TABLE OF CONTENTS In the broadest sense, the spacecraft environment includes everything to which the spacecraft is exposed from its beginning as raw material to the end of its operating life. This includes the fabrication, assembly, and test environment on Earth, transportation from point to point on Earth, launch, the space environment, and possibly an atmospheric entry and continued operation in a destination environment at another planet.
Both natural and man-made environments are imposed upon the spacecraft. Contrary to the popular view, the rigors of launch and the space environment itself are often not the greatest hazards to the spacecraft. The spacecraft is designed to be launched and to fly in space. If the design is properly done, these environments are not a problem; a spacecraft sometimes seems at greatest risk on Earth in the hands of its creators. Spacecraft are often designed with only the briefest consideration of the need for ground handling, transportation, and test. As a result, these operations and the compromises and accommodations necessary to carry them out may in fact represent a more substantial risk than anything that happens in a normal flight.
However, the preceding comments imply that the spacecraft is designed for proper functioning in flight. To do this it is necessary to know the range of conditions encountered. This includes not only the flight environment but also the qualification test conditions that must be met to demonstrate that the design is correct. To provide confidence that the design will be robust in the...
