ROOM
10
Special Report
T
he search for exoplanets is one of the most
exciting space science endeavours and
though NASA’s James Webb telescope will
cost about US$9 billion it may be too small
to yield clear scientific conclusions on exoplanets.
To deploy a telescope with double the aperture
of James Webb would impose an estimated cost
increase to US$36 billion. Such monumental and
ultimately unsustainable costs emerge from current
concepts in spacecraft design and manufacturing,
principally based on the need to fully assemble
objects on the ground before launch.
Ground assembly and integration into a launch
vehicle imposes significant limitations on the
On-orbit assembly will
deliver major benefits
in coming decade
Historically, the assembly of spacecraft on the ground and their integration
into a launch vehicle places many constraints on the capabilities that can be
deployed in space, including adding to the cost of launch. In contrast, on-
orbit assembly offers a pathway to address such limitations in a variety of
ways. Here, Iain Boyd and Bhavya Lal of the Washington-based Science &
Technology Policy Institute (STPI), assess how on-orbit assembly is poised to
dramatically change a number of key space missions within the next decade.
Iain D. Boyd
&
Bhavya Lal
Science & Technology
Policy Institute,
Washington, DC, USA
