This fourth edition of the bestselling Spacecraft Systems Engineering title provides the reader with comprehensive coverage of the design of spacecraft and the implementation of space missions, across a wide spectrum of space applications and space science. The text has been thoroughly revised and updated, with each chapter authored by a recognized expert in the field.  Three chaptersGround Segment, Product Assurance and Spacecraft System Engineeringhave been rewritten, and the topic of Assembly, Integration and Verification has been introduced as a new chapter, filling a gap in previous editions. This edition addressesfront-end system-level issuessuch as environment, mission analysis and system engineering, but also progresses to a detailed examination of subsystem elements which represents the core of spacecraft design. This includes mechanical, electrical and thermal aspects, as well as propulsion and control.This quantitative treatment is supplemented by an emphasis on th