Electromagnetic shielding of thermal protection system for hypersonic vehicles

The numerical simulation and the measurement of electromagnetic shielding at microwave frequencies of thermal protection system for hypersonic vehicles is presented using nested reverberation chamber. An example of a possible thermal protection system for a re-entry vehicle is presented. This system based on carbon material is electromagnetically characterized. The characterization takes into account not only the materials but also the final assembly configuration of the thermal protection system. The frequency range is 2–8 GHz. The results of measurements and simulations show that the microwave shielding effectiveness of carbon materials is above 60 dB for a single tile and that the tile inter-distance is able to downgrade the shielding effectiveness on the average to about 40 dB.     

TanDEM-X: A radar interferometer with two formation-flying satellites

TanDEM-X (TerraSAR-X add-on for Digital Elevation Measurements) is an innovative formation-flying radar mission that opens a new era in spaceborne radar remote sensing. The primary objective is the acquisition of a global digital elevation model (DEM) with unprecedented accuracy (12 m horizontal resolution and 2 m relative height accuracy). This goal is achieved by extending the TerraSAR-X synthetic aperture radar (SAR) mission by a second, TerraSAR-X like satellite (TDX) flying in close formation with TerraSAR-X (TSX). Both satellites form together a large single-pass SAR interferometer with the opportunity for flexible baseline selection. This enables the acquisition of highly accurate cross-track interferograms without the inherent accuracy limitations imposed by repeat-pass interferometry due to temporal decorrelation and atmospheric disturbances. Besides the primary goal of the mission, several secondary mission objectives based on along-track interferometry as well as new bistatic and multistatic SAR techniques have been defined, representing an important and innovative asset of the TanDEM-X mission. TanDEM-X is implemented in the framework of a public–private partnership between the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and EADS Astrium GmbH. The TanDEM-X satellite was successfully launched in June 2010 and the mission started its operational data acquisition in December 2010. This paper provides an overview of the TanDEM-X mission and summarizes its actual status and performance. Furthermore, results from several scientific radar experiments are presented that show the great potential of future formation-flying interferometric SAR missions to serve novel remote sensing applications.     

Wall pressure fluctuations induced by transonic boundary layers on a launcher model

Wind tunnel tests on a scaled model of the VEGA aerospace launcher have been performed at transonic Mach numbers and for variable angle of incidence in order to characterize the statistics of the wall pressure fluctuations during different flight conditions. Pressure signals are measured simultaneously in several positions along the model and are analyzed both in the physical domain and in the Fourier space focalizing attention in the region where the payload would be located. The time domain analysis reveals that the propagation of pressure perturbations within the turbulent boundary layer is driven by two different mechanisms, one associated to hydrodynamic pseudo-sound effects and the other to pure acoustic effects. The statistical results are interpreted within the framework of literature spectral models and the physical mechanisms underlying the observed behaviours, in particular the effect of a shock wave moving downstream for increasing Mach numbers, are retrieved with the aid of Schlieren flow visualizations.     

A novel approximation of basic probability assignment based on rank-level fusion

Belief functions theory is an important tool in the field of information fusion. However, when the cardinality of the frame of discernment becomes large, the high computational cost of evidence combination will become the bottleneck of belief functions theory in real applications. The basic probability assignment (BPA) approximations, which can reduce the complexity of the BPAs, are always used to reduce the computational cost of evidence combination. In this paper, both the cardinalities and the mass assignment values of focal elements are used as the criteria of reduction. The two criteria are jointly used by using rank-level fusion. Some experiments and related analyses are provided to illustrate and justify the proposed new BPA approximation approach.     

火星大气进入段轨迹优化与制导技术研究进展

首先根据国际上实施的火星探测任务及未来火星着陆探测的发展需求，阐述火星大气进入段轨迹优化与制导的重要性。结合火星着陆环境和探测器的气动特性等，归纳出火星大气进入段轨迹优化与制导面临的挑战。在此基础上，结合未来火星着陆任务的安全精确着陆目标，梳理火星大气进入段轨迹优化与制导所需解决的关键技术，分析目前火星进入段轨迹优化与制导技术研究进展及发展趋势。最后，对未来火星精确着陆所需的进入段轨迹优化与制导技术发展方向进行了展望。     

A novel single thruster control strategy for spacecraft attitude stabilization

Feasibility of achieving three axis attitude stabilization using a single thruster is explored in this paper. Torques are generated using a thruster orientation mechanism with which the thrust vector can be tilted on a two axis gimbal. A robust nonlinear control scheme is developed based on the nonlinear kinematic and dynamic equations of motion of a rigid body spacecraft in the presence of gravity gradient torque and external disturbances. The spacecraft, controlled using the proposed concept, constitutes an underactuated system (a system with fewer independent control inputs than degrees of freedom) with nonlinear dynamics. Moreover, using thruster gimbal angles as control inputs make the system non-affine (control terms appear nonlinearly in the state equation). This necessitates the control algorithms to be developed based on nonlinear control theory since linear control methods are not directly applicable. The stability conditions for the spacecraft attitude motion for robustness against uncertainties and disturbances are derived to establish the regions of asymptotic 3-axis attitude stabilization. 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.     

Parameters design of vibration isolation platform for control moment gyroscopes

Vibration isolation is a direct and effective approach to improve the ultra-precise pointing capability of a high resolution remote sensing satellite. In this paper, a passive multi-strut vibration isolation platform for the control moment gyroscopes in a pyramid configuration on a satellite is adopted and the parameter design of this platform is discussed. The first step constructs a whole satellite dynamic model including the control moment gyroscopes and the vibration isolation platform with Newton–Euler method, while the analytical control moment gyroscopes disturbance model is derived. The transmissibility matrix of the vibration isolation platform is then obtained, and the frequency domain characteristics of the platform are described, with its influence on the attitude control system analyzed. The third part presents the parameter design method of the vibration isolation platform based on the frequency domain characteristics mentioned above. The stiffness and damping coefficients of this platform are subsequently selected with the above mentioned method. Finally, using these parameters, the performance of the vibration isolation platform on the satellite is testified by integrated simulations. The study shows that parameters of this platform selected based on this method not only satisfy the requirement of vibration isolation but also guarantee that the closed-loop attitude control system remains sufficiently stable.     

Ignition of fuel sprays by shock wave mathematical modeling and numerical simulation

The paper presents the results of developing of physical and mathematical model making it possible to take into account the effect of droplets non-uniformity in space and size distribution on ignition conditions for fuel sprays. The influence of condensed phase volume fraction on ignition and combustion of sprays was studied, physical and mathematical models for multi-phase flows, mixture formation and combustion of liquid fuels based on solving Navier–Stokes equations for gas phase accounting for thermal and mechanical interaction with poly-dispersed droplets array. The problems of particulate phase dynamics are regarded accounting for the interaction with gas phase atomization, evaporation and combustion.It was shown that depending on droplet size distribution and aerosol cloud density different flow scenarios were possible.Several ignition zones could be formed behind incident shock wave depending on mixture properties and initiation parameters. The possibility of numerical simulation permitting variation of definite parameters only made it possible to explain this fact.     

A language based on analogy to communicate cultural concepts in SETI

The present paper is a synthesis of three presentation given by myself at the Toulouse IAC 2001 (Analogy as a tool to communicate abstract concepts in SETI), the Bremen IAC 2003 (From maths to culture: towards an effective message), and the Vancouver IAC 2004 (Philosophical and religious implications of extraterrestrial intelligent life). Its aim is to find a way to make our cultural concepts understandable to hypothetical extraterrestrials (ETs) in a SETI communication. First of all, I expose the reasons why I think that analogy could be a good tool for this purpose. Then, I try to show that this is possible only in the context of an integrated language, using both abstract symbols and pictures, also sketching two practical examples about some basic concepts of our moral and religious tradition. Further studies are required to determine whether this method could be extended to the higher-level abstract concepts in the other fields of our culture. Finally, I discuss the possible role of mathematics, logic and natural science in the construction of an analogy-based language for interstellar messages with a cultural content and a possible way of managing this matter from a social point of view.     

太阳电池阵的铰链副刚度参数识别

为正确识别太阳电池阵铰链副的刚度参数,用形状简单、建模相对容易的有机玻璃板列阵不同状态下模态试验结果估计待识别参数的初始值,通过线性化目标函数,将参数识别归为易求解的数学规划问题,最终直接用商用有限元分析程序和数学软件实现参数识别。识别结果表明,理论计算值与试验结果基本吻合。