Modular Spacecraft Servicing Pods for Direct Propellant Transfer
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing spacecraft servicing technologies are either too costly and provide limited options or lack reliability and robustness, making them unsuitable for various servicing needs.
Innovation Solution
A spacecraft servicing device with a deployable body and a propellant tank that supplies propellant directly to the target spacecraft's propulsion system, along with thruster assemblies for orbit or velocity adjustments, and communication devices for data reception and frequency matching.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a servicing spacecraft is sent to dock with a client spacecraft for maintenance, then the client spacecraft can receive repair and life extension services, but the cost becomes prohibitively expensive and the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The servicing system is divided into separate functional modules: a host spacecraft that launches multiple detachable servicing devices (pods), each pod containing specific servicing capabilities such as propellant tanks, thruster assemblies, or communication devices. This segmentation allows the system to provide comprehensive servicing functionality while keeping individual components simpler and more manageable.
Solution Approach 2:
The servicing devices are designed to autonomously perform servicing operations on client spacecraft. The pods can independently dock with target spacecraft, execute their designated servicing functions (such as propellant transfer, orbit adjustment, or communication support), and then detach, reducing the need for complex human-operated control systems.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a servicing spacecraft provides comprehensive servicing options, then more servicing functions are available, but the cost becomes prohibitive
Solution Approach 1:
The servicing pods are designed with universal interfaces and standardized docking mechanisms that allow a single pod design to service multiple different client spacecraft types. The host spacecraft launches an array of identical or similar pods, each capable of performing multiple servicing functions (propellant transfer, thrusting, communication), thereby providing versatile servicing options without requiring custom-designed complex systems for each mission.
3Productivity
If propellant is supplied directly to the propulsion device bypassing fuel storage, then the servicing operation is more efficient, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The servicing pod extracts and bypasses the client spacecraft's existing fuel storage system by establishing a direct fluid communication pathway from the pod's propellant tank to the client spacecraft's propulsion device. This eliminates the need to transfer propellant through the client spacecraft's intermediate storage tanks and associated valves/pumps, thereby improving transfer efficiency while the complexity is managed through standardized docking interfaces.
Data Source
AI summary
Spacecraft servicing devices and related methods may include a propellant tank configured to store a propellant and to be placed into fluid communication with a portion of the target spacecraft.