Space Launchers

Space travel is one of the largest technological efforts and requires careful planning and a systematic approach in every technical and human aspect. In this chapter, a space mission example will be divided into four consecutive phases, starting with payload and launcher definition and ending with the launch of the rocket. The discussion of the first phase provides general considerations of manned and unmanned commercial missions, orbits, and trade-offs for small satellites. The subsequent phase covers transportation issues of the payload to the launch site. The discussion of the payload integration process and launch proceeding complete the technical contribution of the chapter. A rough market overview is presented in the conclusion.