Scientific Planning and Commanding of the Rosetta Payload

ESA’s Rosetta mission was launched in March 2004 and is on its way to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, where it is scheduled to arrive in summer 2014. It comprises a payload of 12 scientific instruments and a Lander. All instruments are provided by Principal Investigators, which are responsible for their operations. As for most ESA science missions, the ground segment of the mission consists of a Mission Operations Centre (MOC) and a Science Operations Centre (SOC). While the MOC is responsible for all spacecraft-related aspects and the final uplink of all command timelines to the spacecraft, the scientific operations of the instruments and the collection of the data and ingestion into the Planetary Science Archive are coordinated by the SOC. This paper focuses on the tasks of the SOC and in particular on the methodology and constraints to convert the scientific goals of the Rosetta mission to operational timelines.     

计算机辅助任意多边形排料

 本文描述了一种计算机辅助排料的算法。它能自动处理二维不规则形状物体的排料。排料的处理过程分为两个阶段。现介绍的为第一阶段的算法。计算实例表明,该方法可以明显减少计算量。并具有原材料利用率高的特点。 飞机蒙皮等钣金件的下料就涉及到大量的排料问题,在整张的金属板材上排成所需要的零件形状。     

声激励增升效应研究

二元后台阶低速风洞实验表明,用内部声激励控制脱落旋涡能够获得有利的增升效应。实验还得出激励频率、旋涡自然脱落主频及旋涡脱落主频之间的关系;并给出了模型表面压力随声压级及频率变化的规律。本文将对二元翼型及三角翼等内部声激励的应用研究提供有价值的实验结果。     

Comparison of ≳40 keV Electron Events at High and Low Heliolatitudes: Ulysses/HI-SCALE and ACE/EPAM

We have performed a joint survey of anisotropic ≳40 keV electron events from August 1997 to September 2000 using the matched detectors on the Ulysses (ULS)/HI-SCALE and the ACE/EPAM instruments. A computer algorithm selected events with strong, statistically significant pitch-angle anisotropies. Electron pitch-angle distributions at ACE (∼1 AU) are often ‘beams’ that are strongly collimated along the local interplanetary magnetic field (IMF). These flare-associated impulsive injections can display rapid rise times (∼15 min) and slower decays, or more irregular intensity histories. At ULS, the electron intensities are lower and the time histories smoother, but strong anisotropies are still observable, indicating direct, nearly field-aligned propagation outward from the Sun. We focus on four event periods, selected from the survey, during times when the angle between the footpoints of the IMF lines intersecting ACE and ULS is small. These events span three full years and cover a wide range of distances and heliographic latitudes. We found one reasonably good association between impulsive electron events at ACE and ULS, and two events with small field-aligned gradients. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Visualization and PIV study of wing-tip vortices for three different tip configurations

The planform, profile, and cross-sectional views of the wing-tip region of a half-wing model with an aspect ratio of 3.2 and three different wing configurations, namely, square-cut, simple fairing, and Whitcomb?s full winglet wing-tip, were visualized at various angles of attack using smoke-wire visualization technique. Visualization pictures clearly show that the wing-tip vortices at different angles of attack and wing-tip configurations had distinct formation and structure characteristics. A comparison of simple fairing and Whitcomb?s winglet configurations shows that the wing-tip vortices of the Whitcomb?s winglet configuration were reduced in strength and displaced outboard and upward, at least in the near-wake region. This resulted in an increased lift-to-drag ratio for the Whitcomb?s winglet configuration. The changes in the wing-tip vortex characteristics and the improved aerodynamic performance of the winglet were confirmed by Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) measurements of the cross-flow velocity of the wing-tip trailing regions and the force measurement of the model.     

The Relativistic Proton Spectrometer (RPS) for the Radiation Belt Storm Probes Mission

The Relativistic Proton Spectrometer (RPS) on the Radiation Belt Storm Probes spacecraft is a particle spectrometer designed to measure the flux, angular distribution, and energy spectrum of protons from ～60 MeV to ～2000 MeV. RPS will investigate decades-old questions about the inner Van Allen belt proton environment: a nearby region of space that is relatively unexplored because of the hazards of spacecraft operation there and the difficulties in obtaining accurate proton measurements in an intense penetrating background. RPS is designed to provide the accuracy needed to answer questions about the sources and losses of the inner belt protons and to obtain the measurements required for the next-generation models of trapped protons in the magnetosphere. In addition to detailed information for individual protons, RPS features count rates at a 1-second timescale, internal radiation dosimetry, and information about electrostatic discharge events on the RBSP spacecraft that together will provide new information about space environmental hazards in the Earth’s magnetosphere.     

Mercury’s Weather-Beaten Surface: Understanding Mercury in the Context of Lunar and Asteroidal Space Weathering Studies

Mercury’s regolith, derived from the crustal bedrock, has been altered by a set of space weathering processes. Before we can interpret crustal composition, it is necessary to understand the nature of these surface alterations. The processes that space weather the surface are the same as those that form Mercury’s exosphere (micrometeoroid flux and solar wind interactions) and are moderated by the local space environment and the presence of a global magnetic field. To comprehend how space weathering acts on Mercury’s regolith, an understanding is needed of how contributing processes act as an interactive system. As no direct information (e.g., from returned samples) is available about how the system of space weathering affects Mercury’s regolith, we use as a basis for comparison the current understanding of these same processes on lunar and asteroidal regoliths as well as laboratory simulations. These comparisons suggest that Mercury’s regolith is overturned more frequently (though the characteristic surface time for a grain is unknown even relative to the lunar case), more than an order of magnitude more melt and vapor per unit time and unit area is produced by impact processes than on the Moon (creating a higher glass content via grain coatings and agglutinates), the degree of surface irradiation is comparable to or greater than that on the Moon, and photon irradiation is up to an order of magnitude greater (creating amorphous grain rims, chemically reducing the upper layers of grains to produce nanometer-scale particles of metallic iron, and depleting surface grains in volatile elements and alkali metals). The processes that chemically reduce the surface and produce nanometer-scale particles on Mercury are suggested to be more effective than similar processes on the Moon. Estimated abundances of nanometer-scale particles can account for Mercury’s dark surface relative to that of the Moon without requiring macroscopic grains of opaque minerals. The presence of nanometer-scale particles may also account for Mercury’s relatively featureless visible–near-infrared reflectance spectra. Characteristics of material returned from asteroid 25143 Itokawa demonstrate that this nanometer-scale material need not be pure iron, raising the possibility that the nanometer-scale material on Mercury may have a composition different from iron metal [such as (Fe,Mg)S]. The expected depletion of volatiles and particularly alkali metals from solar-wind interaction processes are inconsistent with the detection of sodium, potassium, and sulfur within the regolith. One plausible explanation invokes a larger fine fraction (grain size <45 μm) and more radiation-damaged grains than in the lunar surface material to create a regolith that is a more efficient reservoir for these volatiles. By this view the volatile elements detected are present not only within the grain structures, but also as adsorbates within the regolith and deposits on the surfaces of the regolith grains. The comparisons with findings from the Moon and asteroids provide a basis for predicting how compositional modifications induced by space weathering have affected Mercury’s surface composition.     

Measurement of middle atmospheric ozone density profile by rocket-borne radiometer onboard KSR-II

KSR-II, a two-stage sounding rocket of KARI was launched successfully at the Korean Peninsula on June 11, 1998. The apogee of the rocket was 137 km. For the ozone measurement, 8-channel UV and visible radiometers were onboard the rocket. The rocket measured an in situ stratospheric and mesospheric ozone density profile over Korea during its ascending phase using the radiometer and transmitted the data to ground station in real time. The maximum ozone density occurs near 25 km. Retrieved profile has a random error (1σ) of approximately 15% for altitude below 20km, 7% between 20-50 km and 10% greater than 50 km. The retrieved data were compared with Dobson spectrophotometer, ozonesonde, and HALOE onboard the UARS. Our results are in reasonable agreements with others.     

Strapdown INS error model for multiposition alignment

The relationship between quaternion errors and tilt angles from true navigation frame to analytic platform frame is newly derived for strapdown inertial navigation system (SDINS). Using the relationship it is shown that the quaternion error model for attitude and velocity is equivalent to the conventional perturbation error model. Based upon the equivalency, the quaternion errors during a multiposition alignment are determined and analyzed. Furthermore, it is shown that the heading rotation of 180 deg achieves the minimal quaternion error for 2-position ground alignment     

脉冲爆震发动机孔板型气动阀工作特性实验研究

采用流动显示和压力测量两种手段对应用于脉冲爆震发动机的三种不同阻塞比孔板型气动阀进行了试验研究.研究结果表明,在不存在燃烧的流场里,孔板型气动阀具有较强的阻隔压力波动的能力;然而对于采用自适应供油的脉冲爆震发动机,发动机点火后,由于压差,燃油液雾必然向上游流动,孔板型气动阀将处于可燃混合物中,较强的燃烧火焰穿越孔板时,孔板将担当起射流点火的作用,从而加速火焰的传播,最终破坏孔板阻隔压力回传的作用;增大孔板阻塞比可以减少燃油液雾的反流量,这有助于爆震室对进气系统的影响.