Comparison of fragments created by low- and hyper-velocity impacts

This paper summarizes two new satellite impact experiments. The objective of the experiments was to investigate the outcome of low- and hyper-velocity impacts on two identical target satellites. The first experiment was performed at a low-velocity of 1.5 km/s using a 40-g aluminum alloy sphere. The second experiment was performed at a hyper-velocity of 4.4 km/s using a 4-g aluminum alloy sphere. The target satellites were 15 cm × 15 cm × 15 cm in size and 800 g in mass. The ratios of impact energy to target mass for the two experiments were approximately the same. The target satellites were completely fragmented in both experiments, although there were some differences in the characteristics of the fragments. The projectile of the low-velocity impact experiment was partially fragmented while the projectile of the hyper-velocity impact experiment was completely fragmented beyond recognition. To date, approximately 1500 fragments from each impact experiment have been collected for detailed analysis. Each piece has been weighed, measured, and analyzed based on the analytic method used in the NASA Standard Breakup Model (2000 revision). These fragments account for about 95% of the target mass for both impact experiments. Preliminary analysis results will be presented in this paper.     

带电粒子云的演变过程

根据带电粒子云从破碎点开始向空间扩散过程中粒子云密度和形状的变化规律,以几何形状和起主要作用的因素为特征,定义了球形、椭球形、绳形、螺旋线形、全方位弥漫直至球壳形6个演变阶段.论述了在各个阶段的主要特征和对演变过程起主要作用的因素.分析了在各个阶段电磁场对带电粒子的摄动影响,比较了带电粒子云与不带电粒子云在演化过程上的差异.在球形阶段起主要作用的是分离速度,带电碎片之间的排斥力加快了碎片扩散的速度.从椭球形阶段到球壳形阶段,带电粒子和不带电粒子的演化规律基本一致.带电粒子的演化过程加快或减慢取决于粒子带正电或带负电.将电场摄动力等效于改变地球引力的大小,罗列了阶段转换标志点时刻的计算公式.利用计算机仿真的方法,给出了各个阶段不带电碎片云和带电碎片云分布示意图,验证了演变过程阶段划分和电磁场摄动分析的合理性.     

提高卫星热控系统的可靠性对策

为提高卫星（特别是长寿命卫星）热控系统的可靠性,探讨了在热控设计中涉及该系统与卫星总体关系和空间环境影响等方面应采取的对策,特别是对一些长寿命卫星常用的星体外表面涂层的性能衰退现象作了较深入的介绍;对今后关于热控系统可靠性的研究提出了建议。     

对一种利用人造粉尘清除空间碎片新方法的理论分析

近地轨道的空间碎片污染日益严重,目前碎片数量已达到历史最高值并可能引发一系列连锁反应.进行主动碎片清除十分必要.利用粉尘主动清除近地轨道空间碎片是一种主动碎片清除的新方法.本文基于此方法的基本原理进行分析研究,建立了单颗碎片与人造粉尘作用的基本假设和机理模型,并对其作用进行定量计算分析;结合碎片的空间密度分布,对该方法的作用效果进行了定量估算,得出一些基本分析结论,有助于对新方法的客观认识.     

一种高效的计算卫星轨道寿命的方法

关于在大气阻力作用下卫星生存寿命的估计 ,提出了一种高效的数值方法 ,称为微分 -积分法。它的实质是以轨道要素的平均变化率为基础的微分方程 ,而方程的右端包含定积分。与传统方法比较验证了此新方法的正确性 ,并且显示了它的极高效率。在诸如空间碎片减缓这种需要非常大量的计算卫星寿命的问题中 ,新方法的价值得到充分体现。     

Protecting Earth-orbiting spacecraft against micro-meteoroid/orbital debris impact damage using composite structural systems and materials: An overview

Spacecraft that are launched to operate in Earth orbit are susceptible to impacts by meteoroids and pieces of orbital debris (MMOD). The effect of a MMOD particle impact on a spacecraft depends on where the impact occurs, the size, composition, and speed of the impacting object, the function of the impacted system. In order to perform a risk analysis for a particular spacecraft under a specific mission profile, it is important to know whether or not the impacting particle (or its remnants) will exit the rear of an impacted spacecraft wall. A variety of different ballistic limit equations (BLEs) have been developed for many different types of structural wall configurations. BLEs can be used to optimize the design of spacecraft wall parameters so that the resulting configuration is able to withstand the anticipated variety of on-orbit high-speed impact scenarios. While the level of effort exerted in studying the response of metallic multi-wall systems to high speed particle impact is quite substantial, the extent of the effort to study composite material and composite structural systems under similar impact conditions has been much more limited. This paper presents an overview of the activities performed to assess the resiliency of composite structures and materials under high speed projectile impact. The activities reviewed will be those that have been aimed at increasing the level of protection afforded to spacecraft operating in the MMOD environment, and more specifically, on those activities performed to mitigate the mechanical and structural effects of an MMOD impact.     

Assessing and minimizing collisions in satellite mega-constellations

We aim to provide satellite operators and researchers with an efficient means for evaluating and mitigating collision risk during the design process of mega-constellations. We first introduce a novel algorithm for conjunction prediction that relies on large-scale numerical simulations and uses a sequence of filters to greatly reduce its computational expense. We then use this brute-force algorithm to establish baselines of endogenous (intra-constellation), or self-induced, conjunction events for the FCC-reported designs of the OneWeb LEO and SpaceX Starlink mega-constellations. We demonstrate how these deterministic results can be used to validate more computationally efficient, stochastic techniques for close-encounter prediction by adopting a new probabilistic approach from Solar-System dynamics as a simple test case. Finally, we show how our methodology can be applied during the design phase of large constellations by investigating Minimum Space Occupancy (MiSO) orbits, a generalization of classical frozen orbits that holistically account for the perturbed-Keplerian dynamics of the Earth-satellite-Moon-Sun system. The results indicate that the adoption of MiSO orbital configurations of the proposed mega-constellations can significantly reduce the risk of endogenous collisions with nearly indistinguishable adjustments to the nominal orbital elements of the constellation satellites.     

空间碎片环境近况

根据国际上近年来对空间碎片跟踪、观测、统计分析以及对从轨道上回收的试验装置和样品的分析研究,介绍了地球周围空间环境中存在的空间碎片的数量、质量及其分布的最新状况。     

近地卫星和星座离轨机动研究

空间碎片减缓的积极措施之一是要求近地卫星在使命完成以后进行离轨机动,然后依靠大气阻力作用使卫星在不到25年的时间内自行消失.对此,研究了离轨机动的代价与使命后寿命的关系,提出并解决了正问题和逆问题;介绍了计算卫星寿命的高效率方法.为近地轨道卫星的设计提供了处理离轨机动问题的实用方法.     

低能质子对卫星热控涂层太阳吸收率的影响

空间低能质子由于沉积能量在表层对卫星外露热控涂层太阳吸收率参数有较大影响,文章首次对地球同步轨道卫星6种热控涂层进行低能质子辐照试验研究,试件是S781有机白漆、SR107-ZK有机白漆、ACR-1有机白漆、OSR二次表面镜、F46二次表面镜和Kapton二次表面镜。试验采用能量48keV的质子,在真空条件下累积辐照360h,累计注量达到2×10~(15)p/cm~2。在辐照过程中原位测量热控涂层的太阳吸收率参数。这些热控涂层的太阳吸收率参数都有不同程度的明显上升。其中,有机白漆类热控涂层的太阳吸收率参数上升最快,其次是塑料薄膜类热控涂层(F46二次表面镜和Kapton二次表面镜),最稳定的是玻璃类热控涂层(OSR二次表面镜)。对试验前后试件的SEM分析和XPS分析表明,热控涂层中的颜料结构和聚合物结构在辐照下发生变化,形成不饱和链发色团和色心,使原来透明聚合物和高反射的颜料对太阳光产生吸收,从而引起热控涂层太阳吸收率参数上升。     

AIT环境对卫星热控白漆性能影响的试验

热控白漆喷涂之后至卫星发射之前需要经过数个月的部件组装和测试（AIT）阶段,AIT环境是否影响热控白漆的性能是一个疑问。将与卫星天线相同热控ACR-1白漆的试验膜放置在AIT环境中,对其吸收率和发射率进行了六次测量。通过测量数据,对比分析了AIT过程中温度、湿度、洁净度等环境因素对热控白漆性能的影响程度。结果表明,在试验周期内,ACR-1白漆的吸收率和发射率变化量不大,对白漆性能可靠性的影响度不明显;洁净度对ACR-1白漆的吸收率影响较大。因此,在AIT阶段卫星环境应保持较高的洁净度。     

Active debris removal of multiple priority targets

Today’s space debris environment shows major concentrations of objects within distinct orbital regions for nearly all size regimes. The most critical region is found at orbital altitudes near 800 km with high declinations. Within this region many satellites are operated in so called sun-synchronous orbits (SSO). Among those, there are Earth observation, communication and weather satellites. Due to the orbital geometry in SSO, head-on encounters with relative velocities of about 15 km/s are most probable and would thus result in highly energetic collisions, which are often referred to as catastrophic collisions, leading to the complete fragmentation of the participating objects. So called feedback collisions can then be triggered by the newly generated fragments, thus leading to a further population increase in the affected orbital region. This effect is known as the Kessler syndrome.     

Different space weather effects in anomalies of the high and low orbital satellites

Preliminary results of the EU INTAS Project 00810, which aims to improve the methods of safeguarding satellites in the Earth’s magnetosphere from the negative effects of the space environment, are presented. Anomaly data from the “Kosmos” series satellites in the period 1971–1999 are combined in one database, together with similar information on other spacecraft. This database contains, beyond the anomaly information, various characteristics of the space weather: geomagnetic activity indices (Ap, AE and Dst), fluxes and fluences of electrons and protons at different energies, high energy cosmic ray variations and other solar, interplanetary and solar wind data. A comparative analysis of the distribution of each of these parameters relative to satellite anomalies was carried out for the total number of anomalies (about 6000 events), and separately for high (5000 events) and low (about 800 events) altitude orbit satellites. No relation was found between low and high altitude satellite anomalies. Daily numbers of satellite anomalies, averaged by a superposed epoch method around sudden storm commencements and proton event onsets for high (>1500 km) and low (<1500 km) altitude orbits revealed a big difference in a behavior. Satellites were divided on several groups according to the orbital characteristics (altitude and inclination). The relation of satellite anomalies to the environmental parameters was found to be different for various orbits that should be taken into account under developing of the anomaly frequency models.     

空间碎片减缓措施及其研究对策

随着人类空间技术的进步和发展 ,每年发射进入太空的人造天体越来越多。当这些人造天体失效后 ,由于目前人类对其缺乏及时有效的回收手段 ,随着时间的推移 ,堆积在太空中的废弃物将越来越多 ,总有一天人类再也不能向太空中发射任何人造天体。因此为了合理利用和保护有限的太空资源 ,则必须减少或清除太空垃圾。文章正是基于上述目的 ,在人类尚无有效回收手段的情况下 ,考虑利用现有的技术提出一些空间碎片的减缓措施 ,并在此基础上提出中国对空间碎片减缓应采取的对策