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.     

Estimating the spin axis orientation of the Echostar-2 box-wing geosynchronous satellite

For the first time, the spin axis orientation of an inactive box-wing geosynchronous satellite has been estimated from ground-based optical photometric observations of Echostar-2’s specular reflections. Recent photometric light curves obtained of Echostar-2 over four years suggest that unusually bright and brief specular reflections were occurring twice within an observed spin period. These bright and brief specular reflections suggested two satellite surfaces with surface normals separated by approximately 180°. The geometry between the satellite, the Sun, and the observing location at the time of each of the brightest observed reflections, was used to estimate Echostar-2’s equatorial spin axis orientation coordinates. When considering prograde and retrograde rotation, Echostar-2’s spin axis orientation was estimated to have been located within 30° of either equatorial coordinate pole. Echostar-2’s spin axis was observed to have moved approximately 180° in right ascension, within a time span of six months, suggesting a roughly one year spin axis precession period about the satellite’s angular momentum vector.     

航天器安全防护保障探讨

把对航天器安全的威胁分为硬和软两大类，分析了对航天器产生威胁的类别，以及为保证航天器安全而需要采取的措施。介绍了研究的内容，需要建设的空间信息对抗系统和空间信息探测网。     

Issues of geologically-focused situational awareness in robotic planetary missions: Lessons from an analogue mission at Mistastin Lake impact structure,Labrador, Canada

Remote robotic data provides different information than that obtained from immersion in the field. This significantly affects the geological situational awareness experienced by members of a mission control science team. In order to optimize science return from planetary robotic missions, these limitations must be understood and their effects mitigated to fully leverage the field experience of scientists at mission control.     

面向持续战域感知的近空间飞行器技术

未来战争呈全空域立体化发展趋势,近空间的深入探索和有效利用日益受到重视.本文从热力学特性和电离特性角度,概述了近空间大气环境.重点以持续的战域感知为军事应用背景,介绍了现有的C4ISR能力,进而归纳评述了相关近空间飞行器的技术发展、工程设计、概念应用.分析指出,近空间无人HALE飞机具有填补持续的C4ISR能力中所有空缺的潜力.     

Physical characterization of the deep-space debris WT1190F: A testbed for advanced SSA techniques

We report on extensive ${\mathit{BVR}}_c{I}_c$ photometry and low-resolution ($\lambda /\mathrm{\Delta }\lambda ～250$) spectroscopy of the deep-space debris WT1190F, which impacted Earth offshore from Sri Lanka, on 2015 November 13. In spite of its likely artificial origin (as a relic of some past lunar mission), the case offered important points of discussion for its suggestive connection with the envisaged scenario for a (potentially far more dangerous) natural impactor, like an asteroid or a comet.Our observations indicate for WT1190F an absolute magnitude $R_c={32.45}_{\pm 0.31}$, with a flat dependence of reflectance on the phase angle, such as ${\mathit{dR}}_c/d?～{0.007}_{\pm 2}$?mag?deg^?1. The detected short-timescale variability suggests that the body was likely spinning with a period twice the nominal figure of $P_{\mathrm{flash}}={1.4547}_{\pm 0.0005}\mathrm{s}$, as from the observed lightcurve. In the ${\mathit{BVR}}_c{I}_c$ color domain, WT1190F closely resembled the Planck deep-space probe. This match, together with a depressed reflectance around 4000 and 8500 Å may be suggestive of a “grey” (aluminized) surface texture.The spinning pattern remained in place also along the object fiery entry in the atmosphere, a feature that may have partly shielded the body along its fireball phase perhaps leading a large fraction of its mass to survive intact, now lying underwater along a tight ($～1\times 80$?km) strip of sea, at a depth of 1500?m or less.Under the assumption of Lambertian scatter, an inferred size of ${216}_{\pm 30}/\sqrt{\alpha /0.1}$?cm is obtained for WT1190F. By accounting for non-gravitational dynamical perturbations, the Area-to-Mass ratio of the body was in the range $(0.006?\mathit{AMR}?0.011)$?m²?kg^?1.Both these figures resulted compatible with the two prevailing candidates to WT1190F’s identity, namely the Athena II Trans-Lunar Injection Stage of the Lunar Prospector mission, and the ascent stage of the Apollo 10 lunar module, callsign “Snoopy”. Both candidates have been analyzed in some detail here through accurate 3D CAD design mockup modelling and BRDF reflectance rendering to derive the inherent photometric properties to be compared with the observations.     

Association of optical tracklets from a geosynchronous belt survey via the direct Bayesian admissible region approach

The direct Bayesian admissible region approach is an a priori state free measurement association and initial orbit determination technique for optical tracks. In this paper, we test a hybrid approach that appends a least squares estimator to the direct Bayesian method on measurements taken at the Zimmerwald Observatory of the Astronomical Institute at the University of Bern. Over half of the association pairs agreed with conventional geometric track correlation and least squares techniques. The remaining pairs cast light on the fundamental limits of conducting tracklet association based solely on dynamical and geometrical information.     

试论情景意识在空中交通管制中的具体应用

空中交通管制活动的重要性和复杂性决定了管制员必须具有较高的情景意识水平。本文结合笔者在实际管制工作中的体会,从对管制员自我的认知、对空中动态的掌握、对空域信息的管理、对陆空通话的加强、对团队合作的优化等方面简单谈一谈情景意识在管制工作中的具体应用。     

大城市消费者对日本大米的购买意愿及其影响因素——以北京市为例

对北京市的消费者对日本大米的认知程度、接受程度和购买意愿及其影响因素等问题进行了问卷调查.通过对所得数据进行分析,得出女性消费者、购买食品时对价格较为关注的消费者更倾向于购买日本大米;消费者的学历、收入、家庭人口数、受教育程度、时间压力、对食品质量安全的关心程度、对日本大米的了解程度与是否购买日本大米、购买日本大米量的多少呈正相关关系;而消费者年龄、价格在影响消费者购买日本大米的行为上并不显著.最后,依据上述结论,给出相关的政策建议.     

基于时域光度探测的卫星频率特性反演研究

卫星的行为特性、意图判断、健康状态诊断等对于空间态势感知具有重要意义,而传统的探测手段无法确定在轨卫星是否正常运行。时域光度探测作为一种新型遥感探测技术,利用高速、低噪声的探测器对卫星机动调制的光学信号进行采样,解调后可反演卫星频率、振动等特性。文章针对低轨卫星目标,首先建立基于形态学滤波来抑制自然天体干扰的空间目标跟踪定位模型,获取目标时域光度信息,再采用频谱分析方法,获取目标频率特性与运行特征。结果表明,文章提出的时域光度探测技术,在卫星频率特性反演和卫星运行状态识别方面具有较好的应用前景。