Has the space environment ever had an impact on a mission? Is there really a clear need to measure the environment and to understand its extremes?
To answer these questions, Aerospace compiled and analyzed a database of hundreds of spacecraft anomalies that were attributed to the space environment. The survey included commercial, scientific, and other satellites, both foreign and domestic. Most spacecraft do not have onboard environmental sensors, so the role of the environment in any anomaly is usually not clear and requires expert assessment. This is a common problem: The space environment can be extremely localized in its effects, and other hardware problems might mimic the effects caused by space hazards. Nevertheless, this study presented some intriguing data.
The Aerospace survey found that effects from electrostatic discharge were responsible for more than half of all anomalies. Problems arising from single-event effects and total-dose radiation damage together accounted for roughly one-third of all cases. The easiest way to quantify the impact of these anomalies is by gauging the time it took spacecraft operators to recover normal operations. Most anomalies affected users for one hour to one day or for more than a week. Some mission failures were also attributed to the space environment, mostly through the effects of electrostatic discharge from surface charging.
Even within the limitations of the survey, it was clear that the environment has had an impact on space systems; however, it is not possible to predict its effects on future space systems, which may involve relatively unexplored orbits, new technologies, new materials, and evolving engineering practices.