Assembly, Integration and Verification (AIV) in space makes launching geosynchronous satellites faster and significantly cheaper in the long term. A space-tug is launched into space to perform AIV there. It assembles a standardised satellite consisting of several modules. The mod
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Assembly, Integration and Verification (AIV) in space makes launching geosynchronous satellites faster and significantly cheaper in the long term. A space-tug is launched into space to perform AIV there. It assembles a standardised satellite consisting of several modules. The modules are designed in such a way that the required subsystems for a communication satellite are incorporated in the modules. Examples of these modules are a propulsion module, a solar array module and a computer module. Due to the standardised modules, testing time and costs can be reduced significantly. This ensures a delivery time of maximum one year, which is the time from order until operations in space. The modules are efficiently packed and connected to external beams in the launch vehicle, to make sure that two satellites can be launched simultaneously. The external beams take up the extreme loads that occur during launch. This decreases the dry mass of the satellite, as the modules do not need as much structural mass. The subsystem design and structural analysis result in a drymass of 1847 kg per satellite. Next to the two satellites, a refuelling tank is added in the launch vehicle to refuel the tug. The tug requires 2921 kg of fuel to transfer the two satellites and go back to its initial state. Due to the modularity of the satellites, the lifetime of the satellites can be increased. Regarding the economic feasibility of the mission, a full return on investment is expected after 15 years of operations in base case scenario.