Launcher

A launch system consists of a basic launch vehicle incorporating one or more stages and an infrastructure for ground support. It alters velocity to place the spacecraft in orbit and protects it from the ascent surrounding. Below we discuss some of the fundamental considerations when trying to select a launch system.

  • Collect requirements and constraints of the mission:
    The first step in the launch system selection process is to establish the mission needs and objectives, since they dictate the performance, trajectory, and the family of vehicles which can operate from suitable sites. Some of the requirements that must be considered in this case are related to mission orbit, mission timeline, spacecraft dimensions, spacecraft dry weight, etc.
  • Identify and collect information for the launch systems:
    Include the following information for each considered launcher: performance capability to boost the necessary weight, orbit insertion, maximum satellite dimensions, reliability, cost, availability, compatibility with the satellite, etc. All these parameter can be found at the different manuals of each launcher. For some general aspects of several launchers please refer to [WL99] (Section 18.2).
  • Select launch systems for spacecraft design:
    During conceptual design of the satellite, identify several potential launch systems to make the launch more likely. The selected launchers should satisfy the mission performance requirements and minimize program risks. This selection shall be based on the parameters collected in the previous step.
  • Determine spacecraft design and environment dictated by the selected launch systems:
    Characterize the worst-case environment for all launcher options: Maximum accelerations, vibration frequencies, temperature, orbital insertion accuracy, launcher-satellite interfaces, etc.
  • Iterate to meet constraints on performance risk and schedule:
    Document and maintain the criteria, decision progress and data to support program changes.

Cubesat Deployers

P-PODs (Poly-PicoSatellite Orbital Deployers) were designed with CubeSats to provide a common platform for secondary payloads.[19] P-PODs are mounted to a launch vehicle and carry CubeSats into orbit and deploy them once the proper signal is received from the launch vehicle.

The P-POD Mk III [Uni07] has capacity for three 1U CubeSats, or other 0.5U, 1U, 1.5U, 2U, or 3U CubeSats combination up to a maximum volume of 3U. Other CubeSat deployers exist, with the NanoRacks CubeSat Deployer (NRCSD) on the International Space Station being the most popular method of CubeSat deployment as of 2014. Some CubeSat deployers are created by companies, such as the ISIPOD (Innovative Solutions In Space BV) or SPL (Astro und Feinwerktechnik Adlershof GmbH), while some have been created by governments or other non-profit institutions such as the X-POD (University of Toronto), T-POD (University of Tokyo), or the J-SSOD (JAXA) on the International Space Station. While the P-POD is limited to launching a 3U CubeSat at most, the NRCSD can launch a 6U (10×10×68.1 cm) CubeSat and the ISIPOD can launch a different form of 6U CubeSat (10×22.63×34.05 cm).

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Fig. 8 Mark II P-POD.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CubeSat

[DRDF12]Anton H De Ruiter, Christopher Damaren, and James R Forbes. Spacecraft dynamics and control: an introduction. John Wiley & Sons, 2012.
[Uni07]California Polytechnic State University. Poly Picosatellite Orbital Deployer Mk. III Rev. E User Guide. The CubeSat Program, Cal Poly SLO, 2007.
[WL99]James R Wertz and Wiley J Larson. Space Mission Analysis and Design, Space Technology Library. Microcosm Press and Kluwer Academic Publishers, El Segundo, CA, USA, 1999.
[Wer78]James R. Wertz, editor. Spacecraft Attitude Determination and Control. Springer Netherlands, 1978. URL: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-9907-7, doi:10.1007/978-94-009-9907-7.