TEK3940 – Space Systems and Environment

After completing this course, you will be able to

• describe the definitions and scale of "space" and common orbital regimes (LEO, MEO, GEO, HEO) and their typical uses
• explain the basic elements of a satellite and spacecraft bus, including structure, power, data handling, thermal control, propulsion, and communications
• identify major categories of satellite applications (e.g., communications, Earth observation, navigation) and provide representative mission examples
• describe key characteristics of the space environment (vacuum, thermal extremes, radiation, plasma) and their physical origins
• explain how the space environment impacts spacecraft subsystems, such as radiation effects on electronics and thermal cycling on materials
• identify mitigation strategies and technologies like shielding, redundancy, and radiation-hardened components
• summarize the purpose and types of environmental testing, including thermal vacuum, vibration, shock, and EMC/EMI
• state core principles of systems engineering applied to space missions, such as requirements flow-down and verification & validation
• analyze subsystem-level problems and propose appropriate mitigation measures
• interpret environmental test specifications and match them to mission requirements
• perform basic reliability and risk assessment calculations, identifying single-point failures and proposing redundancy strategies
• configure simple spacecraft systems block diagrams and trace requirement flows through subsystems
• use mission-level trade-off reasoning to compare alternative payload, orbit, or spacecraft options
• design basic test plans for environmental qualification campaigns for small satellites
• practice teamwork, problem-solving, and project management skills through work-integrated learning

Students who are admitted to study programmes at UiO must each semester register which courses and exams they wish to sign up for in Studentweb.

This course is open for admission to students on the bachelor's programme Technology Systems: Science and Engineering. Please refer to the programme description for admission requirements.

Students who can document a valid reason for absence from the regular examination are offered a postponed examination at the beginning of the next semester.

Re-scheduled examinations are not offered to students who withdraw during, or did not pass, the original examination.