Overview

This page provides an introduction to the space environment. The objectives of this page are to:

• Familiarize the team with the environmental factors of low Earth orbit
• Describe how these environmental factors affect spacecraft systems
• Provide guidance for how to design spacecraft to mitigate these factors

This content is part of the Space Systems Crash Courses. It can be viewed in presentation format here:

Why We Go to Space

Exploring space is not just about satisfying human curiosity. It is a multidimensional pursuit that advances science, technology, international collaboration, and economic development while addressing existential risks to our species. Here are five reasons we go to space:

1. Scientific discovery
2. Technological innovation
3. Economic growth
4. Inspiration and Education
5. Survival

Why does UTAT Space Systems go to space? The answer to that question is codified in our UTAT-Team-Origin requirement.

The origin requirement for the team. This is our mission statement: UTAT-Team-Origin

The Space Environment

Understanding the space environment is critical if you want to build systems that go to space. Space is an incredibly unforgiving environment. This challenge is part of what makes developing space systems so rewarding. A satellite destined for orbit around Earth experiences two major environments over the course of its lifetime: 1) the Launch Environment, and 2) the Space Environment. Let’s take a look at the factors that affect spacecraft in the latter. This page is scoped to Low Earth Orbit (LEO). There are five primary systems to account for in LEO: