Since 1957, more than 4,800 space launches have led to an on-orbit population today of approximately 13,200 trackable objects, with sizes larger than 10 cm. objects which no longer serve any useful purpose. About 50% of the routinely tracked objects are fragments from explosions and breakups of satellites or rocket bodies. In addition, there is evidence of a much larger population of debris that c
annot be tracked operationally. Almost 600,000 objects larger than 1 cm are expected to reside in terrestrial space. Due to relative orbital velocities of up 56,000 km/h, centimeter-sized debris can seriously damage or disable an operational spacecraft, and collisions with objects larger than 10 cm will lead to catastrophic fragmentations, releasing hazardous debris clouds. Spacecraft designers and mission operators should thus implement debris mitigation measures to avoid the release of debris, and to conserve the environment in the already densely populated low Earth and geostationary orbit regions. - AEROSPACE DT&C will provide all pieces of information required by spacecraft and launch system designers and operators to control the space debris environment with the aim of safe, sustainable space activities for future generations. AEROSPACE DT&C, will highlight all classical disciplines of space debris research:
* space surveillance techniques
* space object catalogs
* system studies for a European space surveillance system
* radar, optical & in-situ measurements
* debris environment modeling
* on-orbit & re-entry risk assessments
* orbit prediction & determination
* debris mitigation principles
* hypervelocity impacts & shielding
* standardisation & policies
* debris collection
-------------------- and also
* Fluid mechanics - the study of fluid flow around objects. Specifically aerodynamics concerning the flow of air over bodies such as wings or through objects such as wind tunnels (see also lift and aeronautics).
* Astrodynamics - the study of orbital mechanics including prediction of orbital elements when given a select few variables.
* Statics and Dynamics (engineering mechanics) - the study of movement, forces, moments in mechanical systems.
* Mathematics - because aerospace engineering heavily involves mathematics.
* Electrotechnology - the study of electronics within engineering.
* Propulsion - the energy to move a vehicle through the air (or in outer space) is provided by internal combustion engines, jet engines and turbomachinery, or rockets (see also propeller and spacecraft propulsion). A more recent addition to this module is electric propulsion and ion propulsion.
* Control engineering - the study of mathematical modeling of the dynamic behavior of systems and designing them, usually using feedback signals, so that their dynamic behavior is desirable (stable, without large excursions, with minimum error). This applies to the dynamic behavior of aircraft, spacecraft, propulsion systems, and subsystems that exist on aerospace vehicles.
* Aircraft structures - design of the physical configuration of the craft to withstand the forces encountered during flight. Aerospace engineering aims to keep structures lightweight.
* Materials science - related to structures, aerospace engineering also studies the materials of which the aerospace structures are to be built. New materials with very specific properties are invented, or existing ones are modified to improve their performance.
* Solid mechanics - Closely related to material science is solid mechanics which deals with stress and strain analysis of the components of the vehicle.
* Aeroelasticity - the interaction of aerodynamic forces and structural flexibility, potentially causing flutter, divergence, etc.
* Avionics - the design and programming of computer systems on board an aircraft or spacecraft and the simulation of systems.
* Risk and reliability - the study of risk and reliability assessment techniques and the mathematics involved in the quantitative methods.
* Noise control - the study of the mechanics of sound transfer.
* Flight test - designing and executing flight test programs in order to gather and analyze performance and handling qualities data in order to determine if an aircraft meets its design and performance goals and certification requirements. Additionally, Aerospace engineering DT&C, addresses the integration of all components that constitute an aerospace vehicle (subsystems including power, communications, thermal control, life support, etc.) and its life cycle (design, temperature, pressure, radiation, velocity, life time).
