Future of Space Astronomy: A global Road Map for the next decades

The use of space techniques continues to play a key role in the advance of astrophysics by providing access to the entire electromagnetic spectrum from radio to high energy γ rays. The increasing size, complexity and cost of large space observatories places a growing emphasis on international collaboration. Furthermore, combining existing and future datasets from space and “ground based” observatories is an emerging mode of powerful and relatively inexpensive research to address problems that can only be tackled by the application of large multi-wavelength observations. While the present set of astronomical facilities is impressive and covers the entire electromagnetic spectrum, with complementary space and “ground based” telescopes, the situation in the next 10–20 years is of critical concern. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), to be launched not earlier than 2018, is the only approved future major space astronomy mission. Other major highly recommended space astronomy missions, such as the Wide-field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST), the International X-ray Observatory (IXO), Large Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) and the Space Infrared Telescope for Cosmology and Astrophysics (SPICA), have yet to be approved for development.     

Science Missions Using CubeSats

As the role of missions and experiments carried out in outer space becomes more and more essential in our understanding of many earthly problems, such as resource management, environmental problems, and disaster management, as well as space science questions, thanks to their lower cost and faster development process CubeSats can benefit humanity and therefore, young scientists and engineers have been motivated to research and develop new CubeSat missions. Not very long after their inception, CubeSats have evolved to become accepted platforms for scientific and commercial applications. The last couple of years showed that they are a feasible tool for conducting scientific experiments, not only in the Earth orbit but also in the interplanetary space. For many countries, a CubeSat mission could prompt the community and young teams around the world to build the national capacity to launch and operate national space missions. This paper presents an overview of the key scientific and engineering gateways opened up to the younger scientific community by the advent and adaptation of new technology into CubeSat missions. The role of cooperation and the opportunities for capacity-building and education are also explored. Thus, the present article also aims to provide useful recommendations to scientists, early-career researchers, engineers, students, and anyone who intends to explore the potential and opportunities offered by CubeSats and CubeSats-based missions.      

RadioAstron orbit determination and evaluation of its results using correlation of space-VLBI observations

A crucial part of a space mission for very-long baseline interferometery (VLBI), which is the technique capable of providing the highest resolution images in astronomy, is orbit determination of the mission’s space radio telescope(s). In order to successfully detect interference fringes that result from correlation of the signals recorded by a ground-based and a space-borne radio telescope, the propagation delays experienced in the near-Earth space by radio waves emitted by the source and the relativity effects on each telescope’s clock need to be evaluated, which requires accurate knowledge of position and velocity of the space radio telescope. In this paper we describe our approach to orbit determination (OD) of the RadioAstron spacecraft of the RadioAstron space-VLBI mission. Determining RadioAstron’s orbit is complicated due to several factors: strong solar radiation pressure, a highly eccentric orbit, and frequent orbit perturbations caused by the attitude control system. We show that in order to maintain the OD accuracy required for processing space-VLBI observations at cm-wavelengths it is required to take into account the additional data on thruster firings, reaction wheel rotation rates, and attitude of the spacecraft. We also investigate into using the unique orbit data available only for a space-VLBI spacecraft, i.e. the residual delays and delay rates that result from VLBI data processing, as a means to evaluate the achieved OD accuracy. We present the results of the first experience of OD accuracy evaluation of this kind, using more than 5000 residual values obtained as a result of space-VLBI observations performed over 7 years of the RadioAstron mission operations.     

面向立方星变轨任务的机动控制策略

为了实现立方星在轨飞行与变轨,基于模块化推进器系统提出混合控制策略实现微小卫星轨道持续变化任务需求。首先,针对多单元立方星单一主推进器的结构部署,基于高斯变分方程采用连续低推进力实现轨道机动变化。为了实现对立方星主推进器的指向调整,基于姿态动力学模型利用PD连续姿态控制求得所需扭矩,实现对立方星的指向角和指向角速度调节。针对配置的微脉冲等离子推进器(μ-PPT)不连续的特点,通过搜寻μ PPT最优脉冲序列组合获得实际扭矩,满足对外部干扰的持续补偿以及立方星的姿态稳定和指向调整操作需求。此外,引入姿态误差敏感度阈值,使姿态控制器在能够提高系统鲁棒性的同时减少μ-PPT消耗。最后,通过对3U立方星在轨飞行与变轨的具体案例分析,表明所提出的基于微推进器系统的混合控制策略能够实现立方星轨道机动变化需求。     

Evolution of the orbital elements for objects with high area-to-mass ratios in geostationary transfer orbits

A new population of uncatalogued objects in geosynchronous Earth orbits (GEO), with a mean motion of about 1 rev/day and eccentricities up to 0.6, has been identified recently. The first observations of this new type of objects were acquired in the framework of the European Space Agency’s (ESA) search for space debris in GEO and the geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) using the ESA 1-m telescope on Tenerife. Earlier studies have postulated that the perturbations due to the solar radiation pressure can lead to such large eccentricities for GEO objects with a high area-to-mass ratio (A/M). The simulations showed that the eccentricities of GEO objects with large A/M exhibit periodic variations with periods of about one year and amplitudes depending on the value of A/M. The findings of these studies could be confirmed by observations from the ESA 1-m telescope on Tenerife.     

Onboard orbit determination using GPS observations based on the unscented Kalman filter

Spaceborne GPS receivers are used for real-time navigation by most low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites. In general, the position and velocity accuracy of GPS navigation solutions without a dynamic filter are 25 m (1σ) and 0.5 m/s (1σ), respectively. However, GPS navigation solutions, which consist of position, velocity, and GPS receiver clock bias, have many abnormal excursions from the normal error range for space operation. These excursions lessen the accuracy of attitude control and onboard time synchronization. In this research, a new onboard orbit determination algorithm designed with the unscented Kalman filter (UKF) was developed to improve the performance. Because the UKF is able to obtain the posterior mean and covariance accurately by using the second-order Taylor series expansion through the sampled sigma points that are propagated by using the true nonlinear system, its performance can be better than that of the extended Kalman filter (EKF), which uses the linearized state transition matrix to predict the covariance. The dynamic models for orbit propagation applied perturbations due to the 40 × 40 geo-potential, the gravity of the Sun and Moon, solar radiation pressure, and atmospheric drag. The 7(8)th-order Runge–Kutta numerical integration was applied for orbit propagation. Two types of observations, navigation solutions and C/A code pseudorange, can be used at the user’s discretion. The performances of the onboard orbit determination were verified using real GPS data of the CHAMP and KOMPSAT-2 satellites. The results of the orbit determination were compared with the precision orbit ephemeris (POE) of the CHAMP and KOMPSAT-2 satellites.     

CubeSail: A low cost CubeSat based solar sail demonstration mission

CubeSail is a nano-solar sail mission based on the 3U CubeSat standard, which is currently being designed and built at the Surrey Space Centre, University of Surrey. CubeSail will have a total mass of around 3 kg and will deploy a 5 × 5 m sail in low Earth orbit. The primary aim of the mission is to demonstrate the concept of solar sailing and end-of-life de-orbiting using the sail membrane as a drag-sail. The spacecraft will have a compact 3-axis stabilised attitude control system, which uses three magnetic torquers aligned with the spacecraft principle axis as well as a novel two-dimensional translation stage separating the spacecraft bus from the sail. CubeSail’s deployment mechanism consists of four novel booms and four-quadrant sail membranes. The proposed booms are made from tape-spring blades and will deploy the sail membrane from a 2U CubeSat standard structure. This paper presents a systems level overview of the CubeSat mission, focusing on the mission orbit and de-orbiting, in addition to the deployment, attitude control and the satellite bus.     

A deorbiter CubeSat for active orbital debris removal

This paper introduces a mission concept for active removal of orbital debris based on the utilization of the CubeSat form factor. The CubeSat is deployed from a carrier spacecraft, known as a mothership, and is equipped with orbital and attitude control actuators to attach to the target debris, stabilize its attitude, and subsequently move the debris to a lower orbit where atmospheric drag is high enough for the bodies to burn up. The mass and orbit altitude of debris objects that are within the realms of the CubeSat’s propulsion capabilities are identified. The attitude control schemes for the detumbling and deorbiting phases of the mission are specified. The objective of the deorbiting maneuver is to decrease the semi-major axis of the debris orbit, at the fastest rate, from its initial value to a final value of about 6471?km (i.e., 100?km above Earth considering a circular orbit) via a continuous low-thrust orbital transfer. Two case studies are investigated to verify the performance of the deorbiter CubeSat during the detumbling and deorbiting phases of the mission. The baseline target debris used in the study are the decommissioned KOMPSAT-1 satellite and the Pegasus rocket body. The results show that the deorbiting times for the target debris are reduced significantly, from several decades to one or two years.     

宇宙黑暗时代探路者——鸿蒙计划

低频射电探测任务构想——鸿蒙计划旨在利用多颗卫星绕月编队形成超长波天文观测阵列,在月球背面开展空间低频射电天文探测。其科学目标是高精度测量全天射电频谱,揭示宇宙黑暗时代与黎明的演化历史;实现首次高分辨率超长波巡天,打开最后一个电磁窗口;观测太阳和行星超长波活动,揭示空间环境相互作用规律。该任务将获得超长波频段全天空图像,获取超长波波段天文射电源的强度、频谱、分布等信息。这些科学数据对于探索宇宙黑暗时代和黎明时代、研究银河系星际介质、宇宙线起源与传播、河外射电星系、类星体和星系团的演化、太阳活动与行星磁场等,具有重要的科学价值。     

Orbit improvement for GTO objects using follow-up observations

The Astronomical Institute of the University of Bern was and is conducting several search campaigns for space debris in the geostationary ring (GEO) and the geostationary transfer orbit (GTO). First tests to build up a catalogue of satellites and space debris were performed recently. As the discovery observations of an object usually cover a time interval of a few minutes only, the first orbits determined are assumed to be circular. For GEO objects a circular orbit is a rather good approximation. This is certainly not the case for GTO objects. Nevertheless, a circular orbit seems to be an acceptable approximation for a short time interval around the observations. The first orbits can be used to acquire follow-up observations, which allow the determination of elliptical orbits. The maximum allowed time span between the detection and the follow-up for a successful recovery is found using simulated GTO orbits and observations. Further follow-up observations are simulated in order to study the orbit improvement process and the required force model. The accuracy of orbits needed to build up a catalogue is studied. The simulations are compared to the results achieved with observations acquired by the 1 m telescope on Tenerife.     

Deorbiter CubeSat mission design

This paper presents the mission design for a CubeSat-based active debris removal approach intended for transferring sizable debris objects from low-Earth orbit to a deorbit altitude of 100 km. The mission consists of a mothership spacecraft that carries and deploys several debris-removing nanosatellites, called Deorbiter CubeSats. Each Deorbiter is designed based on the utilization of an eight-unit CubeSat form factor and commercially-available components with significant flight heritage. The mothership spacecraft delivers Deorbiter CubeSats to the vicinity of a predetermined target debris, through performing a long-range rendezvous maneuver. Through a formation flying maneuver, the mothership then performs in-situ measurements of debris shape and orbital state. Upon release from the mothership, each Deorbiter CubeSat proceeds to performing a rendezvous and attachment maneuver with a debris object. Once attached to the debris, the CubeSat performs a detumbling maneuver, by which the residual angular momentum of the CubeSat-debris system is dumped using Deorbiter’s onboard reaction wheels. After stabilizing the attitude motion of the combined Deorbiter-debris system, the CubeSat proceeds to performing a deorbiting maneuver, i.e., reducing system’s altitude so much so that the bodies disintegrate and burn up due to atmospheric drag, typically at around 100 km above the Earth surface. The attitude and orbital maneuvers that are planned for the mission are described, both for the mothership and Deorbiter CubeSat. The performance of each spacecraft during their operations is investigated, using the actual performance specifications of the onboard components. The viability of the proposed debris removal approach is discussed in light of the results.     

Analysis of the orbit lifetime of CubeSats in low Earth orbits including periodic variation in drag due to attitude motion

It is estimated that more than 22,300 human-made objects are in orbit around the Earth, with a total mass above 8,400,000 kg. Around 89% of these objects are non-operational and without control, which makes them to be considered orbital debris. These numbers consider only objects with dimensions larger than 10 cm. Besides those numbers, there are also about 2000 operational satellites in orbit nowadays. The space debris represents a hazard to operational satellites and to the space operations. A major concern is that this number is growing, due to new launches and particles generated by collisions. Another important point is that the development of CubeSats has increased exponentially in the last years, increasing the number of objects in space, mainly in the Low Earth Orbits (LEO). Due to the short operational time, CubeSats boost the debris population. One of the requirements for space debris mitigation in LEO is the limitation of the orbital lifetime of the satellites, which needs to be lower than 25 years. However, there are space debris with longer estimated decay time. In LEÓs, the influence of the atmospheric drag is the main orbital perturbation, and is used in maneuvers to increment the losses in the satellite orbital energy, to locate satellites in constellations and to accelerate the decay.The goal of the present research is to study the influence of aerodynamic rotational maneuver in the CubeSat?s orbital lifetime. The rotational axis is orthogonal to the orbital plane of the CubeSat, which generates variations in the ballistic coefficient along the trajectory. The maneuver is proposed to accelerate the decay and to mitigate orbital debris generated by non-operational CubeSats. The panel method is selected to determine the drag coefficient as a function of the flow incident angle and the spinning rate. The pressure distribution is integrated from the satellite faces at hypersonic rarefied flow to calculate the drag coefficient. The mathematical model considers the gravitational potential of the Earth and the deceleration due to drag. To analyze the effects of the rotation during the decay, multiple trajectories were propagated, comparing the results obtained assuming a constant drag coefficient with trajectories where the drag coefficient changes periodically. The initial perigees selected were lower than 400 km of altitude with eccentricities ranging from 0.00 to 0.02. Six values for the angular velocity were applied in the maneuver. The technique of rotating the spacecraft is an interesting solution to increase the orbit decay of a CubeSat without implementing additional de-orbit devices. Significant changes in the decay time are presented due to the increase of the mean drag coefficient calculated by the panel method, when the maneuver is applied, reducing the orbital lifetime, however the results are independent of the angular velocity of the satellite.     

HXMT卫星空间环境监测器及初步观测结果

硬X射线调制望远镜（HXMT）卫星是中国首个专门进行天文探测的空间科学实验卫星,运行于高度约550km、倾角约43°的低地球轨道.星载空间环境监测器为星上科学任务开展提供背景辐射实测资料.该监测器采用固体探测器望远镜系统和扇形阵列全新组合设计,可获取轨道空间高能质子和高能电子能谱、方向综合动态结果,给出更为全面的粒子辐射分布图像.初步探测结果显示,卫星运行轨道遭遇的带电粒子辐射集中分布在经度80°W-20°E,纬度0°-40°S的南大西洋异常区,粒子辐射在该区域表现出不同程度的方向差异分布,高能电子方向差异分布显著强于高能质子.2017年9月空间环境扰动期间,爆发的太阳质子事件并未对该轨道粒子辐射产生影响,而地磁活动导致该轨道穿越经度120°W-60°E,纬度40°-43°N的北美上空和经度60°-120°E,纬度43°-40°S的澳大利亚西南区域时遭遇增强粒子辐射影响,增强的粒子辐射表现出极强的方向分布.      

天基通信与太空射电望远镜功能一体系统

摘要： 针对现有地基深空通信系统存在深空通信距离不够远、数传速率不够高等缺点,提出一种基于分布式协同控制的天基主动深空通信与太空射电望远镜功能一体系统.该系统部署在地球静止轨道上,由1颗馈源星、1颗中心星和4294颗小卫星（单元星）通过精密编队和在轨自主组装的方式构成,一体化集成天基主动深空通信功能和射电天文望远镜功能.该系统可以为深空探测器提供一个星地高速中转站,由于其部署在地球静止轨道,几乎不受大气云层影响,可以大幅度提升深空探测通信支持距离和数传速率,且能使射电天文望远镜的分辨率和灵敏度提升1~2个数量级.     

A multiple-CubeSat constellation for integrated earth observation and marine/air traffic monitoring

CubeSats has evolved from purely educational tools, to useful platforms for technology demonstration and many practical applications. This paper reviews a CubeSat constellation mission involving 3 CubeSats launched into orbit on Sep. 25th 2015, aiming to demonstrate the integrated application of low-cost CubeSat technologies with distributed payloads using a group of satellites, as well as to demonstrate several new technologies. The mission scenario, the satellite system design, the innovative technologies and instruments or devices used on the CubeSats and the in-orbit experimental results and the payload data analysis, as well as some experiences and lessons learned, are presented and summaried.     

Photometric calibration and first results obtained with the UFT experiment on board the astron satellite

The UV telescope of 30 cm diameter equipped with a three channel scanner spectrometer aboard the highly eccentric orbit space station “ASTRON” is describedAbsolute calibration of the whole device is performed using spectra of standard stars, of which absolute values were obtained by TDI or IUE experiments. Several photometric controls have been made on the stability of the equipment after one year of operation which demonstrate reliability of some first results obtained by the UFT.The sensitivity curve of the spectrophotometric system has been observed with a reproducibility of 2σ = 10% or better.The repeated observation of one star (139 Tau) indicates that the overall performance exhibits the same quality after one year in orbit. The low resolution mode ($\text{Δ λ = 28}\text{A}\text{?}$) leads to a powerful new investigation of faint extended sources.     

The dynamics and control of the CubeSail mission: A solar sailing demonstration

The CubeSail mission is a low-cost demonstration of the UltraSail solar sailing concept (, ,  and ), using two near-identical CubeSat satellites to deploy a 260 m-long, 20 m² reflecting film. The two satellites are launched as a unit, detumbled, and separated, with the film unwinding symmetrically from motorized reels. The conformity to the CubeSat specification allows for reduction in launch costs as a secondary payload and utilization of the University of Illinois-developed spacecraft bus. The CubeSail demonstration is the first in a series of increasingly-complex missions aimed at validating several spacecraft subsystems, including attitude determination and control, the separation release unit, reel-based film deployment, as well as the dynamical behavior of the sail and on-orbit solar propulsion. The presented work describes dynamical behavior and control methods used during three main phases of the mission. The three phases include initial detumbling and stabilization using magnetic torque actuators, gravity-gradient-based deployment of the film, and steady-state film deformations in low Earth orbit in the presence of external forces of solar radiation pressure, aerodynamic drag, and gravity-gradient.     

Brief Introduction about the SVOM Mission

SVOM is a mission dedicated for studying γ-Ray Bursts, and will also be a powerful target-ofopportunity observatory for the whole astronomy community. The mission has been approved jointly by both Chinese and French space agencies. It is planned to be in the orbit in 2021 with an altitude ≤ 600 km and an inclination ≤ 30°.      

Charge exchange interactions on near-Earth proton radiation for orbit perturbation of high area-to-mass ratio objects

This novel concept expels neutral gas in the presence of geomagnetically-trapped protons in near-Earth orbit. The expelled neutral gas acts to induce charge exchange collisions with the geomagnetically-trapped protons and induce drag on objects which pass through it. The charge exchange collisions between the neutral gas and the geomagnetically-trapped protons create neutrals with similar kinetic energy that are not confined by the geomagnetic field. The charge exchange neutrals are able to collide with orbital objects and perturb their orbits. The delta-v applied by the charge exchange neutral flux is greatest on high area-to-mass objects. Numerical simulation shows charge exchange neutral impacts produce a delta-v on objects on the order of 3.8 x 10⁻¹¹ m/s at a distance of 1 km from the center of the expelled gas in a 1,000 km orbit. The impulse imparted by charge exchange neutral impacts is at least six orders of magnitude smaller than that provided by the induced drag caused by gas expulsion. The localized drag increase can force a majority of small objects into the orbit of the expelled gas cloud, even if that orbit is retrograde to the initial orbit of the objects. This new technique can be applied to the remediation of space debris.