You will address one of the following topics:

1. Once you have specified the target vehicle (1 – a suborbital vehicle for ultra-fast long-haul transport, or 2 – a vehicle serving low Earth orbit) on which you will be working, you will propose the design of large windows optimised for that vehicle’s mission,

Or for vehicle 2 servicing Low Earth Orbit

2. You will study the design of a universal docking system enabling the vehicle to dock to commercial space stations. To do this, you will define a set of high-level requirements related to the various functions to be performed by the system. You will detail the docking sequence, taking inspiration from various existing or past cases and propose the architecture that best meets the requirements. Your work should not be a copy of what NASA, ESA or other companies are proposing, but you can draw inspiration from them. In particular, you could consult the document International Docking System Standard IDSS IDD rev. F dated July 2022.

 



Androgynous docking interface - Axial view

 

Or

3. You will study the design of a refueling system able either to refuel the vehicle in orbit or to transfer fluids to an other vehicle or an in-orbit service station.

Or

4. You will envisage an interior layout that is as modern as possible (going a step further than the Crew Dragon’s layout), notably by including space for a separate toilet,

Or

5. Based on a vehicle concept of your choice (ideally one already studied in previous years), you will propose a list of materials that could be used on different parts of the vehicle (heat shield, window, structure, etc, ...) and provide a structured breakdown of te trade-offs made and the working methods used to arrive at choices suitable for flight (basic tests, analogies, complete tests, ...).

For the first four topics, your final file will at least contain:

• Logic used for functional analysis,
• Issues relating to the safety of passengers and crew members,
• Identified requirements and constrainsts,
• A pre-project type architecture of vehicle, with the design, geometric and mass characteristics able to cover elements coming from functional analysis.

For the fifth topic, your final file will at least contain:

• Logic used for functional analysis,
• Identified requirements and constrinsts,
• A detailed list of materials to be used and their characteristics.

General characteristics of reference vehicles:
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