Challenger spacecraft

Challenger spacecraft destroyed these plans. After appropriate modifications it was finally transported into space by the DELTA-II rocket. 

Unfortunately these variables and problems exist in all industries. As an example a major situation occurred that was catastrophic in the aerospace industry. (Nothing is perfect on earth.) The Challenger shuttle spacecraft exploded 28 January 1986 above Cape Canaveral, FL. (Fig. 8-79)... 

The validity of the description of this patented procedure was also challenged on the grounds that molybdic oxide needs to be present in the plated film for the conversion to take place. It is interesting, therefore, that C E Vest introduced an important modification to the process in order to electrodeposit molybdenum trioxide instead of molybdenum metal when studying the application of the technique to the lubrication of spacecraft components. Vest s modification was to use a mixed plating bath of molybdenum trioxide in an alkali salt solution such as ammonium formate. The component being coated formed the cathode, and the molybdenum was probably present in the bath in the form of ammonium molybdate. 

Spacecraft environments are particularly vulnerable to upsets due to their closed loop nature. The release and accumulation of toxic chemicals in the breathable atmosphere or the biological contamination of food and water supplies rapidly become detrimental to crew safety. Consequently, instrumentation for environmental monitoring is a prerequisite for mission success. Although seemingly uncomplicated, the additional requirements that these instruments use minimal space, mass, power, and crew time makes their successful development and application challenging. One potential solution may be to use biosensors as environmental monitors. Biosensors consist of a biological component (bioreporter) that... 

PEMEC technology is already used to produce oxygen for life (e.g., in submarines or spacecraft) but it is still expensive. A new, challenging field is the combination of PEMFCs with renewable energies (solar or wind power), because it better resists current fluctuation than alkaline processes. 

Issues relating to units inevitably crop up in any technical undertaking. For those ofus in the United States, the challenge is further heightened by our continued insistence on imperial-based units such as inches, pounds, and degrees Fahrenheit. (Besides the United States, only two other countries in the world have not adopted the metric system Liberia and Myanmar.) Units issues doomed the 328 million Mars Climate Observer spacecraft in 1999, which crashed into the red planet thanks to a thruster impulse instruction that was erroneously provided in imperial lbs s units instead of metric N s units. 

Braun R D, Manning R M (2007) Mars Exploration Entry, Descent and Landing Challenges. J Spacecraft and Rockets 44 310-323. 

Techniques that evolved to meet those challenges laid the foundation for the new field of spacecraft engineering. 

In the 1970 s, interplanetary spacecraft ranged far from the Sun and strained the capabilities of solar panels to provide sufficient electrical power. Spacecraft engineers harnessed the energy of radioactive decay to power deep-space missions and to keep the spacecraft warm so far from the Sun. Missions to Mercury and Venus, so near the Sun, posed the opposite challenge of keeping the spacecraft from overheating. 

Command, control, and data acquisition from remote platforms with limited power available for broadcasting has always been and continues to be a major communications challenge for the spacecraft engineer. 

Opinions and perceptions, whether objectively based or not, are significant challenges to flying autonomous systems on spacecraft. Some of the key requirements and associated issues are identified below. 

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