Ethiopian space science and technology institute

(ESSTI)

By: Mahder Tamru

 Space Engineering (Aerospace)

Aerospace engineering, also called aeronautical engineering, or astronautical engineering,

field of engineering concerned with the design, development, construction, testing, and operation
of vehicles operating in the Earth’s atmosphere or in outer space. It is a STEM field focused on
the design, development, testing, and operation of aircraft and spacecraft. The field encompasses
the creation of everything from miniaturized drones to heavy-lift interplanetary rockets. The first
definition of aerospace engineering appeared in February 1958, [1] considering the Earth's
atmosphere and outer space as a single realm, thereby encompassing both aircraft (aero) and
spacecraft (space) under the newly coined term aerospace. Today the more encompassing
aerospace definition has commonly replaced the terms aeronautical engineering and astronautical
engineering.

The design of a flight vehicle demands a knowledge of many engineering disciplines. It is rare
that one person takes on the entire task; instead, most companies have design teams specialized
in the sciences of aerodynamics, propulsion systems, structural design, materials, avionics, and
stability and control systems. No single design can optimize all of these sciences, but rather there
exist compromised designs that incorporate the vehicle specifications, available technology, and
economic feasibility.

Some of the elements of aerospace engineering are:[2][3]

Radar cross-section – the study of vehicle signature apparent to remote sensing by radar.
Fluid mechanics – the study of fluid flow around objects. Specifically, aerodynamics
concerning the flow of air over bodies such as wings or through objects such as wind tunnels.
Astrodynamics – the study of orbital mechanics including prediction of orbital elements when
given a select few variables. While few schools in the United States teach this at the
undergraduate level, several have graduate programs covering this topic (usually in conjunction
with the Physics department of said college or university).
Statics and Dynamics (engineering mechanics) – the study of movement, forces, moments in
mechanical systems.
Mathematics – in particular, calculus, differential equations, and linear algebra.
Electrotechnology – the study of electronics within engineering.
Propulsion – the energy to move a vehicle through the air (or in outer space) is provided by
internal combustion engines, jet engines and turbomachinery, or rockets (see also propeller and
spacecraft propulsion). A more recent addition to this module is electric propulsion and ion
propulsion.
Control engineering – the study of mathematical modeling of the dynamic behavior of systems
and designing them, usually using feedback signals, so that their dynamic behavior is desirable
(stable, without large excursions, with minimum error). This applies to the dynamic behavior of
aircraft, spacecraft, propulsion systems, and subsystems that exist on aerospace vehicles.
Aircraft structures – design of the physical configuration of the craft to withstand the forces
encountered during flight. Aerospace engineering aims to keep structures lightweight and low-
cost while maintaining structural integrity.
Materials science – related to structures, aerospace engineering also studies the materials of
which the aerospace structures are to be built. New materials with very specific properties are
invented, or existing ones are modified to improve their performance.
Solid mechanics – Closely related to material science is solid mechanics which deals with stress
and strain analysis of the components of the vehicle.
Aeroelasticity – the interaction of aerodynamic forces and structural flexibility, potentially
causing flutter, divergence, etc.
Avionics – the design and programming of computer systems on board an aircraft or spacecraft
and the simulation of systems.
Software – the specification, design, development, test, and implementation of computer
software for aerospace applications, including flight software, ground control software, test &
evaluation software, etc.
Risk and reliability – the study of risk and reliability assessment techniques and the
mathematics involved in the quantitative methods.
Noise control – the study of the mechanics of sound transfer.
Aeroacoustics – the study of noise generation via either turbulent fluid motion or aerodynamic
forces interacting with surfaces.
Flight testing – designing and executing flight test programs in order to gather and analyze
performance and handling qualities data in order to determine if an aircraft meets its design and
performance goals and certification requirements.

What do (Aerospace) Engineer do?

An engineering education should produce engineers capable of the following:

 Conceive: conceptualize technical problems and solutions

 Design: study and comprehend processes that leads to solution to a particular problem
including verbal, written, and visual communications
 Development: extend the output of research
 Testing: determine performance of the output research, development, or design
 Research: solve new problem and gain new knowledge
 Manufacturing: produce a safe, effective, economic final product
 Operation and maintenance: keep the products working effectively
 Marketing and sales: look for good ideas for new products or improving current products
 Administration (management): coordinate all the above

Satellite

A satellite is an object that has been intentionally placed into orbit. These objects are called
artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as Earth's Moon. There are
two kinds of satellites: natural (such as the moon orbiting the Earth) or artificial (such as the
International Space Station orbiting the Earth). Satellites are used for many purposes. Among
several other applications, they can be used to make star maps and maps of planetary surfaces,
and also take pictures of planets they are launched into. Common types include military and
civilian Earth observation satellites, communications satellites, navigation satellites, weather
satellites, and space telescopes. Space stations and human spacecraft in orbit are also satellites.

Types of satellite
 Navigational satellites are satellites which use radio time signals transmitted to enable
mobile receivers on the ground to determine their exact location. The relatively clear line
of sight between the satellites and receivers on the ground, combined with ever-
improving electronics, allows satellite navigation systems to measure location to
accuracies on the order of a few meters in real time.
 Killer satellites are satellites that are designed to destroy enemy warheads, satellites, and
other space assets.
 Crewed spacecraft (spaceships) are large satellites able to put humans into (and
beyond) an orbit, and return them to Earth. (The Lunar Module of the U.S. Apollo
program was an exception; in that it did not have the capability of returning human
occupants to Earth.) Spacecraft including spaceplanes of reusable systems have major
propulsion or landing facilities. They can be used as transport to and from the orbital
stations.
 Miniaturized satellites are satellites of unusually low masses and small sizes. New
classifications are used to categorize these satellites: minisatellite (500–1000 kg),
microsatellite (below 100 kg), nanosatellite (below 10 kg).
 Reconnaissance satellites are Earth observation satellite or communications satellite
deployed for military or intelligence applications. Very little is known about the full
power of these satellites, as governments who operate them usually keep information
pertaining to their reconnaissance satellites classified.
 Recovery satellites are satellites that provide a recovery of reconnaissance, biological,
space-production and other payloads from orbit to Earth.
 Space-based solar power satellites are proposed satellites that would collect energy
from sunlight and transmit it for use on Earth or other places.
 Space stations are artificial orbital structures that are designed for human beings to live
on in outer space. A space station is distinguished from other crewed spacecraft by its
lack of major propulsion or landing facilities. Space stations are designed for medium-
term living in orbit, for periods of weeks, months, or even years.
 Tether satellites are satellites which are connected to another satellite by a thin cable
called a tether.
 Weather satellites are primarily used to monitor Earth's weather and climate.
  Astronomical satellites are satellites used for observation of distant planets, galaxies,
and other outer space objects.
 Biosatellites are satellites designed to carry living organisms, generally for scientific
experimentation.
 Communication satellites are satellites stationed in space for the purpose of
telecommunications. Modern communications satellites typically use geosynchronous
orbits, Molniya orbits or Low Earth orbits.
 Earth observation satellites are satellites intended for non-military uses such as
environmental monitoring, meteorology, map making etc. (See especially Earth
Observing System.)

 The first satellite, Sputnik 1, was put into orbit around Earth and was therefore in geocentric
orbit. This is the most common type of orbit by far, with approximately 2,787 [4] active
artificial satellites orbiting the Earth. Geocentric orbits may be further classified by their
altitude, inclination and eccentricity. The commonly used altitude classifications of
geocentric orbit are Low Earth orbit (LEO), Medium Earth orbit (MEO) and High Earth orbit
(HEO).

Centric classifications

 Galactocentric orbit: An orbit around the Centre of a galaxy. The Sun follows this type
of orbit about the galactic Centre of the Milky Way.
 Geocentric orbit: An orbit around the planet Earth, such as the Moon or artificial
satellites. Currently there are over 2,787 active artificial satellites orbiting the Earth.
 Heliocentric orbit: An orbit around the Sun. In our Solar System, all planets, comets,
and asteroids are in such orbits, as are many artificial satellites and pieces of space debris.
Moons by contrast are not in a heliocentric orbit but rather orbit their parent planet.
 Areocentric orbit: An orbit around the planet Mars, such as by moons or artificial
satellites.

Altitude classifications
 Low Earth orbit (LEO): Geocentric orbits ranging in altitude from 180 km – 2,000 km
(1,200 mi)
 Medium Earth orbit (MEO): Geocentric orbits ranging in altitude from 2,000 km
(1,200 mi) – 35,786 km (22,236 mi). Also known as an intermediate circular orbit.
 Geosynchronous orbit (GEO): Geocentric circular orbit with an altitude of 35,786
kilometers (22,236 mi). The period of the orbit equals one sidereal day, coinciding with
the rotation period of the Earth. The speed is approximately 3,000 meters per second
(9,800 ft/s).
 High Earth orbit (HEO): Geocentric orbits above the altitude of geosynchronous orbit
35,786 km (22,236 mi).

Inclination classifications

 Inclined orbit: An orbit whose inclination in reference to the equatorial plane is not zero
degrees.
 Polar orbit: An orbit that passes above or nearly above both poles of the planet on each
revolution. Therefore, it has an inclination of (or very close to) 90 degrees.
 Polar sun synchronous orbit: A nearly polar orbit that takes advantage of nodal
precession such that a satellite in such an orbit passes the equator at the same local time
on every pass. Useful for image taking satellites because shadows will be nearly the same
on every pass, and for solar observation satellites because they can have a continuous
view of the Sun throughout the year.

Eccentricity classifications

 Circular orbit: An orbit that has an eccentricity of 0 and whose path traces a circle.
 Hohmann transfer orbit: An orbit that moves a spacecraft from one approximately
circular orbit, usually the orbit of a planet, to another, using two engines impulses. The
perihelion of the transfer orbit is at the same distance from the Sun as the radius of one
planet's orbit, and the aphelion is at the other. The two rocket burns change the
spacecraft's path from one circular orbit to the transfer orbit, and later to the other circular
orbit. This maneuver was named after Walter Hohmann.
 Elliptic orbit: An orbit with an eccentricity greater than 0 and less than 1 whose orbit
traces the path of an ellipse.
 Geosynchronous transfer orbit: An elliptic orbit where the perigee is at the altitude of a
Low Earth orbit (LEO) and the apogee at the altitude of a geosynchronous orbit.
Satellites use this orbit to transfer to a geostationary orbit.
 Geostationary transfer orbit: A geosynchronous transfer orbit that is used to transfer to
a geostationary orbit.
 Molniya orbit: A highly eccentric orbit with inclination of 63.4° and orbital period of
half of a sidereal day (roughly 12 hours). Such a satellite spends most of its time over two
designated areas of the planet (usually Russia and the United States).
 Tundra orbit: A highly eccentric orbit with inclination of 63.4° and orbital period of one
sidereal day (roughly 24 hours). Such a satellite spends most of its time over a single
designated area of the planet.

Synchronous classifications

 Synchronous orbit: An orbit where the satellite has an orbital period equal to the
average rotational period (earth's is: 23 hours, 56 minutes, 4.091 seconds) of the body
being orbited and in the same direction of rotation as that body. To a ground observer
such a satellite would trace an analemma (figure 8) in the sky.
 Semi-synchronous orbit (SSO): An orbit with an altitude of approximately 20,200 km
(12,600 mi) and an orbital period equal to one-half of the average rotational period
(Earth's is approximately 12 hours) of the body being orbited
 Geosynchronous orbit (GSO): Orbits with an altitude of approximately 35,786 km
(22,236 mi). Such a satellite would trace an analemma (figure 8) in the sky.
 Geostationary orbit (GEO): A geosynchronous orbit with an inclination of zero. To an
observer on the ground this satellite would appear as a fixed point in the sky.

 Clarke orbit: Another name for a geostationary orbit. Named after scientist and
writer Arthur C. Clarke.
 Super synchronous orbit: A disposal / storage orbit above GSO/GEO. Satellites will
drift west. Also, a synonym for Disposal orbit.
 Sub synchronous orbit: A drift orbit close to but below GSO/GEO. Satellites will drift
east.
 Graveyard orbit: An orbit a few hundred kilometers above geosynchronous that
satellites are moved into at the end of their operation.
 Disposal orbit: A synonym for graveyard orbit.
 Junk orbit: A synonym for graveyard orbit.
 Areosynchronous orbit: A synchronous orbit around the planet Mars with an orbital
period equal in length to Mars' sidereal day, 24.6229 hours.
 Areostationary orbit (ASO): A circular areosynchronous orbit on the equatorial plane
and about 17000 km (10557 miles) above the surface. To an observer on the ground this
satellite would appear as a fixed point in the sky.
 Heliosynchronous orbit: A heliocentric orbit about the Sun where the satellite's orbital
period matches the Sun's period of rotation. These orbits occur at a radius of 24,360 Gm
(0.1628 AU) around the Sun, a little less than half of the orbital radius of Mercury.

Special classifications

 Sun-synchronous orbit: An orbit which combines altitude and inclination in such a way
that the satellite passes over any given point of the planets' surface at the same local solar
time. Such an orbit can place a satellite in constant sunlight and is useful for imaging,
spy, and weather satellites.
 Moon orbit: The orbital characteristics of Earth's Moon. Average altitude of 384,403
kilometers (238,857 mi), elliptical–inclined orbit.
 Pseudo-orbit classifications

 Horseshoe orbit: An orbit that appears to a ground observer to be orbiting a certain

planet but is actually in co-orbit with the planet. See asteroids 3753 (Cruithne) and 2002
AA29.
 Suborbital spaceflight: A maneuver where a spacecraft approaches the height of orbit
but lacks the velocity to sustain it.
 Lunar transfer orbit (LTO)
 Prograde orbit: An orbit with an inclination of less than 90°. Or rather, an orbit that is in
the same direction as the rotation of the primary.
 Retrograde orbit: An orbit with an inclination of more than 90°. Or rather, an orbit
counter to the direction of rotation of the planet. Apart from those in sun-synchronous
orbit, few satellites are launched into retrograde orbit because the quantity of fuel
required to launch them is much greater than for a prograde orbit. This is because when
the rocket starts out on the ground, it already has an eastward component of velocity
equal to the rotational velocity of the planet at its launch latitude.
 Halo orbit and Lissajous orbit: Orbits "around" Lagrangian points.

The Working Principle of the Satellites

Any satellite cannot work without power and the key components such as receivers and
antennas. Satellites are connected to the computer systems for the processing of data. The data is
received and sent back using satellites. These satellites can gather the instructions from these
systems as well. Satellites constitute many sensors; these sensors enable it to process the data and
send it to earth. Telemetry system is a key to the purpose and operation of satellite working.
Satellites send encoded information to the earth-based stations. This information is decoded
using transponders. The working of satellites is possible with the power distribution to all the
components connected to the satellite. The power supply is dependent on the use of the satellite.
Short training satellites are usually powered by cells and batteries. The power for the long
training satellites is usually derived from the solar cells mostly. In this way the fuel expense can
also be lowered. Satellite communication can serve many purposes form TV broadcasting and
telephone communication to weather updates.

figure: principle of satellite

Rocket
is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle that obtains thrust from a rocket engine. Rocket
engine exhaust is formed entirely from propellant carried within the rocket.[5] Rocket engines
work by action and reaction and push rockets forward simply by expelling their exhaust in the
opposite direction at high speed, and can therefore work in the vacuum of space. In fact, rockets
work more efficiently in space than in an atmosphere. Multistage rockets are capable of attaining
escape velocity from Earth and therefore can achieve unlimited maximum altitude. Compared
with airbreathing engines, rockets are lightweight and powerful and capable of generating large
accelerations. To control their flight, rockets rely on momentum, airfoils, auxiliary reaction
engines, gimballed thrust, momentum wheels, deflection of the exhaust stream, propellant flow,
spin, or gravity.
Types
Vehicle configurations

Rocket vehicles are often constructed in the archetypal tall thin "rocket" shape that takes off
vertically, but there are actually many different types of rockets including:[6]

 tiny models such as balloon rockets, water rockets, skyrockets or small solid rockets that
can be purchased at a hobby store
 missiles
 space rockets such as the enormous Saturn V used for the Apollo program
 rocket cars
 rocket bike
 rocket-powered aircraft (including rocket assisted takeoff of conventional aircraft –
RATO)
 rocket sleds
 rocket trains
 rocket torpedoes
 rocket-powered jet packs
 rapid escape systems such as ejection seats and launch escape systems
 space probes

Rocket Principles [7]

A small opening at one end of the chamber allows the gas to escape, and in doing so provides
a thrust that propels the rocket in the opposite direction. A good example of this is a balloon.
Air inside a balloon is compressed by the balloon’s rubber walls. The air pushes back so that
the inward and outward pressing forces balance. When the nozzle is released, air escapes
through it and the balloon is propelled in the opposite direction. When we think of rockets,
we rarely think of balloons. Instead, our attention is drawn to the giant vehicles that carry
 satellites into orbit and spacecraft to the Moon and planets. Nevertheless, there is a strong
similarity between the two. The only significant difference is the way the pressurized gas is
produced. With space rockets, the gas is produced by burning propellants that can be solid or
liquid in form or a combination of the two. One of the interesting facts about the historical
development of rockets is that while rockets and rocket-powered devices have been in use for
more than two thousand years, it has been only in the last three hundred years that rocket
experimenters have had a scientific basis for understanding how they work. The science of
rocketry began with the publishing of a book in 1687 by the great English scientist Sir Isaac
Newton. His book, entitled Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica, described
physical principles in nature. Today, Newton’s work is usually just called the Principia. In
the Principia, Newton stated three important scientific principles that govern the motion of all
objects, whether on Earth or in space. Knowing these principles, now called Newton’s Laws
of Motion, rocketeers have been able to construct the modern giant rockets of the 20th
century such as the Saturn 5 and the Space Shuttle. Here now, in simple form, are Newton’s
Laws of Motion.

1. Objects at rest will stay at rest and objects in motion will stay in motion in a
straight line unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.
2. Force is equal to mass times acceleration.
3. For every action there is always an opposite and equal reaction.

As will be explained shortly, all three laws are really simple statements of how things
move. But with them, precise determinations of rocket performance can be made.

Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)

Drones or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are flying robotic machines that can be
controlled remotely from a location without the need for the person to move with it. The control
is possible through devices such as the transmitters, receivers and sensors.

It also military aircraft that is guided autonomously, by remote control, or both and that carries
sensors, target designators, offensive ordnance, or electronic transmitters designed to interfere
with or destroy enemy targets. Unencumbered by crew, life-support systems, and the design-
safety requirements of manned aircraft, UAVs can be remarkably efficient, offering substantially
greater range and endurance than equivalent manned systems. It can fly at great heights and also
carry considerable weight along with it. A drone typically has a lot of uses ranging from in-air
photography, surveillance, in the agricultural field to spray water, pesticides and survey of the
fields for any leakages in the water connections and more.

Today, it is possible to fly and control these Unmanned Aerial Vehicles with just a smartphone
too. However, licenses are mandatory to fly them. The government strictly regulates the heights
in which they can be flown, in which places it can fly and what purposes it can be used for.

Types of Drones/ UAVs

Based on the type of aerial platform used, there are 4 major types of UAVs.

 Multi Rotor Drone

 Fixed Wing Drone
 Single Rotor Drone
 Fixed Wing Hybrid VTOL

Multi Rotor Drone

Multi Rotor Drone uses multiple propellers to navigate and fly. They are utilized for common
uses such as photography and video surveillance. They are the most common of all UAVs. They
can be further classified in four most popular categories based on the number of propellers being
used. They are:

 Tricopter – Three Propeller Drones

 Quadcopter – Four Propeller Drones
 Hexacopter – Six Propeller Drones
 Octocopter – Eight Propeller Drones

Fixed Wing Drones

Fixed Wing drones have wings in place of propellers just like an airplane. They cannot hover at
one place. They fly on the set course till their energy source is functional.

Single Rotor Drones

As the name suggests, a Single rotor drone has only one rotor and a small tail to control it
direction. They resemble more like a helicopter and are very energy efficient.

Fixed Wing Hybrid VTOL

VTOL stands for Vertical take Off & Landing. Fixed Wing Hybrid VTOLs uses propeller(s) to
lift off and wings for gliding.

Main Components of Drones/ UAVs (Quadcopter)

There are multiple designs used for drones, the most popular is the four-wing structure called
Quadcopter. The main components of a Quadcopter are:

1. Propellers/ Wings
2. Chassis
3. DC motors
4. Flight Controller
5. Electronic Speed Controllers
6. Landing Gear
7. Transmitter
8. Receiver
9. GPS Module
10. Battery
11. Camera
Basic principles

One way to achieve autonomous control employs multiple control-loop layers, as in hierarchical
control systems. As of 2016 the low-layer loops (i.e., for flight control) tick as fast as 32,000
times per second, while higher-level loops may cycle once per second. The principle is to
decompose the aircraft's behavior into manageable "chunks", or states, with known transitions.
Hierarchical control system types range from simple scripts to finite state machines, behavior
trees and hierarchical task planners. The most common control mechanism used in these layers is
the PID controller which can be used to achieve hover for a quadcopter by using data from the
IMU to calculate precise inputs for the electronic speed controllers and motors.

Examples of mid-layer algorithms: Path planning: determining an optimal path for vehicle to
follow while meeting mission objectives and constraints, such as obstacles or fuel requirements.

Trajectory generation (motion planning): determining control maneuvers to take in order to

follow a given path or to go from one location to another.

Trajectory regulation: constraining a vehicle within some tolerance to a trajectory

Evolved UAV hierarchical task planners use methods like state tree searches or genetic
algorithms.
Reference

[1] Stanzione,KaydonAl(1989)."Engineering".EncyclopædiaBritannica.18(15 ed.).Chicago.p. 56.

[2] "Science: Engineering: Aerospace". Open Site. Retrieved 2006-10-08.

[3] Gruntman, Mike(September19,2007). "The Time for Acadmic Departments

Astronautical Engineering". AIAA SPACE 2007 Conference & Exposition Agenda.
AIAA SPACE 2007 Conference &Exposition. AIAA. Archived from the original
On October18,2007
[4]"UCS Satellite Database". Union of Concerned Scientists. 1August 2020. Retrieved 15
October2020.
[5] Sutton, George P.; Biblarz, Oscar (2001). Rocket Propulsion Elements. John Wiley & Sons.
ISBN 978-0-471-32642-7. Archived from the original on 12 January 2014. Retrieved 28
May2016.
[6]"NASA History: Rocket vehicles".Hq.nasa.gov. Archived from the original on 2013-01-25.
Retrieved
[7] A teacher’s guide with activities in science, mathematics, and technology February1996.