There are numerous operational environments that a launch vehicle and its payload are subjected to during launch and flight. These include both external environments, such as ground wind loading and atmospheric pressure, as well as self‐induced, such as vibration due to engine thrust. The relative influence of these environments varies significantly during the different phases of flight, necessitating multi‐disciplinary design and analysis approaches. This chapter describes the various environments, as well as the approaches used to establish the viability of launch vehicle and spacecraft designs to survive the launch and flight environments. In addition, day‐of‐launch operational considerations for flying a launch vehicle safely through the atmosphere, while staying within its structural and control system design limits are also discussed.

Production of spacecraft components presents a management challenge in that the systems are complex, costly to build and launch, and once a spacecraft is launched, it is extremely difficult and expensive to repair. For these reasons, strict standards for quality and reliability are essential. This paper presents a project quality management case study for the production of spacecraft electronics components as part of an overall spacecraft project. Printed circuit board data is examined by project managers using a Pareto analysis of different defect types to reveal process problems. Corrective actions to the production process that were implemented by project managers are explained, and ideas to improve future quality management studies, regardless of the industry, are discussed.