PDR-Level Structural Modeling and Analysis of the Mars Gravity Biosatellite

Paper number

IAC-08.C2.7.3

Author

Mr. Joao Ricardo, Active Space Technologies, Portugal

Coauthor

Mr. Ryan McLinko, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States

Coauthor

Ms. Emily Grosse, Massachussets Institute of Technology (MIT), United States

Coauthor

Mr. Jaffar Iqbal, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States

Coauthor

Mr. Douglas Wajda, Youngstown State University, United States

Year

2008

Abstract

This paper presents a technical overview of the PDR–level structural modeling of the Mars Gravity Biosatellite. 

The Mars Gravity Biosatellite Program, initiated in August 2001, is a student-driven, international space collaboration, uniting students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) in a quest to determine how humans will respond to the reduced gravity environment of Mars. The Mars Gravity Biosatellite will carry a small population of mice to low Earth orbit aboard a spinning spacecraft creating "artificial gravity" equivalent to that on the Martian surface. The five-week mission will conduct the first in-depth study of how mammals adapt to a reduced-gravity environment. Groundbreaking data from this mission and its successors will be essential in determining future possibilities for human space exploration.

An aluminum Bus was chosen and designed by MIT students prior to PDR. This process involved the design of a Bus geometry that would accommodate the Bus subsystems followed by an assessment of its structural performance under launch-induced and reentry-induced loads. An optimization process of the Bus geometry followed thus paving the way for an optimized Bus design for PDR. However in the late summer of 2007 this Bus would be superseded by an off-the-shelf commercial Bus. 

The large bulk of the work covered in this paper comprises the PDR-level structural analysis of the entire spacecraft. Finite Element Analysis techniques were used to perform both the structural design and structural optimization. The pre-PDR design and optimization of the Bus is also briefly described as it paved the way for the design options assessed in the spacecraft structural analysis. An overview of the Payload structural design and optimization follows. Launch-induced and reentry-induced static loads were considered for the Bus, Payload and the entire Spacecraft with maximized static loads replacing transient shock vibrations. Finally, an overview of the design conclusions and items for action is also summarized.

Abstract document

IAC-08.C2.7.3.pdf

Manuscript document

IAC-08.C2.7.3.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).

To get the manuscript, please contact IAF Secretariat.