Space Station power requirements and issues

This paper provides an overview of the Space Station configuration and summarizes the requirements, architecture, and significant challenges associated with the electrical power system (EPS). The Space Station configuration was baselined during the systems design review (SDR) process in March, 1994. The current configuration includes the addition of Russia as an international partner, resulting in major changes to the assembly sequence, pressurized module complement, and overall power architecture. The Russian contributions to the power system architecture, as well as an-overview and development status of the US provided elements is presented. Finally, a planned flight demonstration of solar dynamic power system on the Mir as part of the first phase of US/Russian cooperation in human space flight is described     

Current status, architecture, and future technologies for theInternational Space Station electric power system

The Electric Power System (EPS) being built for the International Space Station has undergone several significant changes over the last year, as major design decisions have been made for the overall station. While the basic topology and system elements have remained the same, there are important differences in connectivity, assembly sequence, and start-up. The key drivers for these changes in architecture have been the goal to simplify verification, and most significantly, the introduction of extensive Russian participation in the program. Having the Russians join the international community in this project has resulted in an expanded station size, larger crew, and almost doubled the observable surface of the Earth covered by the station. For the power system it has meant additional interfaces for power transfer, and new challenges for solar tracking at the higher inclination orbit. This paper reviews the current architecture and emphasizes the new features that have evolved, as the design for the new, larger station has developed. Additionally, the possible application of developing technology to the station, and other future missions is considered     

Intelligent control of a planning system for astronaut training

This work intends to design, analyze and solve, from the systems control perspective, a complex, dynamic, and multiconstrained planning system for generating training plans for crew members of the NASA-led International Space Station. Various intelligent planning systems have been developed within the framework of artificial intelligence. These planning systems generally lack a rigorous mathematical formalism to allow a reliable and flexible methodology for their design, modeling, and performance analysis in a dynamical, time-critical, and multiconstrained environment. Formulating the planning problem in the domain of discrete-event systems under a unified framework such that it can be modeled, designed, and analyzed as a control system will provide a self-contained theory for such planning systems. This will also provide a means to certify various planning systems for operations in the dynamical and complex environments in space. The work presented here completes the design, development, and analysis of an intricate, large-scale, and representative mathematical formulation for intelligent control of a real planning system for Space Station crew training. This planning system has been tested and used at NASA-Johnson Space Center     

International Space Station power storage upgrade planned

As the Earth-orbit International Space Station (ISS) grows, it needs more power which is generated by solar panels. For periods in which the planet Earth occults sunlight, energy is stored in the biggest set of batteries ever flown in space. Reliability of power is important in a space station because a failure requires costly launch of replacement components. Even greater importance results when astronauts work in the station. A power failure that causes the astronauts to perish would be a very serious event. The first battery-containing "integrated equipment module" was launched November 30, 2000 and installed on port 6 of the International Space Station. Two more modules will be launched by the United States; to be launched in 2004 is the European Space Agency's "attached COLUMBUS APM laboratory," which will have its own power system. Unexpected battery-related events occurred in the integrated equipment module during its first year-and-a-half in orbit. The problems and their solutions were described in papers presented at the 37/sup th/ Intersociety Energy Conversion Engineering Conference. Since the International Space Station carries more battery cells than any other spacecraft, the in-flight performance data from its battery assembly can be useful to engineers who design power supplies for other spacecraft. We, therefore, summarize the battery development process, the adopted design, and an unexpected in-flight battery degradation and its correction.     

空间站维修性系统设计与验证方法研究

空间站在轨运行时间长,因此需采用维修性设计和在轨维修的方法实现长寿命高可靠在轨运行。根据维修性设计理论,结合工程实际,提出了基于产品特性分析的维修需求分析方法和维修支持下的可靠度计算方法。明确了系统维修性设计应包括布局、供电、信息、故障检测、维修工作模式等设计内容。并根据维修难度,提出了四级维修策略。最后根据在轨维修特点,提出了地面试验验证和仿真验证的方法。为空间站系统维修性设计提供了一个技术途径。     

An environment for the integration and test of the Space Stationdistributed avionics systems

An approach is described to supplying an environment for the integration and test of the Space Station distributed avionics systems. Background is included on the development of this concept including the lessons learned from Space Shuttle experience. The environment's relationship to the process flow of the Space-Station verification, from systems development to on-orbit verification, is presented. The uses of the environment's hardware implementation, called Data Management System (DMS) kits, are covered. It is explained how these DMS kits provide a development version of the Space-Station operational environment and how this environment allows system developers to verify their systems performance, fault detection, and recovery capability. Conclusions on how the use of the DMS kits, in support of this concept, will ensure adequate on-orbit test capability are included     

Lunar habitat concept employing the space shuttle external tank

The space shuttle external tank, which consists of a liquid oxygen tank, an intertank structure, and a liquid hydrogen tank, is an expendable structure used for approximately 8.5 min during each launch. A concept for outfitting the liquid oxygen tank-intertank unit for a 12-person lunar habitat is described. The concept utilizes existing structures and openings for both man and equipment access without compromising the structural integrity of the tank. Living quarters, instrumentation, environmental control and life support, thermal control, and propulsion systems are installed at Space Station Freedom. The unmanned habitat is then transported to low lunar orbit and autonomously soft landed on the lunar surface. Design studies indicate that this concept is feasible by the year 2000 with concurrent development of a space transfer vehicle and manned cargo lander for crew changeover and resupply.     

空间机器人研究进展及技术挑战

空间机器人是实现空间操控自动化和智能化的使能手段之一,在无人及载人的空间科学探索活动中至关重要。首先,回顾了国际空间站舱内外机器人、中国空间站机器人、在轨自由飞行空间机器人等几类轨道空间机器人工程应用现状,以及已成功在轨应用月面机器人和火星机器人两类星表机器人系统的应用现状。其次,针对空间机器人后续日益复杂的任务需求,探讨了空间机器人在机构构型、关节驱动、末端操作、感知认知、行走移动、动力学与控制等方面面临的技术挑战。然后,论述了空间机器人在多臂、超冗余、柔性化、可重构、仿生等新型机构构型方面的探索,介绍了空间机器人主动、被动柔顺关节方面的研究进展,论述了空间机器人末端执行器在专用化工具及通用化多指灵巧手两个方向的研究进展,总结了星表机器人在新型移动机构构型、高自主导航方面的研究进展,介绍了空间机器人在多传感器集成融合、力与触觉感知方面的研究进展,论述了空间机器人在多臂协调控制、柔顺控制、漂浮基座抓捕动力学控制等方面的研究进展。最后,展望了空间机器人在空间目标抓捕与移除、高价值飞行器在轨服务与维修、空间大型构件在轨组装及星球科学探测等方面的应用前景。     

Ultra-reliable real-time control systems-future trends

Today's aircraft use ultra-reliable real-time controls for demanding functions such as Fly-By-Wire (FBW) flight control. Future aircraft, spacecraft and other vehicles will require greater use of these types of controls for functions that currently are allowed to fail, fail to degraded operation, or require human intervention in response to failure. Fully automated and autonomous functions will require ultra-reliable control. But ultra-reliable systems are very expensive to design and require large amounts of on-board equipment. This paper will discuss how the use of low-cost sensors with digital outputs, digitally commanded fault-tolerant actuation devices and interconnecting networks of low-cost data buses offer the promise of more affordable ultra-reliable systems. Specific technologies and concepts to be discussed include low-cost automotive and industrial data buses, “smart” actuation devices with integral fault masking capabilities, management of redundant sensors, and the fault detection and diagnosis of the data network. The advantages of integrating the control and distribution of electrical power with the control system will be illustrated. The design, installation, and upgrade flexibility benefits provided by an all-digital and shared network approach will be presented. The economic benefits of systems that can operate following failure and without immediate repair will be reviewed. The inherent ability of these redundant systems to provide effective built-in test and self-diagnostics capabilities will be described. The challenges associated with developing ultra-reliable software for these systems and the difficulties associated with exhaustive verification testing will be presented as will additional development hurdles that must be overcome     

Risks of particle hits during space walks in low Earth orbit

The construction of the International Space Station (ISS) may involve several thousand hours of space walks or “extravehicular activities” (EVAs). Among the many risks involved in EVAs, we focus here on potential failures of the external maneuvering unit (EMU) caused by impacts of space particles (micro-meteoroids and orbital debris). We present a probabilistic risk analysis (PRA) model based on available data for the particle flux in low Earth orbit as well as test data obtained at Johnson Space Center about the capacity of the current EMU to absorb these loads. We computed the risk for a peak year of EVA activity, assumed by NASA to consist of 624 hours of EVA exposure. For that time period, we found that, the probability of a fatality is about 1.4*10^-3 without shielding and 1.1*10^-3 per 624 hours of EVA with shielding, This model can be used as support for a number of decisions regarding space suit design, astronaut shielding options, and overall number of EVA hours for space station construction and operation     

Engineering test beds on the International Space Station

The International Space Station is a unique multi-faceted orbiting laboratory supporting research, development, test and evaluation of new innovative space and Earth-based applications. While NASA sponsored investigations on the ISS are focused largely on enabling future long duration human space exploration missions, Congress designated the US portion of the space station as a National Laboratory making its facilities available to other Federal agencies and private entities for non-exploration related ventures. RDT&E activities on the ISS encompass a number of technical areas including environmental control and life support, communications, materials science, guidance, navigation and control, propulsion, electrical power, and thermal control systems.     

国际空间站有效载荷安全性认证工作探讨

通过介绍NASA针对航天飞机、国际空间站等航天器上有效载荷安全性认证方面的组织机构及其职责、需开展认证的有效栽荷及其分类、典型有效载荷的安全性技术要求、有效载荷安全性认证工作流程等方面的内容,提出我国空间站工程在有效载荷安全性认证方面开展相关工作的启示和建议,为后续空间站载荷开展上站认证、确保载荷在轨安全及空间站平台安全提供参考。     

A novel testability model for health management of heading attitude system

Prognostics and health management (PHM) is very important to guarantee the reliability and safety of aerospace systems, and sensing and test are the precondition of PHM. Integrating design for testability into early design stage of system early design stage is deemed as a fundamental way to improve PHM performance, and testability model is the base of testability analysis and design. This paper discusses a hierarchical model-based approach to testability modeling and analysis for heading attitude system health management. Quantified directed graph, of which the nodes represent components and tests and the directed edges represent fault propagation paths, is used to describe fault-test dependency, and quantitative testability information is assigned to nodes and directed edges. The fault dependencies between nodes can be obtained by functional fault analysis methodology that captures the physical architecture and material flows such as energy, heat, data, and so on. By incorporating physics of failure models into component, the dynamic process of a failing or degrading component can be projected onto system behavior, i.e., system symptoms. Then, the analysis of extended failure modes, mechanisms and effects is utilized to construct fault evolution-test dependency. Using this integrated model, the designers and system analysts can assess the test suite’s fault detectability, fault isolability and fault predictability. And heading attitude system application results show that the proposed model can support testability analysis and design for PHM very well.     

Design of the Space Station Freedom power system

The design of Space Station Freedom's electric power system (EPS) is reviewed, highlighting the key design goals of performance, low cost, reliability, and safety. The EPS design is divided into three separate areas: power generation and storage, power distribution, and power management and control. Both photovoltaic and solar dynamic power generation and storage systems are used. Tradeoff study results that illustrate the competing factors responsible for many of the more important design decisions are discussed. Reliability and maintainability, as well as verification and testing, are addressed     

空间站柔性展开机构仿真方法研究

空间站展开机构是典型的大型多柔体系统，其展开收拢过程涉及非线性大变形以及接触碰撞问题。首先采用绝对节点坐标法作为柔性体的建模方法，建立了梁单元的有限元单元格式，然后基于拉格朗日方法和Hertz接触理论建立了考虑接触碰撞问题的柔性多体系统动力学方程，采用向后差分方法数值求解柔性多体系统的微分代数方程，最后以自由梁、简支梁和柔性单摆进行数学仿真验证。结果表明，该方法可用作我国空间站大型柔性太阳电池翼的设计分析参考。     

Real time recovery of fault tolerant processing elements

A critical problem in the design of ultra-reliable fault tolerant systems is that of how to bring a redundant member back on-line, after a transient fault, without degrading critical real-time functions. Recovery from transients is imperative to maintain necessary system reliability in the face of transient errors which have been estimated to occur at a rate of 5 to 100 times that of permanent failures. Excessive delays associated with recovery become a problem when as much as 1 Mbytes of RAM in the faulty processor must be made congruent with the processing majority while maintaining full functionality of critical, real-time control algorithms. This paper describes a hardware assisted recovery technique which uses memory “tags” to determine which memory segments need to be restored such that recovery can be performed incrementally without affecting real-time operational tasks. Also presented is performance data associated with this technique's application to a Draper Laboratory quad-redundant processor responsible for vehicle control of a manned undersea vehicle     

面向模块化配置生产的大型飞机装配规划与仿真技术

大型飞机装配具有学科领域多、精度要求高、协调产业链广、工作量大等特点,是大型飞机研制周期、质量和成本的决定性环节。目前国内航空企业更多在单点上引入数字化产品定义MBD以及装配仿真等技术,业务仍然采用传统设计制造分离模式,未形成先进的数字化装配工程应用体系。本文对国内外航空企业的数字化装配技术应用现状进行了分析,提出了先进业务管理、数字化制造工程设计、装配仿真验证相融合的集成框架,并对其中的关键技术进行了论述。最后,基于该研究成果构建了装配规划及仿真的工程应用集成环境,并对应用于某大型飞机研制中的工程化效果进行了描述。     

Multibody dynamics and robust control of flexible spacecraft

The paper focuses on an approach to the study of the dynamics and control of large flexible space structures, comprised of subassemblies, a subject of considerable contemporary interest. To begin with, a relatively general Lagrangian formulation of the problem is presented. The governing equations are nonlinear, nonautonomous, coupled, and extremely lengthy even in matrix notation. Next, an efficient computer code is developed and the versatility of the program illustrated through a dynamical study of the first element launch (FEL) configuration of the Space Station Freedom, now superseded by the International Space Station. Finally, robust control of the rigid body motion of the FEL configuration using both the linear-quadratic-Gaussian/loop transfer recovery (LQG/LTR) and H_∞ procedures is demonstrated. The controllers designed using the simplified linear models, prove to be effective in regulating librational disturbances. Such a global approach-formulation numerical code, dynamics, and control-is indeed rare. It can serve as a powerful tool to gain comprehensive understanding of dynamical interactions and thus aid in the development of an effective and efficient control system     

Improving the productivity of complex electronic systems design byutilizing applied design methodologies

The design process of complex electronic systems consists of four traditional main stages, which are system design, electronic design, mechanical design, and design for manufacturing. Even today when many integrated computer aided design environments are in use for electronic systems design, we still seem to accept that the design process really has to follow this path of four individual design stages. It is common that we are dealing with data transfer problems between different types of CAE-applications. However, there is a possibility to avoid the disadvantages due to integration problems between the design stages if we decide to develop the design methodology itself instead of developing those independent software applications. One effective way to improve the productivity of complex electronic systems design is to tune the so-called systematic design approach by adding special aspects of electronic systems design into the questionnaires used for collecting the requirement lists for further mechanical design and DFM. Another important tool is the carefully made manufacturability analysis. The deep interaction of mechanical and electronic design, extended by manufacturability analysis can also lead to innovative solutions as presented previously by the author. In the article entitled “Manufacturability Analysis-A Useful Subset of Systems Engineering” we were able to show that the number of iteration cycles during the different design and manufacturing stages could be reduced by 50% compared to the conventional design methodology. In this paper, we illustrate additional tools to continue this promising development work