Choose a Launch Vehicle - GEO

Orbits and Trajectories

In this "DO", we'll pick a launch vehicle for our mission. Remember, launch vehicle is often more a factor of politics, economics, and even insurance, than it is about capabilities. There are usually many launch vehicles that can do the job. It is our task to first clarify the choices and then select the appropriate vehicle. Often, you would like an option to choose from several vehicles so that you are not caught out in the event of an earlier launch anomaly leading to no availability when you intend to launch.

The launch environment has a significant impact on the design or your spacecraft. The vibration environment, plus loads, natural frequencies, shroud volume, etc. will impact your design choices. This means that you will have to choose a launch vehicle before your detailed design, so that the requirements and constraints will flow into your design.

In this example, we will assume our geostationary satellite with a loaded mass of 2000 kg. Please discuss the following:

1. Go back and check your needs, goals and objectives to see if there are any obvious on the launch vehicle choice.

2. List several launch vehicles that might be used to launch your spacecraft into your chosen orbit. (You can find this discussion in the last lesson of this section.)

3. If there is a particular choice that makes sense to you, discuss why you might make that choice.