Orbit determination of BDS-3 satellite based on regional ground tracking station and inter-satellite link observations

The BeiDou global navigation satellite system (BDS-3) has established the Ka-band inter-satellite link (ISL) to realize a two-way ranging function between satellites, which provides a new observation technology for the orbit determination of BDS-3 satellites. Therefore, this study presents a BDS satellite orbit determination model based on ground tracking station (GTS) observations and ISL ranging observations firstly to analyze the impact of the ISL ranging observations on the orbit determination of BDS-3 satellites. Subsequently, considering the data fusion processing, the variance component estimation (VCE) algorithm is applied to the parameter estimation process of the satellite orbit determination. Finally, using the measured data from China’s regional GTS observations and BDS-3 ISL ranging observations, the effects of ISL ranging observations on the orbit determination accuracy of BDS-3 satellites are analyzed. Moreover, the impact of the VCE algorithm on the fusion data processing is evaluated from the aspects of orbit determination accuracy, Ka-band hardware delay parameter stability, and ISL ranging observation residuals. The results show that for China’s regional GTSs, the addition of BDS-3 ISL ranging observations can significantly improve the orbit determination accuracy of BDS-3 satellites. The observed orbit determination accuracy of satellite radial component is improved from 48 cm to 4.1 cm. In addition, when the initial weight ratio between GTS observations and ISL ranging observations is not appropriate, the various indicators which include orbit determination accuracy, ISL hardware delay, and ISL observation residuals were observed to have improved after the adjustment of the VCE algorithm. These results validate the effectiveness of the VCE algorithm for the fusion data processing of the GTS observations and ISL ranging observations.     

Cutting path-dependent machinability of SiCp/Al composite under multi-step ultra-precision diamond cutting

Particle-tool interactions, which govern the synergetic deformation of SiC particle reinforced Al matrix composites under mechanical machining, strongly depend on the geometry of particle position residing on cutting path. In the present work, we investigate the influence of cutting path on the machinability of a SiCp/Al composite in multi-step ultra-precision diamond cutting by combining finite element simulations with experimental observations and characterization. Be consistent with experimentally characterized microstructures, the simulated SiCp/Al composite is considered to be composed of randomly distributed polygonally-shaped SiC particles with a volume fraction of 25vol%. A multi-step cutting strategy with depths of cut ranging from 2 to 10 μm is adopted to achieve an ultimate depth of cut of 10 μm. Intrinsic material parameters and extrinsic cutting conditions utilized in finite element simulations of SiCp/Al cutting are consistent with those used in corresponding experiments. Simulation results reveal different particle-tool interactions and failure modes of SiC particles, as well as their correlations with machining force evolution, residual stress distribution and machined surface topography. A detailed comparison between numerical simulation results and experimental data of multi-step diamond cutting of SiCp/Al composite reveals a substantial impact of the number of cutting steps on particle-tool interactions and machined surface quality. These findings provide guidelines for achieving high surface finish of SiCp/Al composites by ultra-precision diamond cutting.     

Spacecraft formation flying control around L2 sun-earth libration point using on–off SDRE approach

In this paper, on–off SDRE control approach is presented for spacecraft formation flying control around sun-earth L2 libration point. Orbits around libration points are significant targets for many space missions mainly because of efficient fuel consumption. Furthermore, less propellant usage can be achieved by considering optimal control approaches in spacecraft formation flying control design. Among various nonlinear and optimal control methods, SDRE has shown to be a popular controller in various missions due to the privileges including efficiency, accuracy and robustness. The spacecraft are assumed to have on–off thrusters as actuators. It requires them to be fed with a sequence of on–off pulses which is regarded as a challenge for spacecraft designers. Hence, the main contribution of this paper is designing an on–off SDRE approach for the formation flight around sun-earth L2 point with uncertainty with energy and accuracy considerations. Including on–off input as a constraint is not feasible for SDRE implementation because it makes the system non-affine. An alternative is utilizing an integral action technique and an auxiliary control to make the system affine which leads to on–off SDRE approach. It has also been shown that the proposed method is robust against parametric uncertainties of the states. Present study aims to design an energy-beneficial, simple and attractive controller for a complex nonlinear system with on–off inputs and uncertainty in CRTBP. Simulation results show that the on–off SDRE control could provide the formation flight around L2 point with high accuracy using less energy consumption.     

Ionospheric total electron content response to annular solar eclipse on June 21, 2020

The effects of physical events on the ionosphere structure is an important field of study, especially for navigation and radio communication. The paper presents the spatio-temporal ionospheric TEC response to the recent annular solar eclipse on June 21, 2020, which spans across two continents, Africa and Asia, and 14 countries. This eclipse took place on the same day as the June Solstice. The Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) based TEC data of the Global Ionosphere Maps (GIMs), 9 International GNSS Service (IGS) stations and FORMOSAT-7/COSMIC-2 (F7/C2) were utilized to analyze TEC response during the eclipse. The phases of the TEC time series were determined by taking the difference of the observed TEC values on eclipse day from the previous 5-day median TEC values. The results showed clear depletions in the TEC time series on June 21. These decreases were between 1 and 9 TECU (15–60%) depending on the location of IGS stations. The depletions are relatively higher at the stations close to the path of annular eclipse than those farther away. Furthermore, a reduction of about ?10 TECU in the form of an equatorial plasma bubble (EPB) was observed in GIMs at ~20° away from the equator towards northpole, between 08:00–11:00 UT where its maximum phase is located in southeast Japan. Additionally, an overall depletion of ~10% was observed in F7/C2 derived TEC at an altitude of 240 km (hmF2) in all regions affected by the solar eclipse, whereas, significant TEC fluctuations between the altitudes of 100 km ? 140 km were analyzed using the Savitzky-Golay smoothing filter. To prove TEC depletions are not caused by space weather, the variation of the sunspot number (SSN), solar wind (V_SW), disturbance storm-time (Dst), and Kp indices were investigated from 16th to 22nd June. The quiet space weather before and during the solar eclipse proved that the observed depletions in the TEC time series and profiles were caused by the annular solar eclipse.     

Equatorial anomaly according to the Interkosmos-19 data and IRI model: A comparison

The comparison of the IRI model with the foF2 distribution in the equatorial anomaly region obtained by topside sounding onboard the Interkosmos-19 satellite has been carried out. The global distribution of foF2 in terms of LT-maps was constructed by averaging Intercosmos-19 data for summer, winter, and equinox. These maps, in fact, represent an empirical model of the equatorial anomaly for high solar activity F10.7 ~ 200. The comparison is carried out for the latitudinal foF2 profiles in the characteristic longitudinal sectors of 30, 90, 210, 270, and 330°, as well as for the longitudinal variations in foF2 over the equator. The largest difference between the models (up to 60%) for any season was found in the Pacific longitudinal sector of 210°, where there are a few ground-based sounding stations. Considerable discrepancies, however, are sometimes observed in the longitudinal sectors, where there are many ground-based stations, for example, in the European or Indian sector. The discrepancies reach their maximum at 00 LT, since a decay of the equatorial anomaly begins before midnight in the IRI model and after midnight according to the Interkosmos-19 data. The discrepancies are also large in the morning at 06 LT, since in the IRI model, the foF2 growth begins long before sunrise. In the longitudinal variations in foF2 over the equator at noon, according to the satellite data, four harmonics are distinguished in the June solstice and at the equinox, and three harmonics in the December solstice, while in the IRI model only two and one harmonics respectively are revealed. In diurnal variations in foF2 and, accordingly, in the equatorial anomaly intensity, the IRI model does not adequately reproduce even the main, evening extremum.     

GEO/IGSO混合区域导航星座的设计与优化算法

区域导航星座能够以较低成本和较短时间获得目标区域导航能力，且地球同步轨道是构建非极区区域导航星座的重要轨道类型。提出一种基于GEO（地球静止轨道）和IGSO（倾斜地球同步轨道）的区域导航星座设计方法。基于星下点轨迹特性构造对称星座设计参数和优化参数集，并考虑地球扁率长期摄动影响，计算星座轨道参数。以导航服务区的统计GDOP（几何精度因子）为目标函数，利用差分进化算法构建星座优化模型。以印度IRNSS的7星星座为例，仿真检验了设计和优化算法的正确性，讨论了IRNSS星座优化构型和轨道类型选取。本方法采用的对称星座设计参数少，能够提升GEO/IGSO混合区域导航星座的全局优化效率，为后续非对称星座快速提供最佳星数和构型设计。     

Validation of non-linear split window algorithm for land surface temperature estimation using Sentinel-3 satellite imagery: Case study; Tehran Province,Iran

In recent years, land surface temperature (LST) has become critical in environmental studies and earth science. Remote sensing technology enables spatiotemporal monitoring of this parameter on large scales. This parameter can be estimated by satellite images with at least one thermal band. Sentinel-3 SLSTR data provide LST products with a spatial resolution of 1 km. In this research, direct and indirect validation procedures were employed to evaluate the Sentinel-3 SLSTR LST products over the study area in different seasons from 2018 to 2019. The validation method was based on the absolute (direct) evaluation of this product with field data and comparison (indirect) evaluation with the MODIS LST product and the estimated LST using the non-linear split-window (NSW) algorithm. Also, two emissivity estimation methods, (1) NDVI thresholding method (NDVI-THM) and (2) classification-based emissivity method (CBEM), were used to estimate the LST using the NSW method according to the two thermal bands of Sentinel-3 images. Then, the accuracy of these methods in estimating LST was evaluated using field data and temporal changes of vegetation, which the NDVI-THM method generated better results. For indirect evaluation between the Sentinel-3 LST product, MODIS LST product, and LST estimated using NSW, four filters based on spatial and temporal separates between pairs of pixels and pixel quality were used to ensure the accuracy and consistency of the compared pairs of a pixel. In general, the accuracy results of the LST products of MODIS and Sentinel-3, and LST estimated using NSW showed a similar trend for LST changes during the seasons. With respect to the two absolute and comparative validations for the Sentinel-3 LST products, summer with the highest values of bias (?1.24 K), standard deviation (StDv = 2.66 K), and RMSE (2.43 K), and winter with the lowest ones (bias of 0.14 K, StDv of 1.13 K, and RMSE of 1.12 K) provided the worst and best results for the seasons in the period of 2018–2019, respectively. According to both absolute and comparative evaluation results, the Sentinel-3 SLSTR LST products provided reliable results for all seasons on a large temporal and spatial scale over our studied area.     

微等离子体转化二氧化碳发射光谱诊断

火星大气层的主要成分为二氧化碳，如果能够利用低温等离子体方法高效分解二氧化碳，使其转化为氧气和一氧化碳加以利用，可以大幅降低航天员生命保障相关载荷长途运输的成本，进一步提高生命保障能力。低温等离子体放电过程中会产生大量活性组分，可以在数百度温度下实现二氧化碳的高效解离，是具有很大潜力的二氧化碳解离与转化方式。设计了一种尺度在亚毫米级、功率输入为数瓦的直流微槽等离子体反应器，可以在较低气体温度下实现二氧化碳分解。测量了反应器电流、功率等放电参数，采用发射光谱确定了体系中激发态组分，分析了激发态粒子谱线强度随输入电压、稀释气体比例等反应器工作参数变化，利用氮气分子振转谱带测量了等离子体放电区振动温度和气体温度。研究表明，添加氩、氦、氮气均可以增强二氧化碳的分解，添加氦气可以促进二氧化碳的电离过程。稀释气体激发态因具有高能量，可以通过潘宁解离通道增强二氧化碳分解。氦组分激发态的能量高于二氧化碳电离能，可以促进二氧化碳的电离反应。微等离子体内存在强烈的振动 平动非平衡现象：振动温度约为4400~4800K，而气体温度仅为450 ~600K，表明可以通过合理的放电和结构设计，定向将能量注入到振动态，从而进一步促进二氧化碳的振动解离。     

SiC/CVD SiC复合涂层的抗氧化及抗热震性能研究

为了提高C/SiC复合材料耐高温性能,采用泥浆浸渍裂解与真空化学气相沉积(CVD)在材料表面制备了SiC/CVD SiC复合涂层,通过XRD、SEM分析了涂层组成与结构;研究了复合涂层的高温抗氧化(700～1 500℃)和抗热震性能。结果表明,泥浆浸渍法制备的SiC涂层具有一定的封孔效果,可使材料开孔率下降,但高温抗氧化效果并不佳,1 200℃氧化10 min后材料弯曲强度保留率下降明显仅有86%。CVD SiC涂层结构致密,与SiC封孔涂层结合较好,在700～1 500℃具有较好的抗氧化效果,随着氧化温度的升高,氧化后涂层完好,表面O元素逐渐增加,材料失重率缓慢增加但不大于0.5%,且材料性能并未下降。涂层材料在1 200℃-10 min短时热震5次后材料弯曲强度保留率仍有95%以上,且未出现开裂、剥落等热震损伤。在1 200℃-30 min长时热震10次后,涂层材料基本被完全氧化,材料失去保护作用,弯曲强度下降至90%左右。