Space Operations: Toward Sustainability

Spacecraft Operations, encompassing the preparation and implementation of activities for operating any space vehicle, whether with a crew or uncrewed, and under any condition; This book presents a collection of contributions carefully selected from the 18th International Conference on Space Operations (SpaceOps), held in Montreal, Canada, between May 26 and 30, 2025. Relevance to the contemporary space operations community was the criterion for selecting chapters. These contributions offer insights into three key crucial areas: Mission Management, covering management tasks related to designing, preparing, and operating a particular mission; Spacecraft Operations, encompassing the preparation and implementation of activities for operating any space vehicle, whether with a crew or uncrewed, and under any condition; and Ground Operations, covering the setup, validation, and running of a mission’s ground-based components and infrastructure, such as antennas, control facilities, and communication systems. The book emphasizes the SpaceOps Committee’s goal of promoting the sharing of technical expertise in space mission operations and ground data systems. It equally underscores the necessity of forming and preserving an international society of specialists in space operations.