Satellite Configuration Design - Finite Element Analysis for Satellite Structures - page 25

configurations enclose the equipment within the body structure. The best type of
body architecture depends on the mission and the available packaging volume.
Mechanisms are also a major consideration in configuring a satellite. They must be
designed to perform their functions under hostile conditions without maintenance.
Mechanisms add complexity and risk, so their number should be reduced and they
should be kept as simple as possible.
2.6.8 Systems Aspects of the Satellite Configuration
The system requirements and constraints that influence a satellite's configuration
are reliability, design life, maintainability, cost, schedule, and environments. To
satisfy reliability requirement, which is specified from customers, the program
allocates higher reliability values to the subsystems and key components, such as
mechanisms. The target reliability can be achieved by using high-grade (space)
components and providing redundant or backup components. Redundancy will at
most influence the configuration simply because of the extra components.
Satellites have a range of design lifetimes, which depends on the satellite
mission and orbit. As design life increases, solar arrays area and battery capacity
must grow. Design life also affects structures and mechanisms, but usually more in
details than in features that affect the satellite configuration. The maintainability of
a satellite is the ability to access or service its components during integration and
test. This requirement should be taken into account during configuration devel-
opment, as well as cost and schedule.
Finally, launch and space environments drive the sizes of structural members
and strongly affect the satellite configuration. Sometimes satellite configurations
appear to be ideal from the nonstructural subsystems point of view, but it is very
difficult to design a structure for these configurations which withstand launch loads
without being too heavy. For Small Sat, many of the guidelines mentioned above
in this section will conflict with one another. Therefore, subsystem concerns must
be compromised to optimize the satellite or the system, which means finding the
best design given all program considerations. The goal is to arrive at a cost
effective design with compromises that do not affect or risk mission objectives.
2.7 Configuration Development Process
In this section, a conceptual configuration for Small Sat will be developed. To
perform this, Fig. 2.1 , which summarizes the general process of developing a
preliminary satellite design, should be followed. Section 2.2 through Sect. 2.6
discuss the initial data and requirements needed to begin developing Small Sat
configuration. Table 2.2 summarizes the preliminary mission requirements for
Small Sat, and Table 2.3 summarizes the initial equipment list. Now the process is