A DLR small satellite mission for the investigation of hot spots, vegetation and clouds

Starting from their FIRES proposal [1]the DLR makes a new approach in the design of a small satellite mission dedicated to hot spot detection and evaluation: the BIRD mission. The new approach is characterized by a strict design-to-cost philosophy. A two-channel infrared sensor system in combination with a Wide-Angle Optoelectronic Stereo Scanner (WAOSS) shall be the payload of a small satellite (80kg) considered for piggyback launch. So the launch is not a main cost driver as for other small satellite missions with dedicated launchers. The paper describes the mission objectives, the scientific payload, the spacecraft bus, and the mission architecture of a small satellite mission dedicated to the investigation of hot spots (forest fires, volcanic activities, burning oil wells or coal seams), of vegetation condition and changes and of clouds. The paper represents some results of a phase A study and of the progressing phase B.     

A bistatic SAR mission for earth observation based on a small satellite

The authors present a new scientific space mission consisting of a satellite carrying a receiving- only SAR which receives the signal transmitted by the ENVISAT-1 SAR. The integration of ENVISAT-1 SAR and bistatic radar data offers an improved potentiality of surface classification, three-dimensional observation, and the opportunity of advanced scientific experiments in the field of bistatic scattering. The small satellite nominal orbit and the attitude manoeuvres are designed in order to maintain an adequate overlap between the two radar swaths along the whole orbit, taking into account the ENVISAT-1 attitude and pointing. A preliminary satellite design (2-year lifetime) is then performed to evaluate the orbit decay and to determine the appropriate orbit manoeuvres (every 4 days) to control the satellites relative phase. The numerical simulation shows that a spacecraft of about 584kg is able to meet the mission requirements.     

基于多阶段决策的侦察卫星任务规划研究

为解决侦察卫星任务规划中合理分配任务和避免信息传输冲突的问题,建立了基于多阶段决策的侦察卫星任务规划模型,包括任务分配模型和传输调度模型,并根据运筹学的基本原理,给出了求解模型的基本方法,从求解结果来看,该模型具有一定的理论与应用价值。     

Mature systems for small satellite missions

Over the past several years Satellites International has developed an integrated suite of satellite sub-systems and small satellite buses. The sub-systems include S-band communications, attitude sensing and control, power conversion and distribution, and on-board data handling. They are inherently modular and readily adaptable to different satellite configurations, a concept known as semi-standardisation. This concept has been adopted by two generic low-cost buses: MicroSIL for satellites in the mass range 40–80kg; and MiniSIL for satellites in the range 100–500kg. Their architecture is based on the semi-standard sub-systems, but easily modified to utilise sub-systems from other manufacturers. They can support all stabilisation methods including spinning, 3-axis control and gravity gradient and are adaptable to a wide variety of missions including Earth resources, scientific, communications and technology demonstration. The Company also manufactures a range of low cost ground support equipment and complete ground stations to complement the space-borne systems.     

小卫星的鲁棒自适应姿态控制

对于中低轨道的小卫星而言，设计能克服参数不确定性及非参数不确定性影响的鲁棒自适应控制器具有重要的工程意义和理论价值。考虑存在参数不确定性及非参数不确定性，分析了小卫星的姿态动力学及运动学方程，设计出了一种鲁棒自适应控制器，证明了该控制器可以保证控制系统全局一致最终有界稳定。仿真结果验证了该控制器的有效性。     

Design and implementation of the flight dynamics system for COMS satellite mission operations

The first Korean multi-mission geostationary Earth orbit satellite, Communications, Ocean, and Meteorological Satellite (COMS) was launched by an Ariane 5 launch vehicle in June 26, 2010. The COMS satellite has three payloads including Ka-band communications, Geostationary Ocean Color Imager, and Meteorological Imager. Although the COMS spacecraft bus is based on the Astrium Eurostar 3000 series, it has only one solar array to the south panel because all of the imaging sensors are located on the north panel. In order to maintain the spacecraft attitude with 5 wheels and 7 thrusters, COMS should perform twice a day wheel off-loading thruster firing operations, which affect on the satellite orbit. COMS flight dynamics system provides the general on-station functions such as orbit determination, orbit prediction, event prediction, station-keeping maneuver planning, station-relocation maneuver planning, and fuel accounting. All orbit related functions in flight dynamics system consider the orbital perturbations due to wheel off-loading operations. There are some specific flight dynamics functions to operate the spacecraft bus such as wheel off-loading management, oscillator updating management, and on-station attitude reacquisition management. In this paper, the design and implementation of the COMS flight dynamics system is presented. An object oriented analysis and design methodology is applied to the flight dynamics system design. Programming language C# within Microsoft .NET framework is used for the implementation of COMS flight dynamics system on Windows based personal computer.     

常用卫星通信信号数字调制方式的自动识别

针对常用的卫星通信信号的调制方式识别问题,提出了一种新的自动识别算法.该算法基于统计特性分类原理,通过建立一组统计特征参数,在无需先验信息的条件下,实现对信号调制方式的自动识别.对实际采集数据进行了实验验证,结果表明该算法在低信噪比环境下仍有较高的识别率,简单易用,具有较强的工程可行性和良好的扩展性.     

面向批产的小卫星总装流程优化

传统总装流程已不再适应小卫星批量化生产日益增长的需求。通过识别严重制约批产小卫星总装效率的主要因素,采用剥离非增值环节、标准化制作、优化流程顺序、信息化和自动化等流程优化方法,对现有总装主线流程、总装检测流程、总装辅线工作和总装工艺文件编制工作进行优化,提出具体总装流程优化措施。优化后面向批产的小卫星总装新模式全面提升了总装效能,缩短了批生产周期。在此基础上提出后续批产小卫星总装流程优化的研究方向。该研究为我国未来小卫星批量化生产探索出新思路。     

Elexbus — An attractive technical solution for small mission opportunities

Responding to the demand for a ‘faster, cheaper, better’ implementation of space related services. Dornier Satellitensysteme GmbH has established and exercised an approach for the development and production of satellites and the corresponding ground equipment for small missions, referred to as Flexbus. It allows to support space service customers starting from mission engineering via design, development and manufacturing of the necessary hardware, the launch service and ending with the hand-over of the operational system. Flexbus harmonises a modular component concept with a sound design and development approach, as a whole providing the means to offer high quality products in a fairly short time and for competitive pricing. This paper will outline the major features of the Flexbus approach and describe application examples.     

Recovery of long-wavelength mean gravity anomalies for the dedicated gravitational satellite (gravsat) mission

This paper describes a computer simulation study that was undertaken to determine how well long-wavelength variations in the Earth's gravitational field can be recovered using data from the Dedicated$\text{Grav}$itational $\text{Sat}$ellite (GRAVSAT) mission. This mission is to consist of two low altitude (160 km) spacecraft in essentially the same orbit but separated in phase by 100–300 km. Geodetic data are measurements of the relative range rate to an accuracy of about 1 μm/s at 4 sec intervals. Specifically, a Bayesian covariance simulation was used to investigate simultaneous recovery of the spacecraft ephemerides and a global distribution of 20° × 20° mean gravity anomaly blocks. Sources of errors considered were tracking station positions, gravitational constant, Earth body tides, tropospheric modeling and measurement noise. It should be noted that this simulation does not include as an error source variations in the gravity field that have a character different from what was modeled. Consequently, this study demonstrates the potential of the low-low system as configured to recover the long-wavelength variations in the gravity field.Using only one days worth of data, the mean of the standard deviations of the 162 20° × 20° gravity anomaly blocks is about 1 μgal. For a 6 month mission (assuming a reduction proportional to the square root of the data intervals) this projects to < 0.1 μgal. Because of the potential of increased measurement precision at shorter separation distances, and the relative insensitivity of the recovery process to separation distance, it should be possible to recover both long and short wavelength variations with a modest distribution of separation distances tailored primarily to the short wavelength recovery. Effects of the uncertainty in the gravitational constant and Love's numbers are negligible. In a simulation not reported on, increasing the altitude of the orbit to 200 km from 150 km, degraded, as expected, the accuracy of the recovered parameters by only 7%.     

IRSUTE, a small satellite for water budget estimate with high resolution infrared imagery

The estimation of land surface fluxes has been recognized in the last ten years as a major scientific issue for the improvement of our knowledge on heat and water budgets and therefore of models in meteorology, hydrology, agriculture and environment. Remote sensing is an adequate mean for filling the gap which exists between small scale instruments or modeling (10m) and the regional or global scales where they have to be determined with a typical grid element of the order of 1 to 10 km. IRSUTE (for Infra Red miniSatellite Unit for Terrestrial Environment) is a scientific small satellite mission providing thermal imagery for the determination and analysis of soil/vegetation/atmosphere processes at the field scale and therefore for providing the necessary data for a scaling-up of these processes from local to regional scales. The main specifications, will allow this instrument to optimize the correction of the sensed radiance and to retrieve the fluxes with an accuracy of the order of 50w/m² (or 0.8mm/day). IRSUTE is designed to have high spatial resolution (50m), across and along track viewing capabilities, 5 channels : visible/NIR, 3.7 μ, and 3 TIR in the 8–11 μm band with a good radiometric sensitivity (NEΔT = 0.1 K). The instrument is to be implemented onboard a small satellite (typically a PROTEUS platform) placed on a sun-synchronous orbit allowing high repetitivity (1 to 3 days). It is based on the push-broom technique which uses IR-CCD linear array detectors positioned in the cryocooled focal plane of a large bandwidth collecting optics.     

小卫星批量化生产之检漏技术改进

着眼于提高小卫星批量化生产的检漏工作效率,从小卫星的一般检漏流程及方法出发,分析小卫星批量化生产的特点,提出推进系统增加检漏自锁阀的设计方案,研究了采取压降法差压检漏完成总漏率测试的可行性,并对卫星批量化生产检漏进行了流程优化及方法改进。研究结果对提高小卫星批量化生产的检漏效率具有参考价值。     

GEO卫星红外地球敏感器热设计敏感性分析

文章提出了一种GEO卫星红外地球敏感器的热设计方法,建立了红外地球敏感器热数学模型,对影响红外地球敏感器散热的热设计要素进行敏感性定量分析,以指导优化热设计。分析验证表明:经过优化的红外地球敏感器热控方案,能很好地满足卫星15 a寿命期红外地球敏感器工作温度要求。该设计方法已在“东方红四号”平台系列卫星上成功应用,并得到在轨验证。     

区域观察小卫星星座重构方法研究

在对地观测任务中，经过优化设计的卫星星座通常具有较强的适应能力。但是，当星座中某颗卫星失效或地面需求发生变化时，就需要进行星座重构，以恢复或增强对部分地区的观察能力。提出了小卫星区域观察组网的方法，重点探讨了在应急情况下区域观察小卫星星座的重构问题，研究了节省能量的卫星轨道机动方法，特别提出了保持轨道属性和星座基本构形的预置量机动方法，分析了应急机动星座重构的几种情况，给出了每种情况的星座重构策略。     

LOCSS and its implementation on the basis of a small satellite cluster

A problem of providing users with the necessary remote sensing data in the visible and near IR spectral bands has been considered. The solution of the problem plans increase of spatial and spectral resolution for imaging from space, high periodicity of surveying the same sites on the Earth's surface and spaceborne data delivery to users in real time.

This problem solution proposed is to use a cluster of small satellites and to implement the Local Space Service (LOCSS) program. The main aspects of this concept are as follows:

• • optimization of remote sensing instrumentation parameters;

• • image data compression onboard a small spacecraft;

• • compressed data downlinking via the low rate radio channel;

• • direct reception of the image data by users at small cheap receiving stations; and

• • image data decompression and processing using personal computers and special processors.

     

Choosing partners for a manned mission to Mars

Who are the best partners for a US manned mission to Mars? Arguments have been made for a joint US-Soviet manned mission which would improve relations between the superpowers and prevent the weaponization of space. However, from the viewpoint of the US space advocate, the issue is which is the most expeditious way to get humans to Mars. Let's go to Mars, the author argues, but with allies and friends rather than the USA's primary competitor on Earth.     

低轨卫星缺失时序数据的模式识别方法

在航天应用中,低轨卫星经常会由于原始数据缺失而影响卫星时序数据模式识别结果,降低准确率。针对该问题提出了一种新型MR-GRU模型,可有效处理缺失时序数据,并获得较好的模式识别准确率。区别于传统模型的补全缺失数据的方法,MR-GRU模型直接在缺失时序数据上运用循环神经网络进行训练,对传统门控循环单元结构进行了改进,增加了两个新变量：掩蔽项和衰减项。掩蔽项作用于输入,衰减项作用于输入和隐层单元输出。MR-GRU模型不仅能够保持时序数据固有的时间特性,还能有效提高模式识别精度。在卫星时序数据上的模式识别试验表明,MR-GRU模型准确率优于传统模型。     

The analysis of investments in demonstrative small satellite projects for remote sensing

The demonstrative small satellite projects (DSSP) for appreciation of the small satellites (SS) effective use in the perspective national space systems of remote sensing environment, as well as the ozone layer and the near Earth space are considered. The national potential for development, building, launch and missions of SS is discussed. The pecularities of the Russian market of remote sensing informative products and servicies are analysed to specify and stress the significance and perspectives of this market. In view of budget constraints in transitive period from centralized to market economics in Russia the different sources of DSSP financial support are considered.