Active space debris charging for contactless electrostatic disposal maneuvers

The remote charging of a passive object using an electron beam enables touchless re-orbiting of large space debris from geosynchronous orbit (GEO) using electrostatic forces. The advantage of this method is that it can operate with a separation distance of multiple craft radii, thus reducing the risk of collision. The charging of the tug–debris system to high potentials is achieved by active charge transfer using a directed electron beam. Optimal potential distributions using isolated- and coupled-sphere models are discussed. A simple charging model takes into account the primary electron beam current, ultra-violet radiation induced photoelectron emission, collection of plasma particles, secondary electron emission and the recapture of emitted particles. The results show that through active charging in a GEO space environment high potentials can be both achieved and maintained with about a 75% transfer efficiency. Further, the maximum electrostatic tractor force is shown to be insensitive to beam current levels. This latter later result is important when considering debris with unknown properties.     

航天器介质放电脉冲频谱特征实验研究

空间电子辐射环境下,航天器介质的充放电效应是威胁航天器安全的重要因素.介质放电现象除与材料参数及构型相关外,还与空间电子环境密切相关.本文通过电子枪和Sr90放射源在地面实验装置上模拟空间电子辐照环境,测试了环氧树脂、聚四氟乙烯、聚酰亚胺等常见空间材料在不同温度、不同电子能量和电子束流强度影响下的放电脉冲,并对放电电流脉冲和电场脉冲进行频谱分析.实验分析结果表明,介质材料的放电电流脉冲频谱具有明显的单峰结构,该峰值与材料厚度和入射电子能量相关,但受材料温度和辐照束流强度影响不大.      

Laboratory experiments on spacecraft charging and its neutralization

Simulation experiments on spacecraft charging in space plasma and its neutralization are performed in relation to the electron beam experiment (SEPAC) on Space Shuttle Spacelab 1. A spacecraft simulator or a spherical probe is immersed in a magnetized plasma and a positive high voltage with respect to the plasma is externally applied to it. The current-voltage characteristics follow quite well with the theoretical model of Parker and Murphy [1] in the low voltage, low pressure region. When the voltage rises to more than the ionization potential of the surrounding neutral gas, it departs from the model and the effect of plasma production by the electron current becomes very important. The same kind of ionization effect as this has also been observed in our rocket experiments with an electron beam. The enhancement of the ionization effect by an additional neutral gas injection causes a considerable suppression of the potential rise of a spacecraft emitting an electron beam. This is demonstrated with the SEPAC accelerators in a large space chamber experiment.     

低轨道航天器的表面充电模拟

为研究航天器表面材料在空间环境中的充电现象, 利用SPIS (Spacecraft Plasma Interaction System)模拟了航天器在低轨道等离子体环境中的表面充电情况, 通过对模拟结果进行分析并与实际观测进行比较, 可以看出模拟结果基本能够反映出不同性质材料之间的充电差别, 特别是导电材料与非导电材料之间的充电差别. 模拟得到的充电电位及充电时间与充电的一般理论计算结果符合较好, 且能够清晰反映出航天器运动中产生的冲击流及尾流的结构特征. 根据SPIS低轨道航天器表面充电模拟的特点, 认为SPIS的模拟结果是合理的.      

An optimal beam alignment method for large-scale distributed space surveillance radar system

Large-scale distributed space surveillance radar is a very important ground-based equipment to maintain a complete catalogue for Low Earth Orbit (LEO) space debris. However, due to the thousands of kilometers distance between each sites of the distributed radar system, how to optimally implement the Transmitting/Receiving (T/R) beams alignment in a great space using the narrow beam, which proposed a special and considerable technical challenge in the space surveillance area. According to the common coordinate transformation model and the radar beam space model, we presented a two dimensional projection algorithm for T/R beam using the direction angles, which could visually describe and assess the beam alignment performance. Subsequently, the optimal mathematical models for the orientation angle of the antenna array, the site location and the T/R beam coverage are constructed, and also the beam alignment parameters are precisely solved. At last, we conducted the optimal beam alignment experiments base on the site parameters of Air Force Space Surveillance System (AFSSS). The simulation results demonstrate the correctness and effectiveness of our novel method, which can significantly stimulate the construction for the LEO space debris surveillance equipment.     

Negative body potential as result of modulated electron beam emission into ambient plasma

Two different processes play an important role during emission of pulsed electron beam from a satellite: the positive charging of the spacecraft by emitted electron current and the body neutralization by ambient plasma electrons (mainly in pauses between electron pulses).

The injection of modulated electron beam (pulses of 2μs duration, E=8keV, I=0.1A and 25μs repetition) was carried on in the APEX Project. A simple computer model of this process for APEX scenario was performed.

The results show that after primary positive charging (during gun operation) a significant negative charging (in pauses between pulses) caused by neutralization process by ambient plasma with fp>2MHz takes place.     

中性气体释放人工产生气辉

电离层中分子性的离子与电子的复合要比氧离子与电子的辐射性复合快得多,因此火箭发动机产生的尾气和空间等离子体主动实验中主动释放的中性气体会对电离层有很大的影响,这么大的电离层扰动现象在过去的实验中经常可以观测到.根据中性气体在热层背景中的扩散方程,考虑电离层F区主要的离子化学反应,研究了H2,H2O和CO2气体在电离层高度上的扩散过程和电离层对所释放气体的响应,计算了气辉的体发射系数和发射强度.结果表明,中性气体在电离层高度上扩散非常迅速,在F区的一些高度上,主要正离子成分由O+转变为其他分子离子,且在释放过程中伴随气辉发射,发射气辉的波长和特征与释放物质的种类有关.      

航天器介质材料深层充放电实验与数值模拟

空间辐射环境中高能电子诱发的介质材料深层充放电效应是威胁航天器安全的重要因素之一. 本文采用不同束流强度的电子枪电子, 研究了不同厚度的聚酰亚胺薄膜的深层充电过程; 利用Sr90放射源电子模拟GEO轨道高能电子环境, 研究了在其辐照下聚甲醛树脂和聚四氟乙烯材料的表面电位变化; 实验观测了深层放电产生的电流脉冲和电场脉冲. 提出了深层充电模型, 较好地模拟了实验测量结果, 并且分析了深层充电平衡电位和平衡时间随电子束流强度和介质电阻率的变化规律. 实验和数值模拟结果初步揭示了深层充放电效应的特征及规律, 表明深层充电现象随着电子束流强度和介质电阻率的增加而趋于明显, 介质电阻率是影响深层充电平衡电位和平衡时间的主要因素.      

A novel data association scheme for LEO space debris surveillance based on a double fence radar system

The increasing amount of space debris threatens to seriously deteriorate and damage space-based instruments in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) environments. Therefore, LEO space debris surveillance systems must be developed to provide situational awareness in space and issue warnings of collisions with LEO space debris. In this paper, a double fence radar system is proposed as an emerging paradigm for LEO space debris surveillance. This system exhibits several unique and promising characteristics compared with existing surveillance systems. In this paper, we also investigate the data association scheme for LEO space debris surveillance based on a double fence radar system. We also perform a theoretical analysis of the performance of our proposed scheme. The superiority and the effectiveness of our novel data association scheme is demonstrated by experimental results. The data used in our experiments is the LEO space debris catalog produced by the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD) up to 2009, especially for scenarios with high densities of LEO space debris, which were primarily produced by the collisions between Iridium 33 and Cosmos 2251. We hope that our work will stimulate and benefit future work on LEO space debris surveillance approaches and enable construction of the double fence radar system.     

星载单频GPS数据的电离层延迟改正方法分析

利用C/A码单点定位对LEO(Low Earth Orbit)卫星上的电离层延迟改正方法——"电离层比例因子法"进行了分析研究.计算的CHAMP卫星的轨道结果表明:采用电子密度峰值高度(hmF2,F2 region maximum electron density height)平均值和瞬时值计算的电离层比例因子α变化范围分别为0.3~0.4和0.2~0.65之间,两者最大差异可达0.3,相比较而言,hmF2瞬时值的结果更加合理,并且相应的大地高H方向的系统偏差要降低0.05~0.3m左右;与双频无电离层组合的普通单点定位结果相比表明该方法能较好地消除电离层一阶项所引入的H方向上的系统偏差;该方法适用的LEO卫星轨道高度范围大致在200~ 600km之间,当轨道高度超过700km时,该方法并不适用.     

Electron beam experiments in Japanese satellites and rockets

Electron beam experiments in space that have been done and planned in Japan are reviewed. 200eV, 1mA electron beam is emitted from a satellite and several types of wave excitation such as UHF and ω_ce have been observed. The satellite potential and the energy spectrum of returning electrons are measured by Langmuir probes and electrostatic energy analyser. In rocket experiments of K-10-11, K-10-12, K-9M-57, K-9M-58, K-9M-61 and K-9M-66, several types of electron guns were used whose power ranges from 1mW to 1KW. The rocket potential was measured by Langmuir probes and floating probes and optical line emission measurement and wave measurements were also done. The rocket potential was not so high as expected from the balance with ionospheric plasma but strongly affected by the plasma production by the emitted electron beam and return electrons.     

太阳帆板驱动机构内带电效应试验

太阳帆板驱动机构（Solar Array Drive Assembly,SADA）是长寿命、大功率航天器能源系统的关键部件.在空间高能电子环境下,SADA内部会发生静电放电甚至诱发二次放电,导致航天器丧失能源.利用双束加速器建立试验平台,对SADA进行内带电效应试验.试验中高能电子束的电子能量为2MeV,束流密度为5pA·cm-2,模拟SADA工作电压为50~150V,工作电流为0.5~1.5A.试验样品充电电位在辐照5h后达到平衡,形成的电场约为5×106V·m-1.相同工作电流下的放电次数随工作电压增大而明显增加,说明工作电压形成的电场与高能电子沉积形成的电场叠加会增加SADA发生放电的风险.依据试验结果,提出SADA抗内带电设计方案:一是降低SADA介质盘的体电阻率;二是改进导电环结构体的结构设计,降低导电环间电压在介质盘上形成的电场.      

Effective Coulomb force modeling for spacecraft in Earth orbit plasmas

Coulomb formation flight is a concept that utilizes electrostatic forces to control the separations of close proximity spacecraft. The Coulomb force between charged bodies is a product of their size, separation, potential and interaction with the local plasma environment. A fast and accurate analytic method of capturing the interaction of a charged body in a plasma is shown. The Debye–Hückel analytic model of the electrostatic field about a charged sphere in a plasma is expanded to analytically compute the forces. This model is fitted to numerical simulations with representative geosynchronous and low Earth orbit (GEO and LEO) plasma environments using an effective Debye length. This effective Debye length, which more accurately captures the charge partial shielding, can be up to 7 times larger at GEO, and as great as 100 times larger at LEO. The force between a sphere and point charge is accurately captured with the effective Debye length, as opposed to the electron Debye length solutions that have errors exceeding 50%. One notable finding is that the effective Debye lengths in LEO plasmas about a charged body are increased from centimeters to meters. This is a promising outcome, as the reduced shielding at increased potentials provides sufficient force levels for operating the electrostatically inflated membrane structures concept at these dense plasma altitudes.     

对流层雷暴源所产生的柱形重力波

已有充分的证据表明, 大气对流层的雷暴迹象是大气中间层重力波活动的显著代表源.在雷暴迹象的上方, 通过火箭已观测到大气中间层出现的热效应, 也已通过雷 达探测到大气平流层出现的上行重力波, 从地面和卫星平台上观察到夜间气辉有序而 成环状的重力波波形. 所有这些实验结果都与位于观测点下方的雷暴活动有紧密联系. 此类雷暴通常主要集中在中国东部沿海以及地球其他沿海海湾地域. 关于此类雷暴对大 气中间层的影响尚未被充分研究和了解. 为能有效地探究其成因, 利用所开发的一个二维计算机数值模型模拟和研究大气对流层的雷暴源所引发的上行重力波, 进而揭示 此类重力波产生的基本物理机理, 及其在大气中间层的能量耗散. 通过模拟研究发现, 雷暴源可以大面积高强度地聚集和释放积雨云的能量, 当这种周期性的对流变化引发大气对流层的不稳定性后, 就会有圆柱体重力波的产生和传播.      

航天器表面充电模型研究Ⅰ—空间电环境模型研究

航天器表面充电研究表明充电状态与空间电环境和航天器自身情况有着极为密切的关系。空间电环境是导致航天器表面充电的直接客观原因,它受太阳活动和地磁活动的强烈影响。研究空间电环境状态是认识航天器表面充电原因的基础。本文对已提出的许多空间电环境模型作了较为全面的综述和讨论     

CRRES卫星内部充电的模拟计算与验证

基于Geant 4软件建立一种用于计算航天器内部充电所产生电场的方法.分析载有IDM仪器的CRRES卫星当时所处的空间电子环境,使用该方法进行内部充电模拟,并将模拟结果与IDM仪器所测得的放电脉冲数据进行对比,不仅验证了该方法的有效性,更重要的是深入认识了引起航天器内部充电的空间环境特征以及材料特性对充放电效应的影响.介质内最大电场的模拟计算结果与CRRES卫星实际观测到的放电现象吻合;在材料的各项参数中,与辐射感应电导率有关的kp系数对稳态电场有很大影响,为了定量研究内部充电效应,需要在实验室精确地测定kp系数;材料的暗电导率、密度以及材料的分子构成等也与内部充电效应有关,对这些参数细致地研究有助于对内部充电效应的认识.      

材料次级电子发射特性对表面充电影响的数值计算研究

表面充电是最早被人们发现的空间环境效应, 是由空间环境引起的航天器异常和故障的主要诱因之一. 采用较精确的金属二次电子发射公式和局部电流平衡模型, 在无光照的情况下, 对不同表面材料及不同几何形体的航天器表面充电电位进行计算, 并绘制了表面材料的充电电位与最大二次电子发射系数之间的关系曲线. 根据数值计算结果及次级电子发射系数和曲线图得知, 航天器阴面充电电位与表面材料的原子序数、最大二次电子发射系数和入射离子引起的次级发射系数均有关. 该计算对航天器表面材料的选取和设计工艺有一定的参考价值.      

低轨卫星移动系统的点波束确定算法

根据星座空间几何基础,以及卫星对地面的覆盖情况以及点波束的形状,通过建立数学模型,提出了地面终端确定所在点波束的仿真算法;并以典型的低轨卫星移动系统Globalstar为仿真背景,仿真得出了与实际系统参数接近的结果,验证了算法。     

从空间飞行器入射进电离层的调制电子束产生的高频波辐射

在主动束-等离子体试验中,调制电子束从空间飞行器入射进电离层等离子体将会产生电磁波辐射,在不同试验条件下电磁波辐射机理也不一样,由电子束纵向约束性产生电磁波辐射是其中之一.对半无界稀薄调制电子束从空间飞行器入射进电离层等离子体时所产生的波现象进行了理论分析和数值计算.结果表明,当调制电子束沿磁力线入射时,会在电离层等离子体中产生高频电磁波辐射,该辐射主要集中在垂直于入射电子束运动方向的平面内.