Space exploration — An industry that values design
Tags: Consulting, NASA, Emerging Technology, Design, Space Exploration

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A Design in its most basic sense is the offering of a or a solution to a problem. Its purpose is to reduce complications in the most practical and efficient manner, in the most vulnerable and dangerous of situations. But finding the inspiration for a design is but only the first step of the process. The victory of a well-done design is in its usability.

The metamorphosis of an inspiration into a ‘GOOD DESIGN’ is the primary foundation of human civilization. The design of a bonfire, inspired from a spark between two stones helped early man to stay safe in the wilderness. The perfect circular stone rolled on to become wheels saving us the hard labour of walking to places and carrying heavy load. These designs might seem plain, but it took several trials and errors to reach their prime functional stage.

Importance of good design

One of the best ways to gain perspective for appreciation of good design is through evaluating achievements and losses in the process of space exploration, the largest breakthrough for mankind till date.

The disaster of The Columbia space shuttle is probably the greatest misfortune in the quest of space exploration. The loss of a piece of foam from the bipod ramp collided with the left wing of the shuttle, allowing hot gas to enter the wing that destroyed the shuttle while it re-entered earth’s atmosphere, killing its crew of seven astronauts. The loss of foam had already been established as a setback in design. NASA focused on strengthening precautionary measures to handle the disastrous malfunction rather than to completely mitigate the possibility of its occurrence through a better functional design.

This catastrophe reinstates the importance of good design. And also the danger of not heeding to one.

Launch of a vessel into outer space has many challenges. The main motive of a space rocket is to escape the earth’s gravity drag to reach the destination.

The force required to break free of earth’s gravitational force is massive even for a tiny object. A fully equipped rocket is heavy, weighed down by the essentials required for a crew manned mission. The required force is achieved by fuel propulsion and mass expulsion.

In space shuttles gas is produced by burning fuel in the engines. Controlled escape of this gas provides the thrust which propels the rocket in the opposite direction. The largest mass of the rocket is occupied by the propulsion system (propellant tanks and propellants). This mass is lost as the propellants are fired up by the engine to gain acceleration of the rocket providing the force for it to escape gravity. A functional design for a rocket is to efficiently burn enough propellant to gain the required acceleration.

A well designed rocket is able to generate enough force to either get into orbit of the earth or escape earth’s gravity entirely to move to another planet, much like the same way a good design helps to gain investors to ‘launch off’ a product successfully into the market.

As the rocket flies through the air of earth’s atmosphere aerodynamic forces of drag and lift kick in.

Lift force occurs due to the turning of the gas flow by the rocket. It upsets the direction of flight by causing rotation and changing the course of the vessel. The nose cone, body tube and the wings of the rocket are used to turn the gas flow and generate lift force to control and stabilize the direction of flight.

Drag force is the friction generated between the atmospheric air and the rocket. The drag force is difficult to determine and requires testing of the rocket model and is entirely dependent on its shape design, thrust setting and gas flow at the base.

Thus Structural design of the rocket dictates its flight ability and is key for the mission of space exploration.

Once a product is launched in the market, the competitors and economy begin acting as the opposing forces. Efficient Marketing and Branding design are essential to neutralize these opposing forces.

Turning good design into an asset

A key factor for space exploration is the ability to maneuver the vessel and host the crew.

Once the rocket leaves the luxurious atmosphere of the planet, assistance through communication satellites becomes unreliable and there is no GPS in space.

A sustainable atmosphere with Environment controls, Life support systems and highly reliable smart control systems are vital constituents of a rocket.

The launch of Falcon9 rocket, a combined project of SpaceX and NASA, is the first step towards opening up the barriers of space exploration through smart, reliable and functional design.

The Falcon9 simplified its control panel with large touch screens that enabled visualization of extensive real time data and effectively commandeer the ship.Use of custom foam molds in the capsule seats helps provide a more smooth and comfortable ride for the crew.

The rethinking of the design of the spacesuit by Elon Musk with minimal equipment, use of lightweight material and increased efficiency, custom made for the crew is a positive step towards the future of space missions.

The control panel and cockpit along with a reliable crew are necessities that help the transition of a well designed rocket into a beneficial asset for mankind.

A highly efficient team and environment is required to keep a business and product afloat. Build an efficient cockpit to drive your design to success.

The International Space Station (ISS) is a pitstop in the conquest of space exploration.

ISS functions as a self-contained, living quarters and life-support system that is capable of communication with the ground flight controllers. It is designed to serve as a docking port for space shuttles and crew exploration vehicles to provide a rest stop for rejuvenation. The Internal and External research accommodations of ISS allows experiments to be carried out in order to collect data and test new technologies. It serves as the initial platform for the conquest of space, to further proceed towards greater achievements in exploring the universe.

Once you build a successful firm, make a pitstop to gather and re-evaluate data. Design a platform to experiment with creativity and test new ideas.

Rely on your design, data, and intuition once you step out to become a venture. Make your product an asset in the market.

Future of Design

Each successful design opens up opportunities for further designs, technologies and achievements.

The Mars Landers have picked up insights about the planet and evaluations of the data have shown a possibility of building a sustainable human colony on it. The curiosity rover was designed to travel over the land of Mars and analyze its environment. Powered by the energy generated through radioisotope decay, the rover is a self-sustainable mission. It has a camera and robotic arms to collect, gather, and store information as it roams on the planet’s surface.

Elon Musk sprung the proposition of landing an experimental greenhouse on mars that would help open access to space. If the idea seems familiar to you, it is because it is also the storyline of ‘The Martian’ movie.

Falcon9 is a step towards opening up space exploration opportunities with reliable and affordable design, the vision of SpaceX. The successful completion of its mission has restored the enthusiasm to explore space further.

There exists no limit to inspiration and design. Every idea is an opportunistic design to power the future.

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