23–25 Oct 2018
ESTEC
Europe/Amsterdam timezone

The Strathclyde Space Systems Database: Life Cycle Sustainability Results of the MÌOS Mission

24 Oct 2018, 14:20
20m
Erasmus building (ESTEC)

Erasmus building

ESTEC

Keplerlaan 1, 2201 AZ Noordwijk, The Netherlands
EcoDesign for space missions Ecodesign

Speaker

Andrew Ross Wilson (University of Strathclyde)

Description

In 2017 the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Use of Outer Space (COPUOS) reached a consensus on the first set of sustainability guidelines for the space sector named the ‘Guidelines for the long-term sustainability of outer space activities’. These guidelines perfectly aligns with the mission of the European Space Agency’s Clean Space Initiative by pioneering an eco-friendly approach to space activities. In this regard, the Ecodesign branch of the Clean Space Initiative has identified Environmental Life Cycle Assessment (E-LCA) as being the most appropriate tool to measure the environmental impacts of the entire life cycle of a space mission.

However, Guideline 27.3 of the COPUOS sustainability guidelines state that in the conduct of their space activities, actors should take into account “the social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainable development on Earth”. This suggest the need for a more encompassing form of sustainability assessment to address the three pillars of sustainability by incorporating a multitude of important environmental, social and economic aspects of space missions into the assessment. This notion directly aligns with the development of E-LCA over recent years and the growing consensus within the environmental sector for a move towards Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA). Despite this, until recently, no LCSA for space had ever been attempted.

To address this, the Strathclyde Space Systems Database (SSSD) was built to become the first LCSA database for the space sector to allow the industry to become more accountable and responsible for their operations by taking into account the full spectrum of life cycle impacts and sustainability issues associated with the operation of space systems. Since it’s unveiling at the 68th International Astronautical Congress, the SSSD has considerably grown and has now run a variety of post-mission studies ahead of its full integration into concurrent design in February 2019.

This paper will present a status update on the development of the SSSD as well as providing LCSA results of the MÌOS mission which was run through the SSSD. The results will be based on two scenarios; (1) full system level results, and (2) the impact of switching propellant types on the full system level results. The analysis shows the importance and practicality of all three sustainability dimensions in assisting decision-makers to select the most sustainable technologies and products through the play-off between cost-efficiency, eco-efficiency and social responsibility.

Primary author

Andrew Ross Wilson (University of Strathclyde)

Co-authors

Massimiliano Vasile (University of Strathclyde) Christie Maddock (University of Strathclyde) Keith J. Baker (Glasgow Caledonian University)

Presentation materials