The space environment can have harmful effects on spacecraft orbiting the Earth or exploring the solar system. These interactions can be of different natures:
- Radiations effects in the spacecraft matter (dose, energy and charge deposition) and on sensitive components (Single Event Effects);
- Plasma dynamic issued from the surrounding environment or from electric thrusters and causing discharges, ESD, degradations on the satellite surfaces, devises and solar arrays (erosion, contamination, power loss, …);
- Molecules and neutral particles from the environment or outgassed from spacecraft surfaces inducing erosion and contamination of surfaces;
- Effects of dusty plasmas particles (lunar dust, interplanetary dust, …);
- Multipactor effect due to electrons acceleration by RF signals and creating electron avalanches.
SpaceSuite provides a structured software suite and a pool of expertise In order to model those effects in the most efficient way and to help spacecraft conceivers preventing damages on spacecraft. In addition to the usual “mono-physic” approach, SpaceSuite goes further and offers a multi-physics approach in order to better assess the effects of the space environment on a spacecraft in orbit or validate payload and devices in mission conception phase.
Currently, SpaceSuite focuses on two of those domains:
- Spacecraft charging (surface and internal) and, more generally, spacecraft-plasma interaction, including electrical thruster plume modelling;
- Radiations effects analysis.
Services will be progressively extended to other thematics. Contact us if you wish to be informed about new services availability.