Human Spaceflight: Mission Analysis and Design

This five day course (tailorable) provides the conceptual framework for developing space missions of manned spacecraft starting from a blank sheet of paper. It describes and teaches the manned space mission design and analysis process. The entire course is process oriented to equip each participant with practical tools to complete a conceptual design and analyze the impacts of evolving requirements.

Course Objectives

At the end of this course you will be better able to tie mission elements together and perform tradeoffs between system design and mission operations that must occur, during the early stages of planning, in order to deliver cost-effective results. You will examine manned space mission design and learn how to develop a process-oriented approach for creating cost-effective space missions. You will also be able to develop techniques for translating space mission objectives, requirements, and constraints into viable and cost-effective operation concepts.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of this course, you will be able to...

Interpret and convert space mission objectives, requirements, and constraints into visible and cost-effective operations concepts
Understand the space environment and its impact on humans and hardware
Explain the physiology of space flight, human factors, and psychological aspects
Describe a process-oriented approach for creating cost-effective space missions
Describe the key functions that must be performed for mission operations
Apply effective methodology for translating space mission objectives, requirements, and designs into viable and cost-effective operations concepts
Explain the interrelationships and tradeoffs between system design and mission operation

Course Topics

Introduction
The Operating Environment

Launch and space environments

Humans in Space

Physiology, etc.

Orbits and Trajectories

Moon, Mars trajectories

The Design and Sizing of Space Habitats

Sizing the "payload environment"

The Space Element

Vehicle sizing

The Surface Element

Robotics, vehicles

Subsystems

Spacecraft systems

Transportation

Propulsion, Launch vehicles

Mission Operations

Developing efficient operations systems

For detailed course content click here!

Who should Attend

Program managers, engineers and scientists who need to understand the complete process involved in designing human space missions.

Course Materials

Each participant will receive:

A copy of the course text Human Spaceflight by Larson and Pranke
A complete set of course notes with copies of all slides used in the presentations
TSTI Alumni status allowing on-line access to course materials, including tools and videos through the Alumni Lounge
A demo copy of Satellite Tool Kit software by AGI

Testimonials

"Every engineer could use this course and they should take it ASAP!" – Johnson Space Center Engineer

"Useful for just about anyone in the aerospace industry." – Kennedy Space Center Engineer

"It’s a great overview of what we need to do to explore space." - United Space Alliance