Speaker
Description
The “LCA Ground Segment” project (ESA Contract No. 4000123991/18/NL/GLC/as) aimed to assess the environmental performances and the applicability of eco-design principles to Ground Segment through the elaboration of a specific methodology, the involvement of ground segment experts and the in-depth evaluation of the most promising options.
The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a standardized methodology, which assesses environmental impacts associated with all the stages of a product/service life cycle, from raw material extraction and materials processing to manufacture, distribution, use, repair and maintenance and disposal or recycling.
The Ground Segment’s main functions are the management of the communications between the in-orbit satellite and the mission control centre as well as the archiving and processing of the mission-specific scientific data collected.
The study (started in June 2018, ended in February 2020), managed by RINA with the support of Spanish Space Company Deimos Space and French Consulting Company CT Ingenierie, has reached the following objectives:
• Identification and define of the main constituting blocks of Ground Segment representatives for Telecommunication (TC), Navigation (NAV), Scientific, Earth Observation (EO), CubeSat missions and related to Ground Station, Mission Operation Centre, Data & Science Centres.
• Performing of LCA for the Maintenance and Operation Phases of the Ground Segment, Ground System Development Phase, Overall Ground Segment Facilities, Space Missions (Functional Unit: The Fulfilment of requirements of Ground Segment for the entire mission, along its lifetime). The analysis ended with the identification of main hotspots: Electricity consumption in Facilities, Stainless-Steel manufacturing for Antennas, Printed Wiring Board manufacturing in Electronic components.
• Definition of methodological guidelines about LCA methodology applied to Ground Segment in order to update/ the ESA LCA Handbook.
• Creation of more than 70 LCA datasets, covering more than 160 equipment of ESTRACK Database, in order to provide a database for future LCAs in Ground Segment.
• Investigate 18 innovative eco-design options (technical solutions, spin-ins and/or new technologies, innovative processes, etc.) by also considering non-technical aspects (cost and risks, TRL, implementation roadmap, etc.) which can be applied to the various Ground Segment family’s infrastructures and operations in order to reduce their environmental impact. Three options have been deeply studied: 1) Install innovative cooling systems in server rooms; 2) Different design solutions for overall lighter design in Ground Segment Facilities; 3) Use alternative material in Ground Segment.
The project is part of the ESA Clean Space Initiative, which promotes an eco-friendly approach to space activities.
