questions What are the conditions for planet formation and the emergence of life?

How does the Solar System work?

What are the fundamental physical laws of the Universe?

How did the Universe originate and what is it made of?

One little question …

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Science and Exploration Beyond Phase A – in the UK

2013 GAIA – mapping a billion stars with high accuracy Service module, guidance, sensors, Science Data Processing

2014 LISA Pathfinder – preparing to detect gravity waves Prime and propulsion module, optical bench, charge management

2015 Bepi Colombo – two Mercury orbiters Spacecraft composite, electric propulsion, RIU, AIT

2017 Solar Orbiter – closely observing the sun Prime, subsystem role on AOCS, many payloads

2018 MIRI – Mid-IR Instrument on JWST PI, System engineering and assurance, AIT, delivered 2012

2018 Exomars Rover Vehicle – exo-biology Prime, Comms, vision based navigation

2019 Euclid – using 2 billion galaxies to map dark matter Industry roles: competition for sub-system roles on PLM and SVM UK Science lead on VIS instrument and data processing

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GAIA: Measuring a Billion Stars

• Create 3D model of ‘milky way’

• 1000 times more accurate than exists now

• Measure direction, distance, luminosity, temperature,

gravity and composition of 1 billion stars

• Repeat up to 80 times

• A European technological marvel

• could not be built in US

• UK industry and academia (E2V, MSSL, SSTL/SIRA)

producing key focal plane and instrument technology

(106 CCDs)

• Astrium UK

• Electrical Systems lead: achieving the highest

pointing accuracy ever in Europe

• Payload Data Handling systems (VPU)

• Propulsion, antenna, spacecraft functional

validation

Onboard time correlated to UTC to less than 1S from L2

Data volume 60 Tb in 5 years

Data down-link rate 10Mbit/S

On-board processing 13000 MIPs

• Pointing Stability 10arc Seconds (≈70 picometres at the CCD)

Star density capability up to 750,000 stars per square degree Measures 100 000 stars per second

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GAIA

Avionics Model Test Bench

Chemical Propulsion System

Integration onto Structure

Ultra-stable SiC Optical Bench & Mirrors

Focal Plane

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Planetary Surface Exploration

Beagle 2 established a UK leadership role in

Europe

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Exomars Rover:

To find evidence for

past or present life

on Mars

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Rover Vehicle – Phase B

travel 18-20km @ 100m/sol

collect samples up to 2m

deep and analyse them

Autonomous Guidance and

Navigation System

Gas gap insulationAnalytical Laboratory

Drawer (ALD)

Service Module (SVM)

Rear Bogie

Attachment

WISDOM GPR

Horns (2)

Bathtub Structure

Gas gap insulationAnalytical Laboratory

Drawer (ALD)

Service Module (SVM)

Rear Bogie

Attachment

WISDOM GPR

Horns (2)

Bathtub Structure

Phase A/B1 and before

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Juice

Juice: Jovian system tour Jupiter atmosphere & magnetosphere

Jovian moons and ring system

Europa flybys – recent active zones

Callisto flybys – early remnant

Ganymede – internal composition, habitat?

Selected as L1 mission Phase A/B1 to start Q4 2012

Instruments: UK PI and Co-I roles

Many opportunities for UK industry

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M3 Mission Candidates

Marco

Polo R

Plato

EChO

STE QUEST LOFT

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MSR Precursor Missions – 2013 Phase A

Astrium UK interest Mission analysis

Launch and transfer to Mars Return transfer to Earth

Landing system design Design of sample collection and

transfer system

PHOOTPRINT Phobos sample return

INSPIRE 3 x Mars landers

Astrium UK interest Prime and system engineering Mission analysis Carrier vehicle design Design of landers Definition of planetary protection measures

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Penetrators UK niche from MoonLITE

Multi-disciplinary community formed

Jovian Moon penetrator Ganymede and Europa studied

Key science: astrobiology, geology

Current activities focussed on proving robustness to high impact loads

Testing planned at component and system level

Cavendish Lab gas gun

Pendine sands rocket sled range

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ESA Science Missions

Industrial Development Schedule

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

Gaia

LISA Pathfinder

Bepi Colombo

Solar Orbiter

Euclid

L2

M3

Plato L1 - JUICE

M4 M3 decision

Phase A/B1

Pre-Phase A

Phase B2/C/D

Phase A1

S1 – CHEOPS (tbc)

UK Pre-Phase A/Phase A? S2

UK Leadership of Science Missions

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The Status Quo

Space science is funded because it is valued Knowledge creation, manufacturing skills, spin-along with commercial space

UK will play major roles in leading ESA science missions to 2030 Scientifically and Industrially

IGS Recommendation 13 in principle achieved through this route

… IGS ‘restack’ is focused on growth in commercial space

World-class space science tends to advance primarily with larger missions to go further, see further, measure more precisely etc.

Conservatism on feasibility/technology Strong ‘lesson learned’ by ESA

UK cannot afford to do ‘big science’ alone

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What are the Disruptive Factors?

New Science Opportunities Can niche science still be world class?

Can UK space science be funded if it is not world class?

Unique UK technologies: instruments, platforms, space access

New opportunities in line with UK Civil Space Strategy? Bilateral collaborations

National budget ‘headroom’ necessary = squeeze existing planning

Slow pace of ESA programme CV S missions ? ESA launch CV S1 by 2017?

Can UK-led small missions be quicker?

New sources of mission funding

Direct link between Science and Growth? Knowledge exchange

Practical applications of space science

Science

Policy

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Disruptive Technologies with UK strengths

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

Optics (ongoing)

Miniaturised sensors (ongoing)

Low Cost Platform GEO Interplanetary

Nuclear Power RHU, RTG

Lightweight deployables Solar Sail Missions Large Telescopes

Robotic and Autonomous Landed Systems

Penetrators Landers Rovers Hoppers, dirigibles, boats, climbers

Low Cost Launch Virgin Skylon

NSTP -> much else …

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Longer term mission ideas

Uranus Mission RTG could leverage science roles in a bilateral

… but not low cost

Lunar Penetrators Penetrator technology still being developed by a UK team

Asteroid sample return enthusiasm in Japan – Hayabusa was a low cost mission

science is strong in UK

mission technology is strong is UK

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Total Eclipse Mission: “The Lunar Coronagraph” Mission to fly in a near exact total eclipse

(<1.02Rs) in space for many hours to days

Forms a “Super-Giant” Space Coronagraph

with a baseline circa 376,000km! No atmospheric effects (e.g. seeing, ) and much

longer totality compared to total eclipses on Earth

Lower diffraction and lower cost alternative to

Proba-3 and HiRise formation flying missions

Offers unparalleled resolution of inner Corona

Other totality/non-totality science also possible

Novel orbit yields a “far-side” total eclipse: High energy near parabolic Earth orbit provides

initial co-rotation with Moon at its “anti-Sun” side

Non-Keplerian orbit phases maintain totality

Parking orbits provide repeat totality cycles

Astrium UK study proved feasibility without

new technology or an expensive launch: Concept now being pursued with solar scientists

at MSSL, UCL and RAL

Su

n Earth Moon

Region where

Totality zone and

Perigee co-incide

Totality

Region

Lunar Orbit

Earth Orbit

Spacecraft Orbit with

Near Parabolic Apogee

Totality Region of

interest (inc. Non-

Keplerian phase)

~3.76x105 km~3.84x10

5 km

Perigee ~760,000km

(Near parabolic apogee)

Snapshot of eclipse geometry looking onto the ecliptic plane

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Fits the ‘growth’ agenda Space weather recognised on national risk register Real costs arise and cost savings can be demonstrated

Technical expertise in UK Tracking

Heliospheric Imager – Earth leading, stripped down Located 20 degrees off Earth-Sun line Interplanetary class of mission

Environment, propulsion and comms engineering Plasma characterisation and solar surface modelling

In-situ and remote sensors at L1 or sunwards SOHO replacement Hosted payloads using miniaturised instruments

Active Users Solar Science groups Met Office – testing operational alerts MOD

Potential Users Electrical power generators and distributors Sat operators Aviation – air traffic control, airlines Oil and Gas industry …

Directly linking science and growth:

Space Weather

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Space Weather CDF Study

HAGRID Heliospheric Imaging for Assessment of Global and Regional Infrastructure Damage Demonstrator mission for a Space Weather early warning system

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Developing New UK Mission Concepts:

Astrium Ltd Role in Phase 0/A engineering for small science missions: feasibility is key

Complex payloads

Can requirements be met

Pointing, mag, power, gravity, accommodation, contaminations, PP …

Interplanetary

transfers -> mission analysis, GAMs

propulsion (Chemical, Electric)

communications

environment

Difficult environments: thermal, power constrained, radiation

Mission enabling technologies:

RTG, RHU, deployable structures, optics, sensors, data processing

Robotic systems, autonomous guidance systems

Reliability/surviving long cruises

Feasibility assessment

Systems engineering: Mission optimisation

Technology readiness, TRL raising and forecasting

Engineering and financial budgets

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Questions ?

www.astrium.eads.net