Techno economic assessment of unmanned aerospace platforms for environmental monitoring with a visual spectrum camera

Abstract

This document proposes a methodology based on a techno-economic analysis to select the best performing aerospace platform for an environmental monitoring mission using a camera. The platforms in this study are: a weather balloon, a nanosatellite, and an unmanned fixed-wing aircraft designed for research projects of the National Polytechnic School. The techno-economic study is based on four main indicators; three that evaluate the technical part, these being the flight autonomy, area of operation, and payload capacity, while the economic part is evaluated by considering the life cycle cost of the platform in the context of a one-year program. The results obtained do not deviate much from what experience would have proposed, with the unmanned fixed-wing aircraft being the best option for this task. Nevertheless, the results propose that each platform has its weaknesses and strengths. This is the foundation of a methodology that can be used to evaluate the use of different aerospace platforms in the context of different missions. The indicators presented in this thesis allow a quantitative assessment in the context of aerospace missions, thus providing measurable parameters useful in early design and selection of the most suitable aerospace vehicle.