Consensus-based single-score life cycle assessment for space missions
M.H.G. Verkammen (TU Delft - Aerospace Engineering)
Alessandra Menicucci (Space Systems Egineering)
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Dataset accompanying the thesis. It contains the answers to the survey, the single-score calculation and the details of Delfi-n3Xt's LCA
https://doi.org/10.4121/3d497ca7-876c-4b77-b835-142cbbff1e14EUCASS 2023' s proceeding by the author, containing the preliminary results of the survey
http://doi.org/10.13009/EUCASS2023-571Other 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.
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.