Lecture

Ariane 501 Case Study

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In course

EE-583: Spacecraft avionics architectures

The course presents and analyses the different systems, architectures and components of spacecraft avionics (on board data handling and processing systems) controlling and commanding spacecraft and payloads (instruments). It will study typical bus structur ...

Description

This lecture delves into the Ariane 501 case study, analyzing the first launch of the Ariane 5 rocket in 1996. It covers the events leading to the launch failure, focusing on the software errors and system complexities that caused the mission to end in an explosion. The presentation explores the trajectory correction, the role of the Inertial Reference System (IRS), the flight control system, and the software verification process. It also discusses the consequences of the failure, the investigation that followed, and the lessons learned for future space missions.

Official source

Ontological neighbourhood

Mechanical engineering

Aerospace engineering: Spacecrafts

Related concepts (32)

Rocket

A rocket (from ) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using the surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely from propellant carried within the vehicle; therefore a rocket can fly in the vacuum of space. Rockets work more efficiently in a vacuum and incur a loss of thrust due to the opposing pressure of the atmosphere. Multistage rockets are capable of attaining escape velocity from Earth and therefore can achieve unlimited maximum altitude.

Inertial navigation system

An inertial navigation system (INS) is a navigation device that uses motion sensors (accelerometers), rotation sensors (gyroscopes) and a computer to continuously calculate by dead reckoning the position, the orientation, and the velocity (direction and speed of movement) of a moving object without the need for external references. Often the inertial sensors are supplemented by a barometric altimeter and sometimes by magnetic sensors (magnetometers) and/or speed measuring devices.

Inertial frame of reference

In classical physics and special relativity, an inertial frame of reference (also called inertial space, or Galilean reference frame) is a frame of reference not undergoing any acceleration. It is a frame in which an isolated physical object—an object with zero net force acting on it—is perceived to move with a constant velocity or, equivalently, it is a frame of reference in which Newton's first law of motion holds.

Launch vehicle

A launch vehicle is typically a rocket-powered vehicle designed to carry a payload (a crewed spacecraft or satellites) from Earth's surface or lower atmosphere to outer space. The most common form is the ballistic missile-shaped multistage rocket, but the term is more general and also encompasses vehicles like the Space Shuttle. Most launch vehicles operate from a launch pad, supported by a launch control center and systems such as vehicle assembly and fueling.

Katyusha rocket launcher

The Katyusha (Катю́ша) is a type of rocket artillery first built and fielded by the Soviet Union in World War II. Multiple rocket launchers such as these deliver explosives to a target area more intensively than conventional artillery, but with lower accuracy and requiring a longer time to reload. They are fragile compared to artillery guns, but are cheap, easy to produce, and usable on almost any chassis. The Katyushas of World War II, the first self-propelled artillery mass-produced by the Soviet Union, were usually mounted on ordinary trucks.

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