The LISA Pathfinder Mission

LISA Pathfinder, formerly known as SMART-2, is the second of the European Space Agency’s Small Missions for Advance Research and Technology, and is designed to pave the way for the joint ESA/NASA Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) mission, by testing the core assumption of gravitational wave detection and general relativity: that free particles follow geodesics. The new technologies to be demonstrated in a space environment include: inertial sensors, high precision laser interferometry to free floating mirrors, and micro-Newton proportional thrusters. LISA Pathfinder will be launched on a dedicated launch vehicle in late 2011 into a low Earth orbit. By a transfer trajectory, the sciencecraft will enter its final orbit around the first Sun-Earth Lagrange point. First science results are expected approximately 3 months thereafter. Here, we give an overview of the mission including the technologies being demonstrated.     

采用变速控制力矩陀螺的航天器自适应姿态跟踪和稳定控制研究

研究以变速控制力矩陀螺群(VSCMGs)为主执行机构的卫星功率/姿态一体化控制(IPACS)问题。针对卫星的三轴稳定控制和相对惯性系的姿态跟踪问题分别设计了两类自适应控制器,二者都考虑了执行机构的动力学特性,并进行了稳定性的证明。其中前者采用相对姿态描述,可以避免三轴稳定飞行中因惯性姿态旋转方向的选择而引起的控制力矩突变;后者采用改进的罗得里格斯参数(MRPs)描述姿态,简化了控制器设计过程并避免了运动学奇异。对姿态误差的描述,前者采用小姿态角假设下的偏差形式,后者采用现时姿态与期望姿态之间的方向余弦矩阵,更具有合理性。设计了能够逃离奇异、并具有轮速平衡功能的VSCMGs的操纵律,并应用磁力矩器为VSCMGs进行动量卸载。最后,通过两个算例进行了仿真,验证了所设计系统的可行性和有效性。     

2001 Mars Odyssey Mission Summary

The 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft, now in orbit at Mars, will observe the Martian surface at infrared and visible wavelengths to determine surface mineralogy and morphology, acquire global gamma ray and neutron observations for a full Martian year, and study the Mars radiation environment from orbit. The science objectives of this mission are to: (1) globally map the elemental composition of the surface, (2) determine the abundance of hydrogen in the shallow subsurface, (3) acquire high spatial and spectral resolution images of the surface mineralogy, (4) provide information on the morphology of the surface, and (5) characterize the Martian near-space radiation environment as related to radiation-induced risk to human explorers. To accomplish these objectives, the 2001 Mars Odyssey science payload includes a Gamma Ray Spectrometer (GRS), a multi-spectral Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS), and a radiation detector, the Martian Radiation Environment Experiment (MARIE). THEMIS and MARIE are mounted on the spacecraft with THEMIS pointed at nadir. GRS is a suite of three instruments: a Gamma Subsystem (GSS), a Neutron Spectrometer (NS) and a High-Energy Neutron Detector (HEND). The HEND and NS instruments are mounted on the spacecraft body while the GSS is on a 6-m boom. Some science data were collected during the cruise and aerobraking phases of the mission before the prime mission started. THEMIS acquired infrared and visible images of the Earth-Moon system and of the southern hemisphere of Mars. MARIE monitored the radiation environment during cruise. The GRS collected calibration data during cruise and aerobraking. Early GRS observations in Mars orbit indicated a hydrogen-rich layer in the upper meter of the subsurface in the Southern Hemisphere. Also, atmospheric densities, scale heights, temperatures, and pressures were observed by spacecraft accelerometers during aerobraking as the spacecraft skimmed the upper portions of the Martian atmosphere. This provided the first in-situ evidence of winter polar warming in the Mars upper atmosphere. The prime mission for 2001 Mars Odyssey began in February 2002 and will continue until August 2004. During this prime mission, the 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft will also provide radio relays for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and European landers in early 2004. Science data from 2001 Mars Odyssey instruments will be provided to the science community via NASA’s Planetary Data System (PDS). The first PDS release of Odyssey data was in October 2002; subsequent releases occur every 3 months.     

精确轨道航天器的姿态机动策略选择

航天器姿态控制一直是地面飞控的核心,尤其对于有精确轨道控制要求的航天器,姿态控制的策略选择直接关系任务成败。探月三期月地高速再入返回任务对再入角有着严格要求,为了实现返回器高精度再入,在系统介绍服务舱的姿态控制模式、控制方法和控制流程的基础上,提出了利用修改相平面参数和轮控调姿,以建立轨控姿态,从而减少姿控喷气,并提高轨控精度的方法。飞行结果表明,中途修正的控制精度从最初的分米量级提高至0.009m/s。高精度轨道控制使得提前32h再入角控制精度达到0.024°,较设计指标提高1个数量级。文中提及的轮控调姿方法可作为未来深空探测任务姿态控制的设计参考。     

Sustained data recording system based on disk array

Most sustained data recording systems in many real-time fields are based on tape equipments. We have developed an innovative sustained data recording system based on disk array which consists of Array Controller Module (ACM), String Controller Module (SCM) and Main Controller Module (MCM). This system has a better performance and higher reliability than the traditional tape recorder and can be used conveniently in many areas of data recording, storing, playback, and remote backup. This novel recording system has been used in radar data recorder for spacecraft orbit tracking and satellite remote sensing data recording successfully.     

MESSENGER Mission Design and Navigation

Nearly three decades after the Mariner 10 spacecraft’s third and final targeted Mercury flyby, the 3 August 2004 launch of the MESSENGER (MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging) spacecraft began a new phase of exploration of the closest planet to our Sun. In order to ensure that the spacecraft had sufficient time for pre-launch testing, the NASA Discovery Program mission to orbit Mercury experienced launch delays that required utilization of the most complex of three possible mission profiles in 2004. During the 7.6-year mission, the spacecraft’s trajectory will include six planetary flybys (including three of Mercury between January 2008 and September 2009), dozens of trajectory-correction maneuvers (TCMs), and a year in orbit around Mercury. Members of the mission design and navigation teams optimize the spacecraft’s trajectory, specify TCM requirements, and predict and reconstruct the spacecraft’s orbit. These primary mission design and navigation responsibilities are closely coordinated with spacecraft design limitations, operational constraints, availability of ground-based tracking stations, and science objectives. A few days after the spacecraft enters Mercury orbit in mid-March 2011, the orbit will have an 80° inclination relative to Mercury’s equator, a 200-km minimum altitude over 60°N latitude, and a 12-hour period. In order to accommodate science goals that require long durations during Mercury orbit without trajectory adjustments, pairs of orbit-correction maneuvers are scheduled every 88 days (once per Mercury year).     

The Dawn Ion Propulsion System

Dawn??s ion propulsion system (IPS) is the most advanced propulsion system ever built for a deep-space mission. Aside from the Mars gravity assist it provides all of the post-launch ??V required for the mission including the heliocentric transfer to Vesta, orbit capture at Vesta, transfer to various Vesta science orbits, escape from Vesta, the heliocentric transfer to Ceres, orbit capture at Ceres, and transfer to the different Ceres science orbits. The ion propulsion system provides a total ??V of nearly 11 km/s, comparable to the ??V provided by the 3-stage launch vehicle, and a total impulse of 1.2×10⁷ N?s.     

Near term approach to data relay for satellites under test

The increasing need for a continuous communications link with U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) spacecraft during test missions in low Earth orbit (LEG) has resulted in greater interest in geosynchronous data relay services. This may be a more economical alternative to building additional remote tracking stations for the Air Force Satellite Control Network (AFSCN), and avoids tying up operational assets for a test mission. A low-cost near-term approach for such a space-based data relay system would utilize two existing Defense Satellite Communication System III spacecraft, two existing ground terminals, and a small, standardized terminal using autonomous antenna pointing for the space vehicle under test. Such a system design is presented     

The Dawn Spacecraft

The Dawn spacecraft is designed to travel to and operate in orbit around the two largest main belt asteroids, Vesta and Ceres. Developed to meet a ten-year life and fully redundant, the spacecraft accommodates an ion propulsion system, including three ion engines and xenon propellant tank, utilizes large solar arrays to power the engines, carries the science instrument payload, and hosts the hardware and software required to successfully collect and transmit the scientific data back to Earth. The launch of the Dawn spacecraft in September 2007 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station was the culmination of nearly five years of design, development, integration and testing of this unique system, one of the very few scientific spacecraft to rely on ion propulsion. The Dawn spacecraft arrived at its first destination, Vesta, in July 2011, where it will conduct science operations for twelve months before departing for Ceres.     

THE CLUSTER DATA PROCESSING SYSTEM: A DISTRIBUTED SYSTEM IN SUPPORT OF A CHALLENGING SCIENTIFIC MISSION

The Cluster mission is aimed at the study of small-scale structures that are believed to be fundamental in determining the behaviour of key interactive processes of cosmic plasma. The mission will be controlled from the European Space Operations Centre (ESOC). ESOC is also in charge of the commanding of the scientific payloads on-board the four Cluster spacecraft after negotiation with the Cluster Principal Investigators (PIs) and of collecting and distributing the mission's scientific results to the Cluster community. This paper describes the process of translating the scientific requirements of the Cluster mission into a data-processing system supporting the mission via the definition of an appropriate operational scenario. In particular, the process of negotiation between the PIs and ESOC to command the spacecraft is mediated by the Joint Science Operations Centre (JSOC) and finalised by the Cluster Mission Planning System (CMPS) while the return of the data to the Cluster community is actuated by the Cluster Data Disposition System (CDDS). The Cluster Mission Control System (CMCS) provides the interface between these two systems and the spacecraft. These elements constitute the Cluster Data-Processing System (CDPS).     

Micromission spacecraft: a low-cost, high-capability platform for space science missions

The Ball Micromission Spacecraft (MSC) is a multi-purpose platform capable of supporting science missions at distances from the Sun ranging from 0.7 to 1.7 AU. In the baseline scenario, MSC is launched as a secondary payload on an Ariane 5 rocket from Kourou, French Guiana, to GTO using the Ariane 5 structure for auxiliary payloads (ASAP5). The maximum launch wet mass is 242 Kg and can include up to 45 Kg of payload depending on AV needs. The on-board propulsion system is used for maneuvering in the Earth-Moon system and injecting the spacecraft into its final orbit or trajectory. For Mars missions, MSC enables orbiting Mars for science payloads and/or communications and navigation assets, or for precision Mars fly-bys to drop up to six probes. The micromissions spacecraft bus can be used for science targets other than Mars, including the Moon, Earth, Venus, Earth-Sun Lagrange points, or other small bodies. This paper summarizes the current spacecraft concept and describes the multimission spacecraft bus implementation in more detail.     

Robot-aided remote inspection experiment on STS-85

The results are presented for the robot-aided spacecraft inspection experiments using a flaw detection algorithm called multi-images overcast (MIO), which were conducted as an extension of NASDA's Manipulator Flight Demonstration mission installed on space shuttle mission STS-85. These experiments are the first step towards research and development of the Orbital Maintenance System to support space systems by inspecting satellites, deorbiting useless satellites, and repairing satellites in orbit to utilize space systems effectively and reliably.     

霍尔推进系统扭矩特性分析及应用设计

为降低霍尔推进系统产生的扭矩长期作用于航天器对姿态控制造成的干扰,对其扭矩特性进行分析和优化设计,通过对扭矩的产生机理进行模型化分析,得到了放电参数对扭矩大小及方向的影响关系。分析表明,1kW～5kW功率级霍尔推力器工作时,会产生量级为10-4N?m的扭矩,通过控制励磁电流方向可改变扭矩方向。针对典型的全电推进飞行任务,通过提出霍尔推进系统扭矩主动控制设计,实现了对系统产生的扭矩进行相互抵消或者叠加利用,降低了系统的应用风险。     

Modeling of Thermal Perturbations Using Raytracing Method with Preliminary Results for a Test Case Model of the Pioneer 10/11 Radioisotopic Thermal Generators

Electromagnetic radiation emitted from a source carries momentum. Thus, the dissipation of waste thermal energy can produce disturbance forces on spacecraft surfaces if the energy is not dissipated in a symmetric pattern. This force can be computed for a plate element as the quotient of the radiated power in normal direction and the speed of light. Depending on mission and spacecraft design the resulting surface forces have to be included into the disturbance budget. At ZARM an elaborated method for the exact modeling of the disturbances caused by heat radiation was developed which can be used for any satellite mission with high requirements on perturbation knowledge (e.g. LISA, LISA pathfinder, MICROSCOPE). The method which will be presented in this paper is based on raytracing and finite element (FE) thermal analysis. As a demonstration of the potential of the method, preliminary results acquired with a test case model of the Pioneer 10/11 Radioisotopic Thermal Generators (RTGs) will be shown.     

CLUSTER MISSION OPERATIONS

The Cluster ground segment design and mission operations concept have been defined according to the basic mission requirements, namely, to allow the transfer of the four spacecraft from the initial geostationary transfer orbit achieved at separation from the launcher into the final highly elliptical polar orbits, such that in the areas of scientific interest along their orbits, the four spacecraft will form a tetrahedral configuration with pre-defined separation distances, to be changed every six months during the mission. The Cluster mission operations will be carried out by ESA from its European Space Operations Centre; the task of merging the Principal Investigators' requests into coordinated, regular scientific mission planning inputs to ESOC will be undertaken by the Joint Science Operations Centre. The mission products will be distributed to the scientific community regularly in form of CD-ROMs. Principal Investigators will also have access to quick-look science, housekeeping telemetry and auxiliary data via an electronic network.     

The Education and Public Outreach Program for NASA��s Dawn Mission

The Dawn mission??s Education and Public Outreach (E/PO) program takes advantage of the length of the mission, an effort to maintain level funding, and the exceptional support of the science and engineering teams to create formal and informal educational materials that bring STEM content and modes of thinking to students of all ages. With materials that are based on researched pedagogical principles and aligned with science education standards, Dawn weaves together many aspects of the mission to engage students, teachers, and the general public. E/PO tells the story of the discovery of the asteroid belt, uncovers principles of physics behind the ion propulsion that powers the spacecraft, and explains what we can learn from the instrumentation and how the mission??s results will expand our understanding of the origins of the solar system. In this way, we not only educate and inform, we build anticipation and expectation in the general public for the spacecraft??s arrival at Vesta in 2011 and three years later at Ceres. This chapter discusses the organization, strategies, formative assessment and dissemination of these materials and activities, and includes a section on lessons learned.     

POWOW: power without wires: a SEP concept for space exploration

Electric propulsion has emerged as a cost-effective solution to a wide range of satellite applications. Deep Space 1 successfully demonstrated electric propulsion as the primary propulsion source for a satellite. The POWOW concept is a solar-electric propelled spacecraft capable of significant cargo and short trip times for traveling to Mars. It would enter aerosynchronous orbit and from there, beam power to surface installations via lasers. The concept has been developed with industrial partner expertise in high efficiency solar cells, advanced concentrator modules, innovative arrays, and high power electric propulsion systems. The latest version of the spacecraft, the technologies used, and trip times to Mars are presented. The POWOW spacecraft is a general purpose solar electric propulsion system that uses new technologies that are directly applicable to commercial and government spacecraft with power levels ranging from a LEO power level of 4 kW up to GEO spacecraft about 1 MW. The system is modular, expandable, and amenable to learning curve cost projection methods     

The MESSENGER Spacecraft

The MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft was designed and constructed to withstand the harsh environments associated with achieving and operating in Mercury orbit. The system can be divided into eight subsystems: structures and mechanisms (e.g., the composite core structure, aluminum launch vehicle adapter, and deployables), propulsion (e.g., the state-of-the-art titanium fuel tanks, thruster modules, and associated plumbing), thermal (e.g., the ceramic-cloth sunshade, heaters, and radiators), power (e.g., solar arrays, battery, and controlling electronics), avionics (e.g., the processors, solid-state recorder, and data handling electronics), software (e.g., processor-supported code that performs commanding, data handling, and spacecraft control), guidance and control (e.g., attitude sensors including star cameras and Sun sensors integrated with controllers including reaction wheels), radio frequency telecommunications (e.g., the spacecraft antenna suites and supporting electronics), and payload (e.g., the science instruments and supporting processors). This system architecture went through an extensive (nearly four-year) development and testing effort that provided the team with confidence that all mission goals will be achieved. Larry E. Mosher passed away during the preparation of this paper.     

电推进在静止轨道空间碎片减缓中的应用

研究了电推进在静止轨道空间碎片减缓中应用的可行性和效果。通过分析电推进中离子推进的技术特点、发展和应用,阐明了用电推进将静止轨道卫星在寿命末期移高到“垃圾轨道”是可行的。提出了电推进采用沿飞行方向的常值推力,以多次双脉冲变轨方式工作的方案,并通过仿真计算,得出了该方案中推力大小、工作时间、特征速度、燃料消耗量等参数的确定方法和量化性指标,验证了电推进应用在空间碎片减缓中的作用和效果。探讨了电推进以脉冲方式工作的工程实现方案．     

混合小推力航天器轨道保持高性能滑模控制

针对采用太阳帆、太阳电混合小推力推进的航天器，研究了其在日心悬浮轨道的保持控制问题。为解决已有控制方法中未综合考虑内部未建模动态和外部未知扰动的问题，以及进一步提高系统控制性能，设计了一种高性能滑模控制策略。首先，考虑模型不确定性，建立了混合小推力航天器在日心悬浮轨道柱面坐标系的动力学方程；其次，基于改进型条件积分滑模面和径向基（RBF）神经网络设计了控制律，结合自适应方法在线估计不确定参数；接着，将求取的虚拟控制量在推进剂最优条件下转换成实际控制量，即太阳帆姿态角和太阳电推进力；最后，数值仿真验证了上述设计方法提高了系统鲁棒性，减小了轨道位置超调，并且混合推进相比于单一太阳帆推进，在更短收敛时间内控制精度提高了4个数量级，相比于单一太阳电推进，一年可以节省约89.6%的推进剂。