Electrical power subsystem initial sizing

The basics of performing the initial electrical power subsystem (EPS) sizing for a spacecraft using solar cells for an energy source and batteries for energy storage are covered. The basic engineering inputs are described. The outputs are the first estimate of the number of solar cells, the solar array area, and the number of batteries required. A spreadsheet program to keep track of the inputs, perform the calculations, and document the inputs and outputs was written     

Next generation digital GPS receiver

The architecture and technology features of the next-generation (NGR) digital GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver manufactured by Collin are described. The project's objective was to develop an advanced GPS receiver chipset with high antijam capabilities. The program, initiated in 1985, has provided the technology for miniature receiver products for both unmanned and manned vehicle applications. A two-channel version of the receiver is in full-scale development for tactical missile applications. A five-channel version is being tested and evaluated as a drop-in replacement for RCVR-3A, the US Department of Defense standard high dynamic receiver. The NGR design started with the digital signal processing architecture developed for the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) hand-held GPS receiver. Enhancements were made to improve the antijam and signal acquisition performance. Producible, qualifiable and cost-effective silicon monolithic microwave integrated circuits and semicustom digital technologies were used to develop the core GPS chipset. A system design approach was established to permit reuse of mature and validated GPS software     

Next generation GPS-aided space navigation systems

The next generation of low cost Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers for space navigation and attitude determination are positioned to take full advantage of the improvements made in the commercial GPS receivers used for terrestrial applications. There have been recent improvements made to the GPS receivers that include the addition of extra GPS satellite channels that can be tracked simultaneously. The older style GPS receivers were only able to handle five channels at a time. In order for proper determination of three-dimensional position, a minimum of four channels was required and the fifth channel of the receiver was reserved to perform search functions for finding the next satellite. This included searching for satellites that could be used to replace exiting satellites moving out of the Field of View (FOV). The search function also enables the GPS receiver to search for the best constellation for maximum performance accuracy. The fifth roaming channel also provided a best next-satellite selection capability in case the field of view to one of the satellites was blocked or shaded.     

Next generation functional test program development system

While superior-quality functional board test has been a goal for most high reliability electronics manufacturers, the time and effort for generating such test programs using today's tools and processes makes this difficult to achieve in a cost effective manner. This paper will introduce a revolutionary approach to functional board test program development that combines the comprehensiveness of software-based simulation with the speed and simplicity of hardware emulation. The result is a functional Test Program Set development system that can produce high fault coverage, diagnostic test programs in a fraction of the time it takes using traditional techniques, and at a lower unit cost. In this paper we will first provide a brief background on the strengths and weaknesses of current software and hardware TPS development techniques-simulation hot mock-up. Next, the new approach is described in detail and contrasted against the existing techniques. Finally, actual experience to date using a prototyped system is presented     

Next generation space avionics: layered system implementation

Advances in electronics over the past decade have produced major improvements in the power and flexibility of computer systems. Unfortunately current avionics systems for space applications typically have not leveraged these COTS advantages. A decade ago, the state-of-the-art for avionics systems made a step change to the Integrated Modular Avionics (IMA) used in the Boeing 777. This next generation avionics architecture is not based upon traditional Byzantine redundancy structures, but on a truth-based scheme where each element knows when an internal failure occurs and removes itself from the system. IMA utilizes a lock-step microprocessor design that communicates to a COTS Backplane for input/output, and to a Virtual Backplane/spl trade/ (a reliable high-speed serial bus) for intra-system communication. The system functions are implemented using a time and space partitioned operating system. The entire system provides the simplicity of a simplex system, implements the highest level of reliability providing complete flexibility to reconfigure both software applications and hardware interfaces, allows for rapid prototyping using low-cost COTS hardware, and is easily expandable beyond the initial point implementation. As the only 5/sup th/ generation avionics architecture, the concepts incorporated into Honeywell's IMA are ideally suited to be the backbone of the next generation Space Exploration Program avionics architectures.     

卫星解体碎片生成数值模拟

提出卫星解体碎片生成的数值模拟方法,对卫星模型解体实验问题进行了数值模拟研究。有限元重构方法是一种有限元与 SPH 方法的结合,能够模拟获得孤立碎片的特性数据。通过在 SPH 模拟结果中重构有限元单元,能够有效区分碎片云中的置信孤立碎片和非置信孤立碎片,结合图论方法能够获得每个孤立碎片的单元构成及其尺寸、速度矢量和质量等信息。进而通过数据统计能够获得碎片分布信息。解体碎片数值模拟数据与实验数据具有较好的一致性,表明了该方法的有效性。     

Next generation test support systems for the aircraft life cycle

The objective of this paper is to present the experience of EADS in using a common test support system for integration and qualification testing, aircraft ground equipment (AGE), in-service software maintenance facilities (ISMF) and ground crew training. EADS uses its test support system AIDASS (Advanced Integrated Data Acquisition and Stimulation System) in different phases of the aircraft life cycle. AIDASS is comprised of a real-time front-end system and a standard PC for the user interface. The EADS test support system is used in almost all phases of the aircraft life cycle, for instance, for integration and verification testing, as aircraft ground equipment, for in-service software maintenance and training of ground crews. This test support system is used for the software maintenance in the TORNADO program at different airforces in Europe. The airforces also share test setups with industry     

Electrical power on a 30 kW space-based radar satellite

An electrical power system for a space-based radar satellite is described. When the radar is on, its transmitter needs an average DC power of 30 kW. The problem of distributing the power efficiently in pulses to many transmit/receive modules is addressed. System requirements include a high-voltage battery and transmission line, load-sharing between the solar array, and the battery during sunlit periods, and a 25-kW solar array. A scaled-down version of the power system for a proof-of-concept demonstration is described     

Simulation of the Canadian GOES Signal Processor

An international experiment is being conducted to assess the use of geostationary spacecraft to relay 406 MHz distress beacon signals. The development is described of a signal processor that will search a nominal 10 kHz portion of the 406 MHz band, detect anddemodulate a small number of beacons, and produce an alertmessage with low probability of message error. It is shown that thenominal composite link C/No is about 30 dB Hz. The proposedprocessor is described and simulation results are presented. Theresults indicate that the processor has a threshold of about26 dB · Hz, a message error rate of 2 percent or less, and a messagetransfer time of less than 10 min.     

Possible power generation with nature's high-efficiency technology

The rapidly growing fuel consumption in engines and turbine that power the world's transportation vehicles and power-generation plants will nearly exhaust the world's supply of petroleum by the end of the next century. These engines and turbines run at high heat-input temperatures because their efficiency is limited by the Carnot cycle. Muscles used for propulsion by animals are not limited in efficiency by the Carnot cycle, so we see dolphins getting 3,000 miles of travel from a food quantity that contains the energy equivalent of one gallon of gasoline. Leaves on plants capture the energy in sunlight to extract carbon from carbon dioxide in the air, and hydrogen form water, to manufacture carbohydrates. Scientists and engineers studying these processes are amazed by the computing power and data storage required to make these processes work. For example, a tiny grape seed contains the data and structural technology required for quickly constructing the plant's fuel-producing leaves and the structures that support them. Even the stiff thorn that discourages intruders from entering the grape bush has an effective design. The data stored in the seed specifies the color of the grape plant's blossoms, commands the production of the sugar-containing fluid that goes into the grapes, and even the data content of the next-generation seeds in the globules of each grape berry. In this report, we explore energy-conversion processes that nature has developed in plants and animals. We explore the possibility of adapting them into techniques that reduce our consumption of petroleum fuels.     

Solid-state power controller for the next generation

The design philosophies of an electrical load management center (ELMC) for military platforms and the advantages and features made possible only through the use of real-time solid-state power controllers (SSPCs) are discussed. Computer control of power distribution systems will be required to off-load crews and increase system reliability, with improved fault handling, while also protecting the wire and load. The electrical, mechanical, and special competitive features of the SSPC series, the military screening and mechanical specifications, and other product options are highlighted     

High-precision control of the observation satellite with small power consumption

An unified method of the control, orientation and stabilization is proposed; the method allows an observation satellite (OS) to be brought in the sliding mode with a specified accuracy and in a required time to the necessary angular terminal position in the conditions of the limited indefinite external disturbances. The method minimizes power consumption for control. An approach for regulation of the frequency and amplitude of steady-state control oscillations is presented.     

Investigation of MHD power generation with supersonic non-equilibrium RF discharge

Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) power generation with supersonic non-equilibrium plasma is demonstrated. Capacitively coupled radio frequency (RF) discharge (6 MHz, maximum continual power output of 200 W) was adopted to ionize the Mach number 3.5 (650 m/s), 0.023 kg/m3 airflow. In a MHD channel of 16 mm × 10 mm × 20 mm, MHD open voltage of 10 V is realized in the magnetic field of 1.25 T, and power of 0.12 mW is extracted steadily and con-tinuously in the magnetic field of 1 T. The reasons for limited power generation are proposed as:low conductivity of RF discharge; large touch resistance between MHD electrode and plasma;strong current eddies due to flow boundary layer. In addition, the cathode voltage fall is too low to have obvious effects on MHD power generation.     

HF OTHR target detection and estimation subsystem

This paper describes the principle of the target detection and estimation with a high frequency ground wave over-the-horizon radar, introduces the structure and the implementation of the detection and estimation subsystem that can process signals in parallel. The accomplished experimental results demonstrate that this system can successfully detect and estimate the over-the-horizon ship and aircraft     

高超声速飞行器发动机热防护与发电一体化系统

在对高超声速飞行器的热防护和机载设备电能需求的综合考虑下,立足发动机能量管理优化,结合CO2的物性特点,提出了以超临界CO2为循环工质的高效热防护与高温发电一体化系统.此一体化方案可以在实现发动机热防护的同时,提供电能、并减少冷却用燃油流量.基于燃油为该一体化系统的唯一热沉,通过理论分析和计算,提出了两个一体化系统,通...     

Design and integration of a solar AMTEC power system with anadvanced global positioning satellite

A 1,200-W solar AMTEC (alkali metal thermal-to-electric conversion) power system concept was developed and integrated with an advanced global positioning system (GPS) satellite. The critical integration issues for the SAMTEC with the GPS subsystems included: (1) packaging within the Delta II launch vehicle envelope; (2) deployment and start-up operations for the SAMTEC; (3) SAMTEC operation during all mission phases; (4) satellite field of view restrictions with satellite operations; and (5) effect of the SAMTEC requirements on other satellite subsystems. The SAMTEC power system was compared with a conventional planar solar array/battery power system to assess the differences in system weight, size, and operations, Features of the design include the use of an advanced multitube, vapor anode AMTEC cell design with 24% conversion efficiency, and a direct solar insolation receiver design with integral LiF salt canisters for energy storage to generate power during the maximum solar eclipse cycle, The modular generator design consists of an array of multitube AMTEC cells arranged into a parallel/series electrical network with built-in cell redundancy. Our preliminary assessment indicates that the solar generator design is scaleable over a 500 to 2,500-W range. No battery power is required during the operational phase of the GPS mission. SAMTEC specific power levels greater than 5 We/kg and 160 We/m² are anticipated for a mission duration of 10 to 12 years in orbits with high natural radiation backgrounds     

Compact equipment for on-board communications subsystem supervisoryand control system

Onboard equipment for the communications subsystem supervisory and control (CSC) system of a next-generation multibeam high-capacity communications satellite is discussed. In order to keep the equipment as compact, lightweight, and low in power consumption as possible, an onboard data bus system using four kinds of LSIs was developed. It will be carried on-board the Japanese Engineering Test Satellite VI for launch in 1993. Configuration and functions of the CSC equipment, design philosophy of the LSIs, and characteristics of the LSIs developed are discussed