Space Designers - Space Apps Challenge

Space Designers| Let's Connect

Awards & Nominations

Space Designers has received the following awards and nominations. Way to go!

Global Nominee

Let's Connect

For bigger spacecraft capable of executing bigger missions, some of the assembly may be done in space. Your challenge is to design a simple approach that enables components to be assembled in space.

Space Connect

Summary

This is an improved version of the current IDSS docking system. With our solution, we bring an alternative soft capturing system which eliminates the need of the soft capture ring. Instead, we're introducing 3 moving arms fixed on the passive side of the system which act as a guidance system to the active capsule to dock to the main spacecraft. An electromagnetic capturing system works as alternative soft capturing mechanism.The moving arms equipped with secondary retractable arms can be controlled in a way that facilitates the retardation of the active capsule's speed as well as it smoothly guides for more precise docking.They're also equipped with handles that can be used by astronauts.

How We Addressed This Challenge

Since the 1st human made space vehicle, all equipment required for a space mission has been mounted on top of a single rocket.

Over the years the space missions have become more complicated and much more meaningful and the requirements for an effective space mission have gradually broadened.

Mission planning is constantly maximized against the rocket size and weight suppression. So the solution for this is assembling all the essential and heavy parts in space.

As the 1st step of the space assembly the docking system was introduced and step by step it was modified and developed as a result of various failures. The current docking system was totally based on the International Docking System Standards (IDSS).

Our project address the challenge of space docking by introducing a partially different approach to the current docking system.

The key features of our project are as described above.

The moving arms help with guidance and controlling of the impact speed.
Secondary arms are equipped with electromagnetic capabilities as a backup capturing system should the active capsule fail to propel towards the main spacecraft.
The 3 main moving arms can be controlled on angles varying from 45 to 90 degrees from the moment the active capsule comes in to contact with the arms until the hard capture happens. The 90 degree angle means that ones the hard capture happens, the moving arms will be parallel to the passageway giving more space for the crew and cargo to move between the two spacecrafts.
The arms are also equipped with handles on the inner side which will help for the movement of astronauts inside the spacecrafts.

How We Developed This Project

Space Designer is a team which finds solutions for the most unsolved and globally considerable challenges related to the space. So when participating to this challenge competition our main concern was to select a challenge which is related to space. Since this challenge series was organized by NASA we saw plenty of challenges related to astronomy and space science. But when considering the abilities and skills of our team members, we found out that “LET’S CONNECT” which is coming under the CREATE challenge segment is the best for us.

The member who is took the initiation is an astrophile who is extremely inspired by space and she is an undergraduate in major of Artificial Intelligence (AI) not only that but also she has carried a lot of leadership and team management positions and has mastered . One member of our team member is an aeronautical engineer who is an MBA holder with various types of company experiences. One member is an engineering student who has plenty of knowledge about space crafts and aerodynamics. The other three members are also AI undergraduates who are IT professionals. So it was super easy for us to think a solution under this challenge. And all the 6 members in our team had good critical thinking skills which helped us to find the best solution for this challenge.

Firstly we created a new; highly developed efficiency and safety docking system. We took more than 3 days to get the initiation and develop the concept which is about the docking railing system. We created it by using solid work. In the gallery you can see our digitally created docking railing system.

But unfortunately we didn’t present it because when thinking about this concept furthermore we found out some drawbacks.

1) In the IDSS, they have provided only the measurements of the diameter and whatnot. but we needed some more details to confirm our concept.

2) we had to erase the idea of the railing system due to the lack of distance inside the pressurizing area (the passage where the astronauts move from the active capsule to the passive capsule)

3) we also had a robotic arm. But we removed it because the space missions have already taken it and it is used to react for the emergencies. This AI robotic arm costs expensive and need train humans perfectly to control it. And if a sudden crash or a misbehave occurred the scientists will have to take a bigger effort to bring the sudden negative situation to a stable condition.

So because of that we came up with a better solution which is a sustainably impactful version of the current docking system (IDSS) using by NASA and other space transport companies.

• “Space Connect” is the final stage of the current docking system mechanism and this mechanism provides all the answers for our doubts and misconceptions.

• The team Space Designers has been able to create a successful method to control the whole docking action and it guides the active module towards the hard dock smoothly.

• Our newest modified feature is the 3, long arms (extended version of the petals) moving petals with the embedded solar sensors to detect the speed of the active space probe and to react in order to control the high-speed probe.

• These arms are longer than the guide petals (which is already there in IDSS) and this trio gives plenty of reasons why the guide petals are disadvantageous.

• Since the arms are long and bit away from the one and only hard dock, if the active capsule is coming with an uncontrollable high speed, the these arms have the ability to control its unnecessary speed and guides the foreign capsule smoothly and precisely towards the hard dock at one go. This facility prevents damaging the whole shuttle physically.

• Even though the current system uses 6 hydraulic pistons to control the SCS ring, our solution requires only 3 pistons which are connected to each of the primary arms, thereby reducing the cost.

• Once the arms become perpendicular (these arms are movable from degrees to 90 degrees) to the docking surface, the active capsule can only move along the axis which goes through both of the space crafts therefore it makes the docking procedure more seamless. The sensors embedded on the railing inside the arms can be used to measure the vitals of astronauts as well as to keep track of the movements that happen between the two space-crafts.

• 2 small handles are attached to these long arms which helps the astronauts to move into the passive space capsule. The specialty of these handles is that, when the human astronauts are holding / touching these handles ,the AI sensors embedded in the handles help to check the mindset and psychology of these humans who are stepping into the passive probe right after a long space journey. (we need to develop this part further more because it is a side which we need to think of)

How We Used Space Agency Data in This Project

First we used the given resource of the challenge to get an idea about what we have to do.
After deciding that, we would try to change some parts of the current docking system
We got IDSS docking system standards through NASA related web pages.(examples..weather conditions, pressure )