// ORBITAL LOGISTICS AND PROPULSION TERM
Housekeeping
Housekeeping refers to the routine, background tasks a spacecraft performs to maintain its basic functions, like managing power, controlling temperature, and storing data.
TECHNICAL DEFINITION
Housekeeping refers to the essential, routine background operations performed by a spacecraft's onboard systems to maintain its fundamental operational state, including power management, thermal control, data storage, and basic system health checks, independent of payload operations.
BACKGROUND
Michael Collins was an American astronaut who flew the Apollo 11 command module Columbia around the Moon in 1969 while his crewmates, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, made the first crewed landing on the surface. He was also a test pilot and major general in the U.S. Air Force Reserve.
READ MORE ON WIKIPEDIASYNONYMS & ALIASES
- Routine operations
- System maintenance
- Background tasks
- Baseline operations
USAGE NOTE
Housekeeping data is regularly downlinked to ground control for health monitoring.
DEVELOPERS
Organizations developing technology related to Housekeeping.
A subsidiary of Raytheon, Blue Canyon Technologies specializes in developing and manufacturing small satellite buses and spacecraft components. Their products, including reaction wheels, star trackers, and complete Attitude Control Systems (ADCS), are fundamental housekeeping systems that manage a satellite's orientation and stability in orbit.
While known for launch services, Rocket Lab also manufactures the Photon satellite bus. Photon is a complete spacecraft platform that provides all essential housekeeping functions, including power management, attitude determination and control, thermal control, and command and data handling, enabling various mission payloads.
Honeywell provides a vast portfolio of avionics and control systems for spacecraft. Their offerings include reaction wheel assemblies, inertial measurement units (IMUs), and on-board computers which are critical for a satellite's attitude control and data handling—core parts of its housekeeping.
A major European satellite manufacturer, Thales Alenia Space designs and builds complete satellite platforms, such as the Spacebus family. These platforms integrate all necessary housekeeping subsystems, including power generation and storage, thermal control, propulsion, and telemetry, tracking & command (TT&C).
Maxar is a leading manufacturer of large, complex satellites, building them on their proven 1300-class platform. This platform, or bus, provides the structural support and all the essential housekeeping functions like power, propulsion, and attitude control for high-power communication and Earth observation payloads.
A key player in the nanosatellite market, GomSpace provides modular subsystems for CubeSats. These off-the-shelf components handle specific housekeeping tasks, such as power distribution (EPS), command and data handling (OBC), and attitude control (ADCS), allowing developers to focus on their primary mission payload.
Moog is a worldwide designer and manufacturer of high-performance motion and fluid controls. For space applications, they provide critical housekeeping components like thrusters for attitude control, avionics for data processing, and precision actuators used in solar array deployment and instrument pointing.
L3Harris develops advanced avionics and communication systems for spacecraft. Their products include on-board processors for command and data handling, as well as antennas and transponders that form the Telemetry, Tracking, and Command (TT&C) link, a vital housekeeping function for communicating with the ground.