A study of angular motion of the Chibis-M microsatellite with three-axis flywheel control

We study the controlled angular motion of the Chibis-M microsatellite. Executive elements are three pairs of flywheels, whose axes are mutually perpendicular. The task of the control system is realization of a required program motion and support of its asymptotic stability. In this paper, we synthesize a control algorithm and study the evolution of the angular momentum of flywheels on long time intervals. The attitude accuracy is estimated for the case when disturbances act upon the spacecraft.     

Disturbance of the upper atmosphere after crash launch of the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Proton</Emphasis> carrier rocket

The data of inclined sounding obtained on July 5, 1999 after explosion of the Proton carrier launcher in the upper atmosphere are discussed. A comparative analysis is performed of the detected disturbances with disturbances recorded during explosion of the Soyuz rocket in the middle atmosphere and with disturbances typical for the standard mode of the rocket flight.     

Magnetospheric signatures of auroral disturbances during the passage of the solar wind’s CIR and sheath regions

Based on Polar satellite data, the authors have studied the auroral disturbances that arose during the passage by the Earth of compressed plasma regions formed in front of high-speed solar wind streams (the CIR region) and in front of magnetic clouds (the Sheath region). The aurorae observed by the Polar satellite possessed basic signatures of a substorm: a localized onset and expansion toward the pole and westward and eastward. However, in these cases they had a very large size in longitude and latitude and occupied a very large area. All disturbances observed by the Polar satellite during the Sheath and CIR regions of the solar wind in December of 1996, in 1997–1998, and in 2000 were analyzed. Eight events during disturbance development in the ionosphere, when the Geotail satellite was located in the plasma sheet of the magnetospheric tail, were selected. It is shown that in all selected cases some typical signatures of substorm development in the magnetospheric tail were observed, namely: (1) fast plasma flows (flow reversal, i.e., from tailwards to Earthwards) and (2) a sharp decrease of the total pressure, which followed an interval of total pressure increase. One can draw the conclusion that in the CIR and Sheath regions with a high solar wind density, substorm disturbances of a specific type are observed, with large latitudinal and longitudinal size (sometimes occupying the entire polar cap).     

Observations of the Auroral Kilometric Radiation onboard the Interball-1 satellite in 1995–1997

Results of two-year (August 1995–July 1997) continuous observations of the auroral kilometric radiation (AKR) in the AKR-X experiment on board the high-apogee Interball-1 satellite are presented. Observations were carried out in the minimum of solar activity in a frequency range of 100–1500 kHz. The most effective detections of AKR occurred near the maximum of its spectrum at a frequency of 252 kHz and also at a frequency of 500 kHz. The data obtained made it possible to study in more detail the character of AKR global directivity, its frequency dependence, and some other parameters of the emission. These data are interpreted qualitatively in the context of the emission mechanism caused by cyclotron maser instability.     

Protons with energy of E P ≥ MeV under the earth’s radiation belts

Variations in fluxes of quasi-trapped energetic protons were studied on the basis of the data of the CORONAS-I satellite. These variations are characterized by an increase in the proton fluxes with E _P ≥ 1 MeV both in the vicinity of the geomagnetic equator and in the high-latitude region of the magnetosphere. The analysis of structural features of the proton distributions in the regions at L ～ 1–1.1; 3 < L < 4; and L > 4, was performed and made it possible to detect reliably the type of the proton flux increase in this region. The mechanisms of particle scattering leading to the precipitation of energetic protons under conditions of various types of geomagnetic disturbances are considered.     

Effect of geomagnetic field disturbances on the adaptive stress reaction of cosmonauts

Investigations of the effect of geomagnetic activity factors on the cardiac rhythm regulation and arterial pressure of cosmonauts during the expeditions onboard the Soyuz spacecraft, and the MIR and ISS orbital space stations was carried out for various durations of flight in weightlessness and, under control. Groups of cosmonauts were inspected under flight conditions outside the geomagnetic disturbances and in ground preflight conditions, during disturbances without them. The presence of specific effect of geomagnetic disturbances on the system of vegetative regulation of blood circulation of cosmonauts during the flight was demonstrated for the first time. The response of cosmonauts’ cardiac rhythm on the magnetic storm is definitely revealed; however, it depends on the initial functional background and, in particular, on the state of mechanisms of vegetative regulation (the duration of flight and adaptation to it).     

Spatial–Temporal Characteristics of Large Scale Disturbances of Electron Density Observed in the Ionospheric F-Region before Strong Earthquakes

The spatial dimensions and temporal dynamics of large scale disturbances of electron density in the ionospheric F-region during the preparatory phase of destructive earthquakes are estimated. The most appropriate data (as far as the moments of satellite passages are concerned) were selected out of more than 300 investigated cases. In order to demonstrate effects at different latitudes, the cases of high-latitude (Alaska), mid-latitude (Central Italy), and low-latitude (New Zealand) earthquakes were considered. Using the data of external vertical sounding of the ionosphere performed by the Alouette-1 and Interkosmos-19 satellites together with the data of vertical sounding of the ionosphere by ground-based instruments, we get for the first time with reasonable accuracy the spatial characteristics of precursors in the ionosphere. It is shown that seismic ionospheric disturbances are strongly time-dependent before the beginning of the main shock. Seismic ionospheric disturbances are generated weakly several days before the first shock, but at that moment the disturbed region is located not above the epicenter, but rather a little displaced from it. As the moment of the earthquake approaches, the disturbance covers more and more space; moreover, its value also increases. Several hours after the shock the disturbance migrates in the reverse order. Under some conditions, the disturbances may appear not only above epicenter regions. They can be transferred along the magnetic field lines into conjugate regions in the opposite hemisphere.     

Large and sharp changes of solar wind dynamic pressure and disturbances of the magnetospheric magnetic field at geosynchronous orbit caused by these variations

The large and sharp changes of solar wind dynamic pressure, found from the INTERBALL-1 satellite and WIND spacecraft data, are compared with simultaneous magnetic field disturbances in the magnetosphere measured by geosynchronous GOES-8, GOES-9, and GOES-10 satellites. For this purpose, about 200 events in the solar wind, associated with sharp changes of the dynamic pressure, were selected from the INTERBALL-1 satellite data obtained during 1996–1999. The large and sharp changes of the solar wind dynamic pressure were shown to result in rapid variations of the magnetic field strength in the outer magnetosphere, the increase (drop) of the solar wind dynamic pressure always lead to an increase (drop) of the geosynchronous magnetic field magnitude. The value of the geomagnetic field variation strongly depends on the local time of the observation point, reaching a maximum value near the noon meridian. It is shown that the direction of the B _z component of the interplanetary magnetic field has virtually no effect on the geomagnetic field variation because of a sharp jump of pressure. The time shift between an event in the solar wind and its response in the magnetosphere at a geosynchronous orbit essentially depends on the inclination of the front of a solar wind disturbance to the Sun-Earth line.     

Determination of vibrational CO2 distributions in thermodynamically-nonequilibrated rarefied flows by use of radiational characteristics in the 15 μm band

A method for determination of the vibrational distributions and populations of individual vibrational levels of vibrationally-nonequilibrated carbon dioxide in bend-stretch manifold and asymmetric stretching mode was developed and substantiated. The method is based on the measurements of integrated radiation intensity in the wide spectral intervals of the 15 μm CO₂ band and total emissivities of its appropriate Q-branches. Computations of radiation intensities and emissivities in P and R-branches were performed by using vibrational-rotational band models and in Q-branches by the direct “line-by-line” integration.It was shown that vibrational temperature of CO₂ asymmetric stretching mode may be determined from the measurements of integrated radiation intensity of the 15 μm band. The populations of individual levels of the bend-stretch manifold may be obtained from the measurements of total emissivities of some Q-branches of the 15 μm band.The procedure of the CO₂ lower vibrational levels populations determination under the conditions typical of 18 μm and 9–11 μm CO₂ laser cavities is described.     

Determination of characteristic frequencies of elastic oscillations of the <Emphasis Type="Italic">International Space Station</Emphasis> construction

The results of investigating free oscillations of the International Space Station construction appearing during spacecraft docking and undocking are described. The study is carried out using the measurement data of the low-frequency MAMS accelerometer. Several intervals of measurements performed in 2005 and 2006 were chosen to be studied. For chosen intervals, only the data intervals corresponding to the process of free attenuation of the oscillations construction elements were analyzed. Characteristic frequencies of elastic oscillations of the station construction and attenuation coefficients corresponding to them are found. The comparative analysis of the results obtained for various docking ports (nodes) is carried out. The described study is performed as a part of the technical experiment “The ISS Environment” carried out onboard the station in accordance with the Russian program of scientific and engineering experiments.     

Robust attitude stabilization of spacecraft subject to actuator failures

A robust nonlinear control scheme is developed to stabilize the 3-axis attitude of the spacecraft for cases where there is no control available on either roll or yaw axis. The stability conditions for robustness against unmatched uncertainties and disturbances are derived to establish the regions of asymptotic 3-axis attitude stabilization. The properties of the proposed sliding surface are investigated to obtain the domains of sliding mode for the closed-loop system. Several numerical simulations are presented to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed controller and validate the theoretical results. The control algorithm is shown to compensate for time-varying external disturbances including solar radiation pressure, aerodynamic forces, and magnetic disturbances; and uncertainties in the spacecraft inertia parameters. The numerical results also establish the robustness of the proposed control scheme to negate disturbances caused by orbit eccentricity.     

Harnessing functional food strategies for the health challenges of space travel—Fermented soy for astronaut nutrition

Astronauts face numerous health challenges during long-duration space missions, including diminished immunity, bone loss and increased risk of radiation-induced carcinogenesis. Changes in the intestinal flora of astronauts may contribute to these problems. Soy-based fermented food products could provide a nutritional strategy to help alleviate these challenges by incorporating beneficial lactic acid bacteria, while reaping the benefits of soy isoflavones. We carried out strain selection for the development of soy ferments, selecting strains of lactic acid bacteria showing the most effective growth and fermentation ability in soy milk (Streptococcus thermophilus ST5, Bifidobacterium longum R0175 and Lactobacillus helveticus R0052). Immunomodulatory bioactivity of selected ferments was assessed using an in vitro challenge system with human intestinal epithelial and macrophage cell lines, and selected ferments show the ability to down-regulate production of the pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-8 following challenge with tumour necrosis factor-alpha. The impact of fermentation on vitamin B1 and B6 levels and on isoflavone biotransformation to agluconic forms was also assessed, with strain variation-dependent biotransformation ability detected. Overall this suggests that probiotic bacteria can be successfully utilized to develop soy-based fermented products targeted against health problems associated with long-term space travel.     

Observation of fast variations of the helium-ion abundance in the solar wind

This paper describes the results of studying the helium component of the solar-wind ion-flux measurement by the BMSW instrument on the Spektr-R satellite with a time resolution of 3 s. In contrast to most previous works that presented values averaged over large (hourly average or daily average) intervals, we have shown that the relative helium-ion abundance in the solar wind experiences considerable (by a few percent and even 10%) variations on such short intervals as 10 seconds or even several seconds.     

Reconstruction of spacecraft rotational motion using a Kalman filter

Quasi-static microaccelerations of four satellites of the Foton series (nos. 11, 12, M-2, M-3) were monitored as follows. First, according to measurements of onboard sensors obtained in a certain time interval, spacecraft rotational motion was reconstructed in this interval. Then, along the found motion, microacceleration at a given onboard point was calculated according to the known formula as a function of time. The motion was reconstructed by the least squares method using the solutions to the equations of satellite rotational motion. The time intervals in which these equations make reconstruction possible were from one to five orbital revolutions. This length is increased with the modulus of the satellite angular velocity. To get an idea on microaccelerations and satellite motion during an entire flight, the motion was reconstructed in several tens of such intervals. This paper proposes a method for motion reconstruction suitable for an interval of arbitrary length. The method is based on the Kalman filter. We preliminary describe a new version of the method for reconstructing uncontrolled satellite rotational motion from magnetic measurements using the least squares method, which is essentially used to construct the Kalman filter. The results of comparison of both methods are presented using the data obtained on a flight of the Foton M-3.     

Survival of dormant organisms after long-term exposure to the space environment

The RF SRC—Institute of Biomedical Problems, Russian Academy of Sciences, developed Biorisk hardware to study the effects of long-term exposure of dormant forms of various organisms to outer space and used it to complete a series of experiments on the Russian Module (RM) of the International Space Station (ISS).The experiments were performed using prokaryotes (Bacillus bacteria) and eukaryotes (Penicillium, Aspergillus, and Cladosporium fungi), as well as spores, dormant forms of higher plants, insects, lower crustaceans, and vertebrates. The biological samples were housed in two containers that were exposed to outer space for 13 or 18 months. The results of the 18-month experiment showed that, in spite of harsher temperature than in the first study, most specimens remained viable.These experiments provided evidence that not only bacterial and fungal spores but also dormant forms of organisms that reached higher levels of evolutionary development had the capability to survive a long-term exposure to outer space. This observation suggests that they can be transferred on outer walls of space platforms during interplanetary missions.     

A simplified technique for determining the rotational motion of a satellite based on the onboard measurements of the angular velocity and magnetic field of the Earth

The mathematical model, which allowed us to reconstruct the rotational motion of the Bion M-1 and Foton M-4 satellites by processing the measurements of onboard magnetometers and the angular velocity sensor, is sufficiently detailed and accurate. If we slightly lower the requirements for accuracy and transfer to a rougher model, i.e., we will not update the biases in measurements of the angular velocity component, then the measurement processing technique can be significantly simplified. The volume of calculations in minimizing the functional of the least-square technique is reduced; the most complicated part of calculations is performed using the standard procedure of computational linear algebra. This simplified technique is described below, and the examples of its application for reconstructing the rotational motion of the Foton M-4 satellite are presented. A noticeable distinction in the reconstructions of motion, constructed by simplified and more exact techniques, is revealed in processing the measurements over time intervals longer than 4 hours.     

Directional Solidification Using a Baffle in Microgravity

Numerical simulations were performed to optimize the conditions and parameters for directional solidification of Te-doped GaSb in reduced gravity ranging from 10⁻³ to 10⁻⁵g₀. Our key goal was to quantify the velocity and concentration fields with and without a baffle present in the melt. The effect of the distance of the baffle from the solid–liquid interface was investigated. When the baffle is placed 0.5 cm from the solid–liquid interface, acceleration of 10⁻³g₀ does not cause significant interference with segregation. Furthermore, the flow between the baffle and the interface (low Reynolds number “creeping” flow) does not depend on fluid properties (viscosity).     

Applications of tuned mass dampers to improve performance of large space mirrors

In order for future imaging spacecraft to meet higher resolution imaging capability, it will be necessary to build large space telescopes with primary mirror diameters that range from 10 m to 20 m and do so with nanometer surface accuracy. Due to launch vehicle mass and volume constraints, these mirrors have to be deployable and lightweight, such as segmented mirrors using active optics to correct mirror surfaces with closed loop control. As a part of this work, system identification tests revealed that dynamic disturbances inherent in a laboratory environment are significant enough to degrade the optical performance of the telescope. Research was performed at the Naval Postgraduate School to identify the vibration modes most affecting the optical performance and evaluate different techniques to increase damping of those modes. Based on this work, tuned mass dampers (TMDs) were selected because of their simplicity in implementation and effectiveness in targeting specific modes. The selected damping mechanism was an eddy current damper where the damping and frequency of the damper could be easily changed. System identification of segments was performed to derive TMD specifications. Several configurations of the damper were evaluated, including the number and placement of TMDs, damping constant, and targeted structural modes. The final configuration consisted of two dampers located at the edge of each segment and resulted in 80% reduction in vibrations. The WFE for the system without dampers was 1.5 waves, with one TMD the WFE was 0.9 waves, and with two TMDs the WFE was 0.25 waves. This paper provides details of some of the work done in this area and includes theoretical predictions for optimum damping which were experimentally verified on a large aperture segmented system.     

Modes of uncontrolled rotational motion of the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Progress M-29M</Emphasis> spacecraft

We have reconstructed the uncontrolled rotational motion of the Progress M-29M transport cargo spacecraft in the single-axis solar orientation mode (the so-called sunward spin) and in the mode of the gravitational orientation of a rotating satellite. The modes were implemented on April 3–7, 2016 as a part of preparation for experiments with the DAKON convection sensor onboard the Progress spacecraft. The reconstruction was performed by integral statistical techniques using the measurements of the spacecraft’s angular velocity and electric current from its solar arrays. The measurement data obtained in a certain time interval have been jointly processed using the least-squares method by integrating the equations of the spacecraft’s motion relative to the center of mass. As a result of processing, the initial conditions of motion and parameters of the mathematical model have been estimated. The motion in the sunward spin mode is the rotation of the spacecraft with an angular velocity of 2.2 deg/s about the normal to the plane of solar arrays; the normal is oriented toward the Sun or forms a small angle with this direction. The duration of the mode is several orbit passes. The reconstruction has been performed over time intervals of up to 1 h. As a result, the actual rotational motion of the spacecraft relative to the Earth–Sun direction was obtained. In the gravitational orientation mode, the spacecraft was rotated about its longitudinal axis with an angular velocity of 0.1–0.2 deg/s; the longitudinal axis executed small oscillated relative to the local vertical. The reconstruction of motion relative to the orbital coordinate system was performed in time intervals of up to 7 h using only the angularvelocity measurements. The measurements of the electric current from solar arrays were used for verification.     

Microdisturbances on the International Space Station during dynamic operations

The results of analysis of microdisturbances on the International Space Station (ISS) at performing various dynamic operations are presented. Docking of transfer manned and cargo vehicles Progress and Soyuz to various docking modules of the ISS, docking of the Space Shuttle Discovery, the ISS orbit correction and, also, disturbances at “EVA” (Extra Vehicular Activity) operations during astronauts working on the external ISS surface are considered. The results of measuring microaccelerations by sensors of both Russian and American segments are analyzed.