Earth – Mars Cycler Vehicle Conceptual Design by Bhumika Patel A thesis submitted to the Department of Aerospace, Physics, and Space Sciences at Florida Institute of Technology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering Flight Mechanics and Control Systems Melbourne, Florida December 2019 We the undersigned committee hereby approve the attached thesis, “Earth – Mars Cycler Vehicle Conceptual Design,” by Bhumika Patel. _________________________________________________ Markus Wilde, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Aerospace, Physics, and Space Sciences Thesis Advisor _________________________________________________ Andrew Aldrin, Ph.D. Associate Professor Aldrin Space Institute Committee Member _________________________________________________ Brian Kish, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Aerospace, Physics, and Space Sciences Committee Member _________________________________________________ Daniel Batcheldor, Ph.D. Professor Aerospace, Physics, and Space Sciences Department Head Abstract Title: Earth – Mars Cycler Vehicle Conceptual Design Author: Bhumika Patel Advisor: Markus Wilde, Ph. D. This thesis summarizes a conceptual design for an Earth – Mars Cycler vehicle designed to transfer astronauts between Earth and Mars. The primary objective of the design study is to accommodate the crews’ needs and to estimate the overall mass and power required during Earth – Mars transfer. The study defines a concept of operations and system functional requirements and discusses the systems breakdown and subsystems design analysis. Systems developed for the cycler vehicle is designed primarily for the S1L1 cycler trajectory. The initial sizing of cycler subsystems is based on reference data from historical human spaceflight. The study performed for subsystems requirements is based on one-way trip (~154 days) to Mars. The study also addresses accommodations and life support requirements. The study does not include any detailed discussions related to the process of the vehicle assembly and launch from the ground. iii Table of Contents Table of Contents .................................................................................................................. iv List of Figures ....................................................................................................................... vi List of Tables ....................................................................................................................... vii Acknowledgement ............................................................................................................. viii 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Mission Background ............................................................................................ 1 1.2 Objectives and Scope ........................................................................................... 5 1.3 Limitations ........................................................................................................... 6 2. Mission Architecture ..................................................................................................... 7 2.1 Cycler Concept of Operations (ConOps) ............................................................. 7 2.2 System Functional Requirements ....................................................................... 10 2.3 System Breakdown ............................................................................................. 12 2.4 Vehicle Initial Sizing .......................................................................................... 15 2.4.1 Estimating Initial Vehicle Mass ................................................................ 15 2.4.2 Mass Budget .............................................................................................. 17 2.4.3 Power Budget ............................................................................................ 20 3. Earth-Mars Cycler Vehicle Concept Design ............................................................... 23 3.1 Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) ............................... 23 3.2 Crew Accommodations ...................................................................................... 30 3.3 Power System ..................................................................................................... 34 3.4 Thermal Control System .................................................................................... 38 iv 3.5 Guidance, Navigation and Controls System (GNC)........................................... 41 3.6 Autonomous Robotics Manipulators System (ARMS) ...................................... 46 3.7 Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Systems ............................................................ 50 3.8 Structures ............................................................................................................ 51 3.9 Propulsion System .............................................................................................. 55 4. Discussion ................................................................................................................... 58 5. Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 60 5.1 Future Work ....................................................................................................... 61 References ........................................................................................................................... 62 v List of Figures Figure 1 - Ballistic S1L1 Cycler Trajectory [15] ................................................................... 4 Figure 2 - Earth-Mars Cycler Vehicle Con-Ops .................................................................... 9 Figure 3 - Earth-Mars Cycler Vehicle Functional Requirements ........................................ 11 Figure 4 – Cycler System Breakdown Structure ................................................................. 12 Figure 5 – Reference plot of Historical Human Spaceflights [19] ...................................... 16 Figure 6 - Average Power vs Dry Mass based on Historical Data ...................................... 20 Figure 7 - ECLSS Systems Interface [19] ........................................................................... 24 Figure 8 - Power System Interface ...................................................................................... 35 Figure 9 - Interface of GNC System .................................................................................... 43 Figure 10 - Canadarm-2 Mobile Servicing System [28] ...................................................... 47 Figure 11 - FANUC Multipurpose Robotic Manipulator [31]............................................. 49 Figure 12 - Pressurized Module Concept Design ................................................................ 52 vi List of Tables Table 1 - S1L1 Cycler Trajectory Parameters [15] ................................................................ 5 Table 2 - Cycler Vehicle Initial Mass Budget [18] .............................................................. 18 Table 3 - Cycler Average Power Budget [22] ..................................................................... 21 Table 4 - Requirements for Water Management System [19] ............................................. 26 Table 5 - Atmosphere Management Requirements [19] ...................................................... 27 Table 6 - Waste Management Requirements [19] ............................................................... 28 Table 7 - ECLSS Management Technologies [18] .............................................................. 29 Table 8 - Resources Requirements for Crew Accommodations [18] .................................. 33 Table 9 - Summary of Power Subsystem Estimates ............................................................ 38 Table 10 - Active Thermal Control System Hardware ........................................................ 41 Table 11 - GNC System Hardware [22] .............................................................................. 46 Table 12 - Canadarm-2 Systems Specifications [23] ........................................................... 47 Table 13 - FANUC 2000i Series Manipulator Specifications [31] ...................................... 49 Table 14 - EVA System Parameters [18]............................................................................. 51 Table 15 – Reference data of Supporting Structures [18, 32, 33] ........................................ 54 Table 16 - Propulsion System Initial Sizing ........................................................................ 57 Table 17 - Mass and Power Estimates of the Cycler Conceptual Design ............................ 58 vii Acknowledgement First and foremost, I would like to express extreme gratitude to my advisor Dr. Markus Wilde for believing and supporting me at every stage of my study. He has not only served as an advisor, but as a mentor throughout my thesis work for past few years. I would also like to thank my Master’s thesis committee Dr. Andrew Aldrin and Dr. Brian Kish. In addition, I would like to acknowledge my family for their extensive support during my academic career. A very special heartfelt thanks to my Uncle Mr. Bipinchandra B Patel and Aunt Mrs. Ritaben Bipinchandra Patel on supporting me financially and emotionally.