Astronauts embarking on long-duration crewed space missions to destinations further away from the Earth in the future will have to contend with challenges of proper waste management due to several constraints, such as limited resources, absence of constant resupply of consumables, limited habitable volume inside the spacecraft, isolation from the Earth system and limited waste stowage space for a longer period of the mission. The use of the high enthalpy inductively heated plasma generators IPG3 and IPG4 for decomposition of crewed space missions waste simulants was investigated during the Waste for Energy and Volume Recovery (WEVR) campaign conducted at the at the Institute of Space Systems (IRS) of the University of Stuttgart, a partner institution of the University of Cape Town’s SpaceLab. Reference waste package simulants were subjected to series of decomposition processes using the two IRS inductively heated plasma generators in Plasma Wind Tunnel 3 (PWK3). The investigations were designed to assess and characterize the responses of the various samples to thermal decomposition in the given plasma flow using oxygen and nitrogen operational gases under a thermal steady state condition leading to attendant products which were analyzed. This paper details simulant decomposition scheme during WEVR campaign in addition to results from physical and spectroscopic analysis with possible application to long duration crewed spaceflight.

Requirements from the global labor market have substantially changed in recent years. Graduate and post-graduate students with excellent subject knowledge, deep understanding of modern working methods, technicaland higher-order thinking, engineering intuition and problem-solving skills are in great demand. They should also have professional skills such as well-developed abilities in communication and teamwork, usually in an international work environment. This review discusses the advantages of multidisciplinary study environment, educational strategies such as student-oriented teaching, project-based learning with its applicability to a“real-world” setting, active learning techniques, development of entrepreneurial skills, lessons learned and best practices from the international Master Program in Spacecraft Design and the Joint Master Program in SpaceScience and Technology – SpaceMaster at Luleå University of Technology in northern Sweden. The importance of complementarity between formal, informal and non-formal learning methods for science and engineering studentshas been specifically highlighted. Connections to the world of work, through active industry involvementin the education in a systematic way, e.g. External Advisory Board, shared services and facilities, joint projectsand supervision of Master and PhD students, is recognised as a key success factor for professional training. A structural combination of modern pedagogical tools, strategic partnership with industry, business entities, academic partners and up-to-date multidisciplinary labs creates the conceptual framework for a CompetenceEcosystem for fostering a new generation of space scientists and engineers.

Requirements from the global labor market have substantially changed in recent years. Graduate and postgraduate students with excellent subject knowledge, deep understanding of modern working methods, technical and higher-order thinking, engineering intuition and problem-solving skills are in great demand. They should also have professional skills such as well-developed abilities in communication and teamwork, usually in an international work environment. This review discusses the advantages of multidisciplinary study environment, educational strategies such as student-oriented teaching, project-based learning with its applicability to a "real-world" setting, active learning techniques, development of entrepreneurial skills, lessons learned and best practices from the international Master Program in Spacecraft Design and the Joint Master Program in Space Science and Technology – SpaceMaster at Luleå University of Technology in northern Sweden. The importance of complementarity between formal, informal and non-formal learning methods for science and engineering students has been specifically highlighted. Connections to the world of work, through active industry involvement in the education in a systematic way, e.g. External Advisory Board, shared services and facilities, joint projects and supervision of Master and PhD students, is recognised as a key success factor for professional training. A structural combination of modern pedagogical tools, strategic partnership with industry, business entities, academic partners and up-to-date multidisciplinary labs creates the conceptual framework for a Competence Ecosystem for fostering a new generation of space scientists and engineers.

The Auroral Acceleration Region (AAR) is a key region in understanding the Magnetosphere-Ionosphere interaction. To understand the physical, spatial and temporal features of the region, multi-point measurements are required. Distributed small-satellite missions such as constellations of multiple nano satellites (for example multi-unit CubeSats) would enable such type of measurements. The capabilities of such a mission will highly depend on the number of satellites - one reason that makes low-cost platforms like CubeSats a very promising choice. In a previous study, the state-of-the-art of miniaturized payloads for AAR measurements was analyzed and evaluated and capabilities of different multi-CubeSat configurations equipped with such payloads in addressing different open questions in AAR were discussed. In this paper the mission analysis and possible mission design, as well as necessary technology developments of such multi-CubeSat mission are identified and presented.

The satellite industry is rapidly growing. There has been a significant increase in the number of new small satellites that are launched, which is complemented by the rapid pace of the development of image recognition algorithms. Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) in particular, have achieved state-of-the-art performance in computer vision related applications. Combining both and running an AI algorithm on-board the satellite to observe and recognize any natural disaster directly from the orbit is an important opportunity. This paper presents notable challenges that are generally involved in an Earth Observation small satellite mission and further challenges that are posed by combining it with AI-based image recognition on-board the satellite. This study discusses an approach that is feasible mainly for a fleet of small satellites.

The need for material circularity and sustainability is not limited to human activities on Earth and in fact, has broad implications for the utilization of outer space. With the increased digitalization, global location and observation needs, and connectivity demands for Earth applications, an ever-growing number of spacecrafts being launched into an already “crowded” orbital space at the fast-growing risk of collisions. Sustainability, stewardship, and circularity have been identified as key concepts and enablers for the save and long-term utilization of outer space. However, as research projects related to space sustainability, recycling of spacecraft materials, and space debris mitigation gain traction, a mutual understanding of definitions and concepts is missing and the prospects and viability of circularity in space are unclear. This research attempts to fill this gap with an investigation into the possibilities to re-use spacecraft materials as an alternative to its complete disposal. A review of circularity and sustainability definitions is conducted, and this paper makes an initial effort to examine and map requirements for re-manufacturing, refurbishment, and the re-use of spacecraft materials. A literature review is conducted to identify fundamental concepts to enable circularity. This research reviews best practices and approaches in areas like aviation, electronics, and car manufacturing to thoroughly examine similarities and to create a mapping for the space sector. Following this cross-industry approach, the research surveys academic and industrial topics like spacecraft and satellite mission design, business models and product innovation, and entrepreneurship and space ecosystems to find common patterns within sectors and activities. The paper further presents findings and a preliminary roadmap and future research topics related to circularity in space.

As spacecraft missions continue to increase in complexity, the system operation and amount of gathered data demand more complex systems than ever before. Currently, mission capabilities are constrained by the link bandwidth as well as on-board processing capacity, depending on a high number of commands and complex ground station systems to allow spacecraft operations. Thus, efficient use of the bandwidth, computing capacity and increased autonomous capabilities are of utmost importance. Artificial intelligence, with its vast areas of application scenarios, allows for these challenges and more to be tackled in spacecraft design. Particularly, the flexibility of neural networks as machine learning technology provides many possibilities. For example, neural networks can be used for object detection and classification tasks. Unfortunately, the execution of current machine learning algorithms consumes a large amount of power and memory resources, and qualified deployment remains challenging which limits their possible applications in space systems. Thus, an increase in efficiency is a major enabling factor for these technologies. The optimisation of the algorithm for System-on-Chip platforms allows it to benefit from the best of a generic processor and hardware acceleration shall allow broader applications of these technologies with a minimum increase of power consumption. Additionally, COTS embedded systems are commonly used in NewSpace applications due to the possibility to add external or software fault mitigation. For deployment of machine learning on such devices, a CNN model was optimised on a workstation. Then, the neural network is deployed with Xilinx’s Vitis AI onto different embedded systems that include a powerful generic processor as well as the hardware programming capabilities of an FPGA. This result was evaluated based on relevant performance and efficiency parameters and a summary is given in this paper. Additionally, a different approach was developed which creates, with a high-level synthesis tool, the hardware description language of an accelerated linear algebra optimized network. The implementation of this tool was started, and the proof of concept is presented. Furthermore, existing challenges with the auto-generated code are outlined and future steps to automate and improve the entire workflow are presented. This paper aims to contribute to increasing the efficiency and applicability of artificial intelligence in space. Specifically, the performance of machine learning algorithms is evaluated on FPGAs which are commonly used for complex algorithms’ execution in space.

With the launch of the first CubeSat a trend of easy access to Low Earth Orbit was started. Today many educational institutes around the world design, build and operate CubeSats for educational as well as scientific purposes. This paper presents designs and development in hardware and software made to achieve a flexible ground segment at the Luleå University of Technology Space Campus in Kiruna, Sweden. The existing ground station is adapted to support more frequencies and modes of operation to enable future satellite projects at the university easy access to space communications. New equipment has been procured and integrated with existing equipment in a new location using a 19-inch server rack. The article presents a ground segment design using software-defined radio to promote flexibility and adaptability. A in-house developed sequence control board is presented that enables the ground station to quickly switch between full duplex and half-duplex modes.

Parabolic flights are widely used for conducting experiments in microgravity and practising for satellite missions or for human space flights. Testing an experiment, a piece of equipment or a spacecraft system in low gravity conditions is often required before it can be included in a space mission. Most often, parabolic flights are performed on large aircraft such as ESA’s Airbus A310 ZERO-G. They offer relatively long periods of low gravity per flight and plenty of space for experiment setup. However, the use of large aircraft also results in higher cost, low repeatability, and constraints in location as the flights need to be performed from large airfields. This is one reason for the growing interest in parabolic flights using smaller aircraft, gliders or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). They offer lower initial and operational costs, shorter waiting times and higher flexibility regarding the location where the flight is performed. Depending on the experiment, these advantages will be more important than related challenges of short durations of parabolas and limited space inside the aircraft. The microgravity conditions provided by large planes, 10-2 - 10-3 g, are not as good as those achieved at other microgravity platforms such as drop towers, sounding rockets, or the International Space Station (ISS). With smaller aircraft, the quality could be even lower, 10-1 - 10-2 g, due to their increased sensitivity to perturbations such as oscillations and vibrations. Regardless of which of these two platforms will be used, the low-gravity conditions could be improved by reducing the effect of external disturbances and by increasing the stability. The main objectives of project FASTER (Flying Attitude STabilized ExpeRiment) are to build a stabilizing platform and to prove that it can improve the microgravity conditions for payload experiments during parabolic flights. The Attitude Control System (ACS) uses three reaction wheels, and it is based on the ASTER on REXUS experiment that will be ejected from a sounding rocket during the upcoming 30th ESA Rexus campaign. The platform will be tested in 2021 on the first student Arctic parabolic flight campaign organized in Kiruna, Sweden, using a light Cessna aircraft.

The design of safe heat flux control devices is fundamental for the success of a space mission that involves atmospheric re-entry. The development of the superconductive coil technology in recent years allows the exploitation of magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) effects as thermal protection system. Thus, experimental and numerical campaigns to assess these effects are needed, in order to provide a proven scientific base for future works in this field. Experiments involving a simplified test case with an argon plasma flow with different magnets configurations have been carried out in the plasma wind tunnel PWK1 at the Institute of Space Systems (IRS). The optical and emission spectroscopy measurements have shown that the magnetic field increases the emissions of the ionized argon particles and the shock stand-off distance. The test conditions have been emulated at the Center of Astrophysics, Space Physics and Engineering Research (CASPER) and a particle tracking technique was used to obtain an electric field force map. This experiment has shown that the electric field induced in the plasma by the applied magnetic field is strong enough to transport the ions towards to cusp region, in accordance with the highest emission intensity detected at IRS. The test case has been rebuilt with the IRS in-house code Self and Applied Field MPD thruster algorithm (SAMSA) and the numerical results have been validated against the experimental results. Further simulations with highest magnetic flux densities have been performed and a polynomial describing the behaviour of the shock distance has been obtained.

Kvarken Space Centre is a project conducted by a consortium of Finnish and Swedish academic institutions aiming to enhance the economic activities of the Kvarken region shared by the two countries, by improving the regional competence in space technology. In this framework, the consortium is developing a first 2UCubeSat, namely KvarkenSat, with the goal of exhibiting the regional capabilities in satellite developmentvia performing science and in-orbit demonstration of Finnish payloads. Since the main areas of interestare forestry and sea transportation, the CubeSat will integrate a multispectral camera for forest health and seawater quality analysis and an automatic identification system (AIS) receiver for sea vessel tracking. In addition, the spacecraft will perform the in-orbit demonstration of a miniature water-based resistojet thruster system. KvarkenSat’s last payload will comprise a GNSS receiver that will extract raw data inorder to conduct precise point positioning (PPP) algorithm research. This work is meant to present the mission concept, objectives and technical overview of the current design. The launch of KvarkenSat is planned for Q4 2022 from northern Sweden.

Reliable payload separation systems are of fundamental importance in any satellite mission. Due to the unique requirements of satellite missions, separation adapters must be modified for every novel spacecraft. Efficient and reliable analysis is needed to minimize the demand for qualification testing. The goal of this paper is to compare different modelling tools in order to develop a verified analysis approach to simulate spacecraft release using separation systems. This is achieved by validating the analysis results using data of a high-speed imaging test. A system by RUAG Space AB is used as a representation of a separation system, incorporating a clampband based connection and a Clampband Opening Device (CBOD) as a release actuator. The two commonly used programs MSC Nastran and Abaqus will be investigated as nonlinear Finite Element analysis methods. To evaluate the performance of the programs simulation time and the result deviations compared to the test results are being taken into account as parameters. With respect to the result deviations both programs have shown similar results, however neither program was able to achieve the desired accuracy. Regarding the simulation time Abaqus attained favourable results over MSC Nastran for the overall simulation.

Despite the growing number of educational CubeSat projects, there is a lack of available literature related to analysis of good practices and lessons learned associated with learning environment of such university student projects, their internal organisational, and management issues. Difficulties arise when international standards, procedures and practices from professional satellite development projects must be adopted by student teams to their local projects. This paper discusses educational, organisational, and human factors that contribute to the success of the master student space projects at Luleå University of Technology, Kiruna Space Campus. The authors focus on project structure, management, working, and learning environment of the ongoing student CubeSat project APTAS and analyse problems and difficulties encountered in relation to the other actual student space projects at LTU. The result of quantitative and qualitative analysis of questionnaires, interviews, reflections and observations of the national and international master students is presented, and provides practical advice for university student teams and their supervisors.

Attitude control in the case of 1U CubeSats is a crucial design choice in any mission of such scale. This leads to extensive studies being conducted before deciding on the architecture of this subsystem. In the case of Luleå University Technology's first student-led CubeSat project, Atmospheric Polar Transmission Alignment Satellite (APTAS), the driving design choices of the Attitude Determination and Control System (ADCS) were predominately impacted by its onboard payload requirements. For successful operations of the camera, the ADCS must ensure a stability of less than 0.58 deg/s, while the pointing accuracy for both camera and EISCAT antenna system shall be less than 10 deg. In this regard, following a study of suitable hardware designs that would fulfill those requirements, the satellite shall be equipped with magnetometers, coarse sun sensors (CSS) and a gyroscope. It is widely-known that ADCS-related tasks are notoriously computationally heavy. This presents another limitation of 1U satellites: available computational load. Preliminary studies and simulation have shown that an usual algorithm in the form of a Kalman Filter (or similar applications) would interfere with payload operations due to subsequent sensor-fusion iterations and the heavy computational load resulting from it. For this reason, the TRIAD attitude determination method was deemed a fitting alternative, due to its computational efficiency and lower number of operations. All data-processing tasks must also be conducted through the one on-board computer, due to the volume constraints of 1U. In terms of control, the conducted simulations show that the B-dot algorithm for detumbling motion and the quaternion feedback control for nadir pointing are capable of meeting the requirements of the mission. For optimal payload operations, four operation modes have been defined, each to be functional at different stages of the satellite's mission. Each mode utilizes a distinct arrangement of ADCS components when needed. Because of the prevalence of 1U CubeSats within the nanosat community, it is necessary to have an efficient ADCS system in order to meet the mission objectives. This paper describes in detail the developed and innovative solution for attitude dynamics of a small CubeSat.

This paper presents the Kiruna Space Campus of Luleå University of Technology (LTU) and its associated integration, testing and qualification facilities for spacecraft systems, subsystems, and components. The availability of such facilities in close proximity to the Esrange Space Center makes it possible to address unexpected events that may affect the launch readiness of such systems. LTU's capabilities are further enhanced by the Swedish Institute of Space Physics' (IRF) SpaceLab and the planned orbital access from the new Esrange launch facility of the Swedish Space Corporation (SSC). Utilizing these resources, LTU is able to provide a comprehensive project lifecycle in-house, and is actively making the facilities accessible to external users to foster efficient utilization and support peers in getting their payloads ready for launch. Additionally, the paper discusses the rationale for developing these resources as part of wider academic-industry collaborations and regional economic cluster activities, such as the public-private “Space for Innovation and Growth” project and Aerospace Cluster Sweden.

This paper presents the progress of the KvarkenSat project, which is supported by EU ERDF Interreg funds. The goal of this project is to present the KvarkenSat mission as an example of regional economic development and competence building. KvarkenSat will carry a multi-spectral camera to analyze the status of the forests and the marine waters as well as an Automatic Identification System (AIS) receiver for sea vessel monitoring. Additionally, a GNSS receiver will be included to retrieve raw data from the GPS and Galileo constellations for advanced precise point positioning (PPP) algorithm studies. The spacecraft will also perform an in-orbit demonstration of a small green water-based thruster system for deorbit and collision avoidance purposes.

This paper presents the research that is being conducted with the hardware-in-the-loop simulation testbed laying at the Nano Satellite Lab at the Kiruna Space Campus of Luleå University of Technology. Particularly, a brief introduction to the frictionless platform and both robot manipulators that comprise such a testbed is given. Additionally, this paper summarizes the simulations that are currently performed on the testbed. Finally, the paper also discusses some future activities that are planned to be conducted to improve the way systems and components of small satellites are currently validated.

Until very recently, CubeSat class small satellite missions were restricted to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) applications. The launch and success of Mars Cube One (MarCO) twin CubeSats in 2018 opened a new paradigm of planetary exploration using these low-cost platforms. Consequently, there are over 50 beyond LEO small satellite missions that have been planned over the next 5 years. The primary objective of this paper is to investigate the current Guidance Navigation Control (GNC) capabilities of CubeSat class satellites speci cally in the context of planetary exploration and identify techniques and strategies that could potentially improve the utilisation of existing hardware as part of an ongoing research project at Lule a University of Technology in preparation for upcoming beyond LEO nano-satellite missions. Traditional GNC techniques such as ballistic propulsion and ground-based navigation do not scale well for small satellites as the former requires prohibitively large amounts of chemical propellant and the latter requires extensive ground-based infrastructure which increases the operational cost drastically. Fortunately, recent advances in electric propulsion and autonomous navigation techniques such as opti- cal and crosslink radiometric navigation broadened the feasibility of deep space CubeSat missions. The current paper discusses the state-of-the-art of each of the above GNC techniques while proposing archi- tectures that could bene t from the above techniques. The paper also provides an overview of various GNC strategies that are being considered for the planned beyond-LEO small satellite missions.

The Atmospheric Polar Transmission Alignment Satellite (APTAS), is a project initialized and carried out by students at Luleå University of Technology’s (LTU) northernmost campus located in the Norrbotten region of Sweden, above the Arctic Circle. The entire development process is done in-house by studentswith the support by staff and faculty of the LTU Kiruna Space Campus. The project aims to provide a proof of technology of a 1U CubeSat and strengthen LTU’s position as the Space University of Sweden. APTAS benefits from its proximity to the Swedish Space Institute (IRF), EISCAT and one of the new facilities of EISCAT 3D, as well as Esrange Space Center, which will be equipped in the near future with small satellite launching capabilities. The skills and expertise acquired during the course of this project do, without a doubt, aid the students involved, both in terms of future work in the space industry, and as a boost of confidence in their capabilities. An international team of students with various backgrounds having conceptualized and tested systems pertaining to different disciplines such as telecommunications, mechanical analysis, orbital dynamics, electronics and software development is meant to show and encourage that in combination with appropriate equipment and mentorship, such undertakings can be carried out by a team of university students.

There are many interesting aspects of Earth’s upper atmosphere and near space environment to study. The 3D radar developed and built by EISCAT (EISCAT3D) will expand these possibilities and become a powerful tool to study these phenomena.

Industry collaboration between universities and start-ups or traditional companies can provide opportunities to mitigate this challenge, and often spark new technologies or innovative ways to utilize current technologies for new ventures. Therefore, Luleå University of Technology’s first CubeSat (APTAS) has been working in co-operation with EISCAT to develop a payload to perform independent, redundancy testing for the radar system.

The payload will provide the ability to perform an independent form of testing for EISCAT3D. To achieve this, APTAS’ very high frequency antenna will send a predefined signal to the instrument. The received signal will be compared to its predicted value, allowing studies of how the instrument performs. Since normal satellite function uses the ultra-high frequency band, the operation of the payload will not interfere with other satellite activities.

Due to the fact that APTAS’ main scientific objective is Earth observation, a significant portion of the 1U satellite was allocated to camera optics. Because of this, a traditional board did not fit, since the optics dominate most of the satellite’s internal space. The solution was to adapt the payload board to fit around the camera lens, which was made possible by an in-house, custom fitted design based on APTAS’ unique geometrical restraints.

This paper will discuss in detail the development and manufacturing of this payload and more broadly how development of small-sat payloads can be designed, built, and managed by student organisations. In addition, the paper will cover the challenges attributed to the development of a student-led CubeSat and corresponding recommendations for possible improvements. Finally, the importance of proper and thorough documentation within a project involving a high rate of member rotation and quick development will be further highlighted.

The inductively-heated plasma generator IPG6-B at Baylor University has been established and characterized in previous years for use as a flexible experimental research facility across multiple applications. The system uses a similar plasma generator design to its twin-facilities at the University of Stuttgart (IPG6-S) and the University of Kentucky (IPG6-UKY). The similarity between these three devices offers the advantage to reproduce results and provides comparability to achieve cross-referencing and verification. Sub- and supersonic flow conditions for Mach numbers between Ma = 0.3 — 1.4 have been characterized for air, argon, helium and nitrogen using a pitot probe. Overall power coupling efficiency as well as specific bulk enthalpy of the flow have been determined by calorimeter measurements to be between η = 0.05 — 0.45 and h_s = 5 — 35 MJ kg^-1 respectively depending on gas type and pressure. Electron temperatures of T_e = 1 — 2 eV and densities n_e = 10¹8 — 10²0 m^-3 have been measured using an electrostatic probe system. At Baylor University, laboratory experiments in the areas of astrophysics, geophysics as well as fundamental research on complex (dusty) plasmas are planned. The study of fundamental processes in low-temperature plasmas connects directly to electric propulsion systems. Most recent experiments include the study of dusty plasmas and astrophysical phenomena and the interaction of charged dust with electric and magnetic fields. In this case, dust can be used as a diagnostic for such fields and can reveal essential information of the magneto-hydrodynamics in low-temperature plasmas. Although some of these goals require further advancement of the facility, it is proposed that several phenomena relevant to electric propulsion as well as to other fields of plasma physics can be studied using the existing facility.

This paper presents a comprehensive literature review of smart maintenance techniques used in manufacturing, aviation, and electric automobiles, with the objective of identifying strategies to optimize the longevity and sustainability of satellite operations. This study assesses the latest advancements in smart maintenance, including data analytics, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and the integration of sensor technologies. These methods are suggested to reduce downtime, cut overall maintenance costs, and increase functional or component reliability and reusability. This study explores state-of-the-art maintenance approaches and industry best practices and examines their applicability in space. The research outlines the advantages of applying smart maintenance techniques to satellites, including enhanced operational efficiency, operational life-time extension, and overall cost-effectiveness. Moreover, the research proposes that the space industry can utilize the findings as a blueprint for customized satellite maintenance solutions and towards the establishment of standards and policies. \par This paper emphasizes the importance of adopting advanced maintenance procedures as a critical step towards a circular space economy that prioritizes sustainability and efficiency in space missions. This research contributes towards the sustainable future of the space industry by starting the dialogue on advanced smart maintenance technologies. It offers insights into improving satellite maintenance practices and encourages further research and collaboration to overcome implementation barriers. Furthermore, maintenance strategies are presented as a vital component towards space sustainability, enabling sustainable, reliable space missions, also aligning with the goals of a circular space economy.

Technological advancements and the growing demand for global connectivity is leading to an explosive growth of satellites being launched into space. Additionally, the lower cost to launch satellites into orbit makes it possible for new players to participate and to gain access to space. Decreasing launch prices and the miniaturization of payloads enables satellites being build faster and overall cheaper. In addition, instead of large satellites being launched into higher orbits, a trend towards satellite mega constellations in low-earth orbit can be observed. With this increase of new satellites already being launched and planned to be launched soon on one side, and defunct or decommissioned satellites and other space debris from collisions on the other side, concern related orbital capacity limits is being raised. Space sustainability gets more global attention and related research projects are conducted with a variety of stakeholders. This attention is needed and important but as the re-use and the recycling of satellite materials are not yet commercially viable or available, space sustainability primarily focuses on a more environmental perspective, with areas like space situational awareness and space transportation management. 

This paper investigates another option: the integration of a sustainability perspective during product design and in the production process as an alternative to the environmental perspective after launching satellites into orbit. The aim is to understand whether implementing design for sustainability and a sustainability perspective for an optimized production can support long-term space sustainability and with this, has measurable impact on the value chain for spacecraft. The research examines state-of-the-art of product design and development processes and how the space industry design and product processes are set up in comparison. Further investigation about life cycle costs variations related to a sustainability perspective, calculation approaches, and how space industry operates compared to other industries. The research will attempt to provide a top-level model for product developers with recommended procedures, activities, and the life cycle costs with options to integrate a sustainability perspective during the product design and development processes. In addition, drivers for product and production innovation through the sustainability perspective are suggested.

With a growing number of objects in space, the pressure to be sustainable and more efficient with resources is increasing. Driven by technological advancements, the reuse of space hardware becomes feasible and viable as alternative to spacecraft end-of-life disposal. Reuse of space hardware promises benefits in areas like mitigating space debris risks, cost reductions, and environmental sustainability on Earth and in space. However, challenges related to the space environment, like micro gravity, unknown changes due to radiation, and the energy requirements to perform maneuvers in space must be addressed in order to enable spacecraft reusability. Nonetheless, reuse of space hardware is an important objective related to long-term space exploration with implications on the human expansion into space. This paper investigates the requirements for reusability of spacecraft and if circular economy strategies can support implementing reusability for spacecraft. Based on the finding of expert interviews, it argues for design as a key enabler. It introduces design for X, design for circularity, and design for reusability, and explores how reusability of space hardware implies the need to include the space environment in design decisions.