Questions tagged [engineering]
Questions regarding the design or process of design of a spacecraft.
171 questions
7 votes
0 answers
73 views
How do mission designers quantify acceptable uncertainty in Δv budgets for interplanetary transfers?
In mission planning, Δv estimates carry uncertainties due to navigation errors, propulsion variability, and orbital perturbations. What statistical methods are used to determine how much Δv margin to ...
- 363
10 votes
2 answers
2k views
Has anyone proposed any ideas for what rovers or other vehicles would look like on bodies with icy surfaces?
Such as moons of the gas giants. I know the ice is as hard as rock but would it behave the same as regolith on Mars or the Earth’s moon?
- 3,052
0 votes
1 answer
209 views
Can a large extendable heat shield be used for efficient re-entry?
I was wondering why aerospace engineers still have not ideated a way to produce heat shields which are larger in surface area so that a spacecraft during re-entry can aerobrake more efficiently as ...
- 113
10 votes
3 answers
2k views
Why are the layers of the James Webb Telescope’s sunshield so thin?
The Webb telescope has a 5-layer sunshield, the thickest of which is 0.05 millimeters thick, and others are even thinner. I can not understand why it has to be extremely thin. this answer to Why was ...
- 203
1 vote
0 answers
199 views
Differences between systems engineering in the days of the Apollo program and in SpaceX [closed]
How was the approach to design different in the days of the Apollo program and today at SpaceX? I know that these are two different things that are difficult to compare. In any case, in both cases ...
- 1,457
3 votes
2 answers
1k views
What is the value of air anisotropy?
I am calculating a jet - gas nozzle and to calculate it, I need to know the anisotropy of the air, what is it equal to? In this formula, the desired value is under the letter ...
1 vote
0 answers
203 views
RL10 Injector Plate
Could anyone enlighten me with this puzzle ? The following frames are screenshots from an P&W RL10 engine's video. It's actually the top view of Fuel Injector Manifold and the LOX/Injector Domes (?...
- 51
1 vote
1 answer
267 views
What practical tasks did you start working on in programming PLD/FPGA for spacecraft?
There are a great many areas of application of PLD/FPGA in spacecraft. Let's take as a basis this classification of domains and subdomains, proposed in the November 24, 2023 FPGAInsights.com blogpost ...
- 383
2 votes
0 answers
125 views
Would (Dual Concentric inline Powerhead) FFSC Cycle engine be possible to engineer
I,ve been wondering if it was possible engineer and how we would we work it out DUAL preburner inline FFSCC ENGINE with concentric core and individual concentric turbine inside one another and maybe ...
6 votes
4 answers
6k views
Why does the heatshield have to be on the outside?
To what extent has internal insulation been tested to deal with the heat of re-entry? In the case of Starship, is the existing steel strong enough (to be non-ablative!), or would a different type of ...
- 757
1 vote
0 answers
158 views
How do I transfer passengers from the non-rotating dock to the rotating habitat ring of my space station? [duplicate]
For a story I'm working on, my characters have just docked with a space station in Low Earth orbit. It's set in the 2080s, so we're assuming no game-changing leaps of technology, merely what's ...
7 votes
1 answer
229 views
Looking for Apollo Flight Control Hardware Blueprints (such as RHC, THC and COAS)
I've been looking to build replicas of Apollo flight control hardware such as RHC, THC, ACA, TTCA and COAS, and am looking for detailed engineering drawings that show dimensions and internal ...
- 547
6 votes
1 answer
937 views
Manned Spacecraft/Space Station design Requirements
I am looking for some document that summarizes all the aspects that need to be taken care of during design (structural resistance, life support system, thermal regulation, etc.). Something similar to ...
- 1,457
9 votes
1 answer
408 views
How far did the MUSTARD project get?
http://www.astronautix.com/m/mustard.html As described above, MUSTARD was a BAC project to develop a fully reusable VTO/HL shuttle to transport crew and payload to earth orbit. There were many ...
- 1,225
32 votes
8 answers
8k views
Apollo: what was the big deal?
I am curious what aspects of the Apollo program were impressive/advanced from an engineering perspective, in the 1960s and 1970s. That is, what would have made an educated engineer say, “Wow, they ...
- 1,074