The project management model that incorporates the spatial sustainability within the design process of small satellites

This paper presents a proposal for the creation of a project management model that incorporates the spatial sustainability within the design process of small satellites. The study includes the product life cycle within the sustainable design process. It will be possible to adopt current international efforts to deal with the problem of solid waste in space for each subsystem of the satellite platforms. The proposed model of the project management space enables planning, evaluation, control, execution and implementation, within the entire mission, strategy development and decision making, based on the principles of sustainability: economics, societal and environmental impact. There is a common acknowledgement that space technology development has thrown contamination beyond the borders of the earth, becoming lately a latent threat for several space activities. The creation of space debris is due to different causes such as the collision of solid objects in space, exploding fuel tanks, meteor impact, malfunctioning satellites and no recovery at the end of its useful life.