Consensus-based single-score life cycle assessment for space missions

Master thesis (2023)

Authors

M.H.G. Verkammen Aerospace Engineering

Contributors

A. Menicucci Space Systems Egineering (supervisor 1)
L.H. Svedhem Astrodynamics & Space Missions - Aerospace Engineering (supervisor 2)
Mathieu Udriot Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (coach)
Faculty
Aerospace Engineering
Copyright: © 2023 Marnix Verkammen
More Info
expand_more

Published Date

27-10-2023

Language

English

Reuse Rights

Other than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download, forward or distribute the text or part of it, without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license such as Creative Commons.

Faculty

Aerospace Engineering

Abstract

With a continuously growing number of satellites in orbit, it becomes increasingly important to assess their impacts on the Earth's environment in a standardised manner. While interest in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for space missions has gained in strength in the past few years – particularly in Europe – no consensus has yet been reached on a single-score LCA system.

In this thesis, a consensus-based space LCA single-score is created through an international survey of experts. The report demonstrates retroactively the single-score’s use in ecodesigning the Delft University of Technology’s Delfi-n3Xt space mission. Moreover, a discussion is held on ways of implementing the single-score into early design phases.

Overall, this thesis highlights the importance of an easy-to-understand LCA tool for space systems. It shows the necessity for a tool that is implementable during the design phase of the mission, to incentivise space actors to further consider environmental impacts.