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International PostMSc Programme "SEEDS" SpacE Exploration and Development Systems: Reflections on Three Years of Activity
No full textFive years of the international SEEDS Mster Course. A contribution to space exploration
No full textThe experience gained from the first five years of the international postgraduate programme in Space Exploration and Development Systems (SEEDS) is descrived. Difficulties and future perspectives are discusse
ITINERANT HUMAN OUTPOST FOR FUTURE SPACE EXPLORATION
No full textThe exploration of space has so far been attempted only through a limited sequence of missions, not strictly linked among them in terms of accumulation of achieved experience and hardware utilization. The paper presents an innovative approach to the exploration of regions beyond Low Earth Orbit, which is assumed to occur through an orderly sequence of interlinked missions, targeted to specific locations, where human outposts are put in place, to progressively enlarge the boundaries of human presence in the Solar System. Each human outpost is built “on the shoulders” of the precedent one, through physical transfer at the new location of all or at least some of the major building blocks of the previous outpost. Dedicated building blocks may also be considered to build up the final architecture of the new outpost. The new approach proposes therefore the development of an “Itinerant Human Outpost” for future space exploration, growing eventually in complexity and transforming itself. At each step of the space exploration journey the outpost is utilized as technology and operation test-bed to prepare the “next step”. The sequence of locations starts with an Equatorial Low Earth Orbit Human Outpost. Next locations are Earth-Moon Lagrangian Points, Near Earth Asteroids Region, Low Lunar Orbits and Martian Orbits to finally build up Martian
human outposts in Low Martian Orbits or on one Martian natural satellite. The overall scenario can be considered the “Grand Tour of the Earth Neighbours”, performed by the “Itinerant Human Outposts”, whose successive multiple utilization and growth potential have to be taken into account as design requirements of each building block. The practice of introducing in the design the “Revolutionary Approach” of the “6R Space Systems”, i.e. the “Repairable, Refurbishable, Replaceable, Reconfigurable, Retrievable and Reusable Space Systems”, has to be adopted as well, in order to optimize in the long term the costs of the outposts building up and of their operations, even if in the front end such an approach requires more complex and costing solutions. The paper describes into some detail the proposed new approach, establishes the main requirements and defines the System of Systems Architecture of the first Human Outpost in Equatorial Low Earth Orbit. The significant endeavours, required to sustain over quite a long period of time such an initiative, are going to offer to new generations perspectives that will act as catalyst of economical growth and will encourage the involvement of the Private Sector
Innovative Surface Elements for Space Exploration: a Lunar Tractor and its Family of Trailers
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MAIN RESULTS OF A “EUROPEAN CIS-LUNAR INTERPLANETARY PORT FOR SPACE EXPLORATION” PROJECT WORK ACTIVITY 2007-2008
No full textSpacE Exploration and Development Systems (SEEDS): Preparing European Experts for the Future Space Exploration
No full textThe SEEDS Initiative, originated from the Politecnico di Torino with the support of Alenia Spazio, is aimed at establishing an International Master Course focussed on Space Exploration and Development Systems, to offer an opportunity for young engineers to get prepared for the next future of Europe in Space.
The SEEDS Project has been shared with SUPAERO Toulouse in France and with Universität Bremen (together with ZARM) in Germany. The three European Towns (namely Torino, Toulouse and Bremen) have a long common tradition of
Space Activities at industrial and academic level and constitute three poles of the European cooperation in space, representing the three Leading Nations involved in the European Space Programmes
The first year of activity started in November 2005, with a Plenary Opening which took place at the ESA-ERASMUS Centre, Noordwijk, with the full support of the Human Space-Flight Microgravity and Exploration Directorate of ESA.
The objectives, the structure and the organization of the Master are described in some detail, providing information on the Technical Courses, to take place in parallel at the three locations, covering the basic disciplines divided in two groups:
Understating Space and Learning about Space Systems.
The key distinguishing feature of the SEEDS Master, in addition to its internationality, is the Joint Project Work, planned to take place over a period of about nine months in Toulouse – Bremen – Torino, with the involvement of all the students who will be engaged, for three periods of about three months each, in the study and preliminary design of an Exploration Architecture, covering the Robotic, the Transportation and the Human aspects respectively. The experience of the first year of activity and the plans for the next coming years are also presented and discussed
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