74 The next few years will see a dramatic move forward for autonomous space systems. Several key projects are launching, sending new types of spacecraft into orbit and far out into the solar system to investigate Europa, a moon of Jupiter. One of these is Dream Chaser, a smaller version of NASA’s Space Shuttle; a winged autonomous spacecraft that can recover fragile payloads in orbit. The first version of Dream Chaser is called Tenacity and represents an uncrewed spiritual successor to the shuttle. At 9 m long, it is roughly a quarter of the total length of the Space Shuttle, with a pressurised volume of 33 m3 (including the spaceplane and cargo module). The design supports gentle runway landings with an acceleration of 1.5 g to recover fragile cargo, rather than the land or sea landings by parachute of other reusable modules. The launch of Tenacity is now planned for 2025 using the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Vulcan Centaur rocket. The craft is designed to fit into the 5 m-wide fairing on the top of the launcher and the wings unfold, and it is intended to be reused at least 15 times. The final assembly and system checks include the installation of the remaining thermal-protection system tiles, as well as propulsion system closeout and leak testing. Electromagnetic interference (EMI) and electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) testing ensures all of the electrical components function in space’s challenging radio-frequency (RF) environment. Additionally, acoustic testing will verify that both Dream Chaser and its cargo module can withstand the intense noise levels experienced during launch. Runway testing will verify Dream Chaser’s differential braking system Nick Flaherty investigates the revolutionary projects taking uncrewed crafts into deeper space Reach for the stars October/November 2024 | Uncrewed Systems Technology The Europa Clipper mission is heading to Jupiter (Image courtesy of NASA)
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjI2Mzk4