DOI: 10.13009/EUCASS2017-221 7TH EUROPEAN CONFERENCE FOR AERONAUTICS AND SPACE SCIENCES (EUCASS) ALTAIR Orbital Module Preliminary Mission and System Design Andrea Tromba*, Cédric Dupont*, Giulio Molinari**, Christoph Karl** and Eduard Diez*** * Bertin Technologies, France -
[email protected],
[email protected] ** ETH Zürich, Switzerland -
[email protected],
[email protected] *** GTD Sistemas de Información S.A, Spain -
[email protected] Abstract This paper presents the preliminary system and mission design of the Altair Orbital Module, a cost- effective and versatile multi-mission platform able to provide a dedicated and reliable orbit injection service for micro-payloads. An innovative approach relaying on a sustained use of design to cost and multidisciplinary design optimization techniques has been applied from the very beginning of the design phase to meet both performances and cost requirements. The system has then been conceived to assure high mission flexibility, allowing accommodation of either single or multiple payloads and providing accurate and safe deployment in a range of LEO target orbits. The final reference design consists in a lightweight composite structure, an innovative avionics and a dedicated monopropellant system based on environment friendly hydrogen peroxide, which provides multiple burst capability for orbital transfer manoeuvring as well as attitude control and de-orbiting capabilities. 1. Introduction The market of small satellites under 200 kg is expected to increase dramatically in the next decades due to several factors such as miniaturization, availability of Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) components and constellation projects. However, currently no launch system adequately addresses this market without the constraints of existing solutions such as piggyback launch.