Module overview
This module will be first offered in the 2020/21 academic year.
This module looks at the specific and somewhat unique requirements for electronics on spacecraft such as, radiation effects, other environmental hazards, e.g. space debris, atomic oxygen, low energy and high energy plasma (spacecraft charging and arcing).
It will also address some of the key issues involved in using electronic parts in space including the design for the thermal environment (e.g. no convection), mass and volume constraints and the use of COTS. Future developments like miniaturisation (cubesats, microsats) and the use of MEMS in the space environment will be presented as well.
The overall objective will be to introduce the students to the peculiarities of using electronics in space and how these drive the designs and influence the choice of the components selected.