An economically viable space power relay system

This paper describes and analyzes the economics of a power relay system that takes advantage of recent technological advances to implement a system that is economically viable. A series of power relay systems are described and analyzed which transport power ranging from 1,250 megawatts to 5,000 megawatts, and distribute it to receiving sites at transcontinental distances.

Two classes of systems are discussed—those with a single reflector and delivering all the power to a single rectenna, and a second type which has multiple reflectors and distributes it to 10 rectenna sites, sharing power among them. It is shown that when offering electricity at prices competitive to those prevalent in developed cities in the US that a low IRR is inevitable, and economic feasibility of a business is unlikely. However, when the target market is Japan where the prevalent electricity prices are much greater, that an IRR exceeding 65% is readily attainable. This is extremely attractive to potential investors, making capitalization of a venture likely.

The paper shows that the capital investment required for the system can be less than $1 per installed watt, contributing less than 0.02 $/KW-hr to the cost of energy provision. Since selling prices in feasible regions range from 0.18 to over 030 $/kW-hr, these costs are but a small fraction of the operating expenses. Thus a very large IRR is possible for such a business.     

Cost Engineering – The new paradigm for space launch vehicle design

The paper describes the basic definition and application of 'Cost Engineering' which means to design a vehicle system for minimum development cost and/or for minimum operations cost. This is important now and for the future since space transportation has become primarily a commercial business in contrast to the past where it has been mainly a subject of military power and national prestige. Several examples are presented for minimum-cost space launch vehicle configurations, such as increasing vehicle size and/or the use of less efficient rocket engines in order to reduce development and operations cost. Further a cost comparison is presented on single-stage (SSTO)-vehicles vs. two-stage launchers which shows that SSTOs have lower development and operations cost although they are larger, respectively have a higher lift-off mass than two-stage vehicles with the same performance. The design of a space tourism-dedicated launch vehicle is an extreme challenge for a cost-engineered vehicle design in order to achieve cost per seat not higher than $50,000. Finally an outlook is presented on the different options for manned Earth-to-Moon transportation modes and vehicles – another most important application of 'cost engineering', taking into account the large cost of such a future venture.     

空间太阳能电站高低压混合供电系统设计

在调研美国NASA空间太阳能电站(SPS)供配电相关方案的基础上,针对空间太阳能电站平台设备和有效载荷设备两种不同的供电特性要求,提出将高低压混合供电技术应用于空间太阳能电站的供电系统设计。该设计在满足高效对地供电传输要求的同时,能够确保航天器平台自身的稳定、可靠运行。文章介绍了高低压混合供电技术的原理和系统构成;针对系统高于目前在轨卫星6个数量级的超高压需求,分析了高压电缆和高压继电器研制的可行性,得出高压电缆的重点研究方向,即通过材料及结构优化来减小质量、增加散热、减小弯曲半径等,高压继电器的研究方向为研制高压混合继电器(EMPC)中适用于航天任务的高压固态功率管;调研分析了目前常用的空间等离子体被动防护技术和主动防护技术,通过比较,说明主动防护技术更适用于空间太阳能电站的超高压系统,可为我国建设超大功率空间太阳能电站提供技术参考。     

嫦娥四号中继星供配电分系统可靠性设计与验证

针对嫦娥四号中继星的轨道特点、在轨工作模式和任务要求,供配电分系统采用半调节母线拓扑结构和电源调节与配电控制一体化的方案实现了集成化、轻量化设计需求。重点识别了供配电分系统可靠性设计的关键要素,从供电可靠性、能源安全性和在轨能源管理等方面进行分析和设计,并进行了充分的地面专项验证试验。通过在轨多种工况考核和遥测数据分析可知,供配电分系统工作正常,满足设计要求。     

嫦娥四号中继星供配电系统设计与应用（英文）

A 28 V-half-regulated power bus topology and an integrated PCDU(Power Conditioning and Distribution Unit) were adopted to meet the energy demand for the Chang'e 4 relay satellite. This paper first introduces the mission features and composition of the PSDS(Power Supply and Distribution System) for the Chang'e 4 relay satellite. Due to this satellite's unusual orbit, operational mode and project restrictions, special analysis and design was conducted on the PSDS from the perspective of weight-reduction, power management, and reliability and so on. Extreme low temperature storage of SA(Solar Array) was considered and how the antenna affects the SA was analyzed. A new kind of high-specific-energy 45 Ah(Ampere-hour) battery cell was used for the first time. To make sure that the satellite would successfully pass the long shadow zones, a 100% DOD(Depth of Discharge) experiment was carried out on the battery. Since the sunlight is almost always available and there are very few times for the battery to charge or discharge, battery care to extend its lifetime is also discussed. PCDU is a device that integrates power conditioning and power distribution in one unit. The PCDU on Chang'e 4 relay satellite can output more power with less weight because of the adoption of a 28 V-half-regulated power bus topology which was also used for the first time and used lighter material for its mechanical framework. Experiment under low temperature on PCDU was conducted as well and a hot backup equalizing charge technique which is beneficial to keep performance of the battery is illustrated. The power distribution module, which is a module of PCDU, enhances the power utilization security by utilizing a static impedance measurement and build-in-test to avoid possible short circuits. As for EED(Electrical Explosive Device) module, a protection plug was specially designed and three switches with different functions were connected in series to prevent the EED from exploding by error. In addition, the allowable minimum EED bus voltage for each EED was evaluated in case of low battery voltage caused by the possible postponement of the launching time. Complete verification experiments on the ground were conducted to confirm the correctness of the design and on-orbit test data conformed to the expected results and theoretical calculation. The power supply and distribution system has been working normally since the day the Chang'e 4 relay satellite was launched into space.     

燃烧供热热光伏系统实验研究

针对未来深空探测供电需求,设计了一套热光伏发电系统,采用丙烷燃烧器模拟同位素热源,并利用低禁带GaSb电池实现了系统的热电转换。研究了气体流量、过量空气系数、回热器性能、滤波器等对辐射器温度及电池输出功率、系统转换效率的影响。结果表明：电池输出功率随燃气量单调增加,而在一定燃气量下,存在一最优过量空气系数使其达到最大值;同时,回热器和滤波器对辐射器温度和电池输出特性有很大影响;本实验系统可以实现最大输出功率密度0.45W/cm 2,系统转换效率2.8%。     

航天器蓄电池放电发热量测试方法系统误差分析

蓄电池发热量是航天器蓄电池热控设计的重要参数,其测试准确度直接影响热控设计状态和在轨工作温度。文章采用真空绝热量热法对蓄电池发热量测试系统进行了漏热分析,并给出了修正方法;以模拟蓄电池为研究对象,分析了蓄电池发热量测试误差,并提出了改善系统测量准确度的解决方案。结果表明,当放电时间大于1 h,航天器蓄电池发热功率在2~25 W范围内时,测试误差不超过6%,且发热功率越大误差越小;当发热功率大于10 W时,测试误差不超过3%,可以满足工程要求;对于发热功率较小(绝对值小于0.5 W)的小电流放电或充电,测试误差较大,但绝对值仍然较小,对实际工程影响不大。     

中继卫星系统仿真软件设计与应用*

设计开发中继卫星系统仿真软件,并针对理想信道条件、I/Q幅相不平衡、幅频特性、群时延、相位噪声、功放饱和条件、非线性信道条件这七种信道,仿真16QAM和16APSK的误码率性能,并对仿真结果进行分析。利用仿真平台得出的非线性信道条件下误码率需求与所需信噪比之间的关系,可以作为完善系统技术指标的重要依据,为中继卫星系统后续建设和应用提供重要参考。     

Conceptual design of a hypervelocity asteroid intercept vehicle (HAIV) and its flight validation mission

An intercept mission with nuclear explosives is the most effective of the practical mitigation options against the impact threat of near-Earth objects (NEOs) with a short warning time (e.g., much less than 10 years). The existing penetrated subsurface nuclear explosion technology limits the intercept velocity to less than approximately 300 m/s. Consequently, an innovative concept of blending a hypervelocity kinetic impactor with a subsurface nuclear explosion has been developed for optimal penetration, fragmentation, and dispersion of the target NEO. A proposed hypervelocity asteroid intercept vehicle (HAIV) consists of a kinetic-impact leader spacecraft and a follower spacecraft carrying nuclear explosives. This paper describes the conceptual development and design of a baseline HAIV system and its flight validation mission architecture for three mission cost classifications (e.g., $500 M, $1 B, and $1.5 B).     

航天器多继电器线圈并联电路的可靠性研究

航天器配电系统中广泛采用多继电器线圈并联电路作为平台设备和负载的供电通路开关。文章从继电器互感效应入手,对多继电器线圈并联电路在指令发出、指令结束2 种工况下的电路可靠性进行了分析,结果表明目前常用的继电器线圈并联电路存在可靠性隐患。因此,针对隐患提出了在继电器线圈前串接二极管的电路可靠性优化方案。试验结果表明,优化后的电路形式可以有效提高电路的可靠性。     

MIMO系统功率比特自适应算法研究

发射功率受限的自适应调制系统,由于调制方式有限,实际使用的发射功率通常小于受限的发射功率,对这一部分剩余功率进行再分配和利用,能够提高频谱效率。文章对M IMO系统中功率和比特自适应算法进行了研究,提出对剩余功率在空域进行再分配的自适应算法。仿真结果表明,在空域采用等功率分配,再进行空域剩余功率再分配,能够提高频谱效率,并且复杂度低,易于实现。     

L׳ADROIT – A spaceborne ultraviolet laser system for space debris clearing

Small (1–10 cm) debris in low Earth orbit (LEO) are extremely dangerous, because they spread the breakup cascade. Pulsed laser active debris removal using laser ablation jets on target is the most cost-effective way to re-enter the small debris. No other solutions address the whole problem of large (~100 cm, 1 t) as well as small debris. Physical removal of small debris (by nets, tethers and so on) is uneconomical because of the energy cost of matching orbits. In this paper, we present a completely new proposal relative to our earlier work. This new approach uses rapid, head-on interaction in 10–40 s rather than 4 minutes, using 20–40 kW bursts of 100 ps, 355 nm UV pulses from a 1.5 m diameter aperture on a space-based station in LEO. The station employs “heat-capacity” laser mode with low duty cycle to create an adaptable, robust, dual-mode system which can lower or raise large derelict objects into less dangerous orbits, as well as clear out the small debris in a 400-km thick LEO band. Time-average laser optical power is less than 15 kW. The combination of short pulses and UV wavelength gives lower required fluence on target as well as higher momentum coupling coefficient. An orbiting system can have short range because of high interaction rate deriving from its velocity through the debris field. This leads to much smaller mirrors and lower average power than the ground-based systems we have considered previously. Our system also permits strong defense of specific assets. Analysis gives an estimated cost less than $1 k each to re-enter most small debris in a few months, and about 280 k$ each to raise or lower 1-ton objects by 40 km. We believe it can do this for 2000 such large objects in about four years. Laser ablation is one of the few interactions in nature that propel a distant object without any significant reaction on the source.     

A Ticket pricing strategy for an oligopolistic space tourism market

It is important for any new launch system to develop a successful pricing strategy and to optimize launch system parameters to receive a high economic profit. A question arises, what will happen when an existing suborbital flight market (the first likely to be established in space) is interfered with by a new established orbital flight market for space tourism. There is a risk that the suborbital space tourism market could be almost instantly displaced when a product capable of reaching orbit was introduced. This is best discussed using the following three cases whose results are presented in this paper. Case A presents a ticket pricing strategy for a suborbital and orbital vehicle if the two vehicles do not compete in the same market. Case B shows the necessary ticket pricing strategy for a suborbital vehicle if there is competition from an orbital flight operator. However, the suborbital vehicle would not be able to keep up with a drop in ticket prices due to its obsolete characteristics. Thus, the suborbital vehicle would be forced to stop operation in the year when flight costs became higher than flight receipts as shown in case C.     

Heat storage and electricity generation in the Moon during the lunar night

One of the biggest challenges of the exploration of the Moon is the survival of the crew and the lunar assets during the lunar night. The environmental conditions on the lunar surface and its cycle, with long periods of darkness, make any long mission in need of specific amounts of heat and electricity to be successful. We have analyzed two different systems to produce heat and electricity on the Moon's surface. The first system consists of Thermal Wadis, sources of thermal power that can be used to supply heat to protect the exploration systems from the extreme cold during periods of darkness. Previous results showed that Wadis can supply enough heat to keep lunar devices such as rovers above their minimum operating temperature (approximately 243 K). The second system studied here is the Thermal Energy Storage (TES), which is able to run a heat engine during the lunar night to produce electricity. When the Sun is shining on the Moon's surface, the system can run the engine directly using the solar power and simultaneously heat a thermal mass. This thermal mass is used as a high temperature source to run the heat engine during the night. We present analytical and numerical calculations for the determination of an appropriate thermal mass for the TES system.     

The critical satellite technical issues of future pervasive broadband low-cost communication networks

Using a baseline design for a 30/20 GHz system, this paper addresses the critical technical issues of signal waveform design, projected spacecraft technology, satellite launch options and satellite cost. With DPCM (differential pulse-coded modulation) video signal encoding, 32 Mb/s user-to-user data rate per channel, 10% overhead, two orthogonal polarizations, and crosstalk loss limited to 1 dB, TFM (tamed frequency modulation—a type of QPSK) permits about 75 channels/GHz of frequency allocation, i.e. about twice the capacity possible with MSK or SFSK (types of QPSK). The BOM (beginning of mission) weight and power of a baseline 400-channel multi-beam satellite is about 1800 kg and 5000 W. Each 35 Mb/s channel can support 1–10 video channels depending on the signal processing at the ground terminals. These weight and power estimates assume hardened digital logic, composite material for a multibeam antenna structure, high-efficiency solar cells (45 W/kg), NiH₂ batteries and 10W/20 GHz power amplifiers. If more speculative late-1980s solar cell technology is assumed, then the BOM weight decreases about 10–15%. Using the Space Transportation System being developed by NASA, geosynchronous deployment options are shown as a function of communications capacity. Based on a cost model for large communication satellites, the total space segment cost of two active satellites and one spare would be about $485M. This system would have a peak capacity of 14 Gb/s or 400-35 Mb/s simultaneous one-way channels. Demonstration and/or initial system (ground plus space) costs would be significantly less. It is concluded that the above baseline satellite appears to be technically feasible in the late-1980s.     

航天继电器浪涌电流作用下电接触寿命研究

近年来,卫星上的航天继电器在使用过程中发生了多次触点粘连故障,经分析发现,虽然在继电器设计中均根据其稳态工作电流进行了一级降额设计,但由于非纯阻性负载的存在,继电器在通断瞬间均存在一定程度的浪涌电流,该浪涌电流可以使触点迅速熔蚀,甚至熔焊失效。文章针对继电器接通瞬间浪涌电流对触点的熔蚀现象开展研究,利用试验测试并验证航天继电器的抗浪涌电流能力,对触点熔蚀、熔焊机理进行分析研究,研究结论可以指导航天继电器的使用,提高继电器在轨应用的可靠性和安全性,延长其使用寿命。     

继电器电磁干扰的诊断和抑制措施

继电器是电子设备中的一个非常重要的干扰源,在其触点断开和闭合的瞬间产生的瞬态电压会引起严重的电磁辐射干扰。文章通过一例继电器电磁干扰的诊断分析说明了继电器电磁干扰的机理,提出了诊断这种干扰的试验方法和有效的干扰抑制措施。     

变结构Anti-windup-PID控制器在天线伺服系统中的应用

针对某天线伺服系统中的速度稳定回路设计了变结构Anti-windup-PID控制器,克服了经典PID控制器输出饱和的非线性影响,使速度稳定回路在控制器输出饱和时仍能达到比较满意的性能指标。运用MATLAB中的simulink工具箱对速度稳定回路和电流回路建模,并引入该控制器进行仿真,同时通过实验测试该控制器。结果表明,控制器有效地抑制系统的积分windup现象,实现了系统的快速无静差调节,证明系统具有较好的鲁棒性和稳态性能。     

Can power from space compete?

This report summarizes the findings of a report entitled Can Power from Space Compete? produced for NASA by Resources for the Future (RFF). In considering how well satellite solar power (SSP) is likely to compete in the market for electricity from the present to 2020, it finds that neither perceived shortages of fossil fuel nor climate change factors are likely to be major issues in this time frame. Moreover, the high costs of SSP and possible concerns over public health and national security will continue to constrain its development. This does not mean, however, that R&D into the subject should cease; it may well have a future in the short term when applied to non-terrestrial systems. The full report is available at http://www.rff.org.     

国外中继卫星对航天器交会对接的测控通信支持

中继卫星系统的天基测控通信是近代航天技术的重大突破,它能够有效地满足航天器交会对接的测控通信需要。文章分析了美国＂跟踪与数据中继卫星系统＂（TDRSS）和欧洲＂阿特米斯＂（ARTEMIS）中继卫星对＂自动转移飞行器＂（ATV）与＂国际空间站＂（ISS）交会对接任务的测控通信支持,总结了国外中继卫星系统支持航天器交会对接...