AN OVERVIEW OF THE SPACE ENVIRONMENTS AND SPACECRAFT EFFECTS ORGANIZATION CONCEPT

摘要

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)rnis embarking on a course to expand human presence beyondrnLow Earth Orbit (LEO) while also expanding its mission tornexplore our Earth, and the solar system. Destinations such asrnNear Earth Asteroids (NEA), Mars and its moons, and the outerrnplanets are but a few of the mission targets. Each newrndestination presents an opportunity to increase our knowledgernon the solar system and the unique environments for eachrnmission target. NASA has multiple technical and sciencerndiscipline areas specializing in specific space environmentsrnfields that will serve to enable these missions. To complementrnthese existing discipline areas, a concept is presented focusingrnon the development of a space environment and spacecraftrneffects (SESE) organization. This SESE organization includesrndisciplines such as space climate, space weather, natural andrninduced space environments, effects on spacecraft materials andrnsystems, and the transition of research information intornapplication. This space environment and spacecraft effectsrnorganization will be composed of Technical Working Groupsrn(TWG). These technical working groups will survey customersrnand users, generate products, and provide knowledgernsupporting four functional areas: design environments,rnengineering effects, operational support, and programmaticrnsupport. The four functional areas align with phases in thernprogram mission lifecycle and are briefly described below.rnDesign environments are used primarily in the mission conceptrnand design phases of a program. Environment effects focuses onrnthe material, component, sub-system, and system-level responsernto the space environment and include the selection and testing tornverify design and operational performance. Operational supportrnprovides products based on real time or near real time spacernweather to mission operators to aid in real time and near-termrndecision-making. The programmatic support function maintainsrnan interface with the numerous programs within NASA, otherrnfederal government agencies, and the commercial sector tornensure that communications are well established and the needsrnof the programs are being met. The programmatic supportrnfunction also includes working in coordination with the programrnin anomaly resolution and generation of lessons learnedrndocumentation. The goal of this space environment andrnspacecraft effects organization is to develop decision-makingrntools and engineering products to support all mission phasesrnfrom mission concept through operations by focusing onrntransitioning research to application. Products generated by thisrnspace environments and effects application are suitable for usernin anomaly investigations. This paper will describe the scopernand purpose of the space environments and spacecraft effectsrnorganization and describe the TWG’s and their relationship tornthe functional areas.