Interstellar Space Missions: Ultra-Reliability Requirements and Engineering Issues

Abstract

Although no interstellar space mission has been designated as yet by NASA, it and a number of other organizations such at the British Interplanetary Society (BIS) have long considered the possibility of a mission to interstellar space (for example, the NASA Interstellar Probe Mission proposed in 1999) or to a nearby star (see the BIS’s 1973-1978 Daedalus Project study). Indeed, a number of conferences, papers, and books have addressed various aspects of such missions. In a previous AIAA study, the basic reliability needs of these missions were reviewed. Indeed, with the extended operation time of such missions in mind (typically 25-50 years), revolutionary reliability strategies need to be developed in the early design stages of these missions so that the vehicles may be maintained and, if necessary, easily reconfigured in-flight. In addition, new design-for-reliability features will need to be invented to enhance the lifetime and improve the reliability of these vehicles. This, the second step in the study, will provide further insight into the key potential reliability areas that will need to be considered in planning such truly long life missions. Specifically, the talk will, following a review of current studies of long life missions: 1) Summarize key reliability requirements of these representative long life missions 2) Address perceived shortfalls in the current, long life reliability of microelectronics for extreme long life or interstellar space missions 3) Identify potential issues with current electronic systems exposed to radiation effects in excess of 10-50 years in the space environment 4) Recommend mitigation steps that need to be developed for microelectronics if missions in the 25-50 year range are to be possible with current technologies.