This comprehensive handbook provides an overview of space technology and a holistic understanding of the system-of-systems that is a modern spacecraft.With a foreword by Elon Musk, CEO and CTO of SpaceX, and contributions from globally leading agency experts from NASA, ESA, JAXA, and CNES, as well as European and North American academics and industrialists, this handbook, as well as giving an interdisciplinary overview, offers, through individual self-contained chapters, more detailed understanding of specific fields, ranging through:·         Launch systems, structures, power, thermal, communications, propulsion, and software, to·         entry, descent and landing, ground segment, robotics, and data systems, to·         technology management, legal and regulatory issues, and project management.This handbook is an equally invaluable asset to those on a career path towards the space industry as it is to those already within the industry.

InhaltsangabeIntroduction.- Applications of Space Technology.- Fundamentals of Space Exploration.- Fundamentals of Space Exploration.- Launch Systems.- Structure, Mechanisms and Deployables.- Power.- Propulsion.- Altitude Determination, Guidance and Navigation Control.- Thermal and Radiation.- Telemetry, Tracking and Command.- Command and Data Handling.- Spacecraft Computer Systems.- Software.- Biological Life Support.- Descent and Landing Systems.- Mission Operations.- Payload Design and Sizing.- Spacecraft Manufacturing, Testing & Reliability.- Cost.- Legal and Regulatory Requirements.- Project and Quality Management.- Mission and System Design.- Appendices.