Protecting spacecraft against meteoroid/orbital debris impact damage: an overview

Meteoroids and orbital debris pose a serious damage threat to all spacecraft. The effects of a meteoroid/orbital debris (M/OD) impact depend on a variety of factors, including where the M/OD impact occurs, the size, composition, and speed of the impacting object, and the function of the impacted spacecraft system. These effects can be minimal, can degrade a functional spacecraft component, or can compromise spacecraft functionality, even to the point of mission loss or loss of life. To minimize the damage threat from the meteoroid/orbital debris environment, it is often necessary to install protective shielding around critical spacecraft systems. If a system cannot be shielded, operational constraints may need to be imposed to reduce the damage threat. This paper presents an overview of the research and development activities performed since the late 1950s with an aim of increasing the level of protection afforded satellites and spacecraft operating in the M/OD environment and ultimately mitigating the mechanical and structural effects of an M/OD impact.     

航天器材料的空间应用及其保障技术

随着对应用卫星长寿命、高可靠要求的不断增长,对于航天器材料的空间应用可靠性及其保障技术日益受到重视。文章分析了航天器材料空间应用的要求及其空间环境效应试验评价技术,介绍了航天器材料保障技术的进展和发展趋势。在地面严格控制材料空间应用的性能并提供基于空间环境效应的充分数据是保障高品质航天器长寿命高可靠的重要手段。     

载人航天器密封舱内管路设备维修设计与验证

载人航天器密封舱内配置大量的气、液管路设备,实现管路设备的在轨维修,对于提高长期在轨飞行载人航天器的安全性及使用寿命具有重要意义。文章对某载人航天器再生生保管路设备在轨维修性进行了设计,经地面充分验证后,航天员在轨完成了管路设备维修操作,结果表明本文提出的管路设备在轨维修设计正确、有效,可为载人航天器其他在轨维修设计提供参考。     

航天器空间环境及效应监测数据集成化管理与处理系统

空间环境与效应监测数据集成化管理与快速处理是保证航天器在轨安全的重要依据。文章基于航天器空间环境与效应监测数据管理与处理系统的功能要求,给出了系统的组成、架构和数据处理流程。该系统集成了航天器空间环境与效应监测数据的管理、处理、综合分析、参数标定和可视化显示功能,能够实现电子、质子、总剂量、原子氧、温度、表面电位、污染等环境与效应在轨数据的瞬时参数（通量、剂量率、温度变化率、表面电位变化率、污染沉积率）和累积参数（注量、电离总剂量、温度、表面电位、总污染量）的监显,为航天器的在轨健康实时监测、风险快速预报预警提供重要支撑。     

How we will go to Mars

This article studies the efficiency of ejecting waste generated by the life support system (LSS) of a manned spacecraft to reduce initial mass on low earth orbit. The spacecraft is used for a long-duration interplanetary mission and is equipped with either a chemical or a nuclear-thermal propulsion system. For this study we simulate an optimal control problem for a given spacecraft maneuver. An impulsive approximation of the optimal interplanetary spacecraft trajectory is assumed, which allows us to reduce the general optimal control problem to hierarchic structure of 'outer' and 'inner' subproblems. This structure is analyzed using the Pontryagin's Maximum principle. Numerical results, illustrating the efficiency of waste ejection are shown for typical Earth-Mars transfer trajectories. This results confirm in theory that using a waste ejection system makes an early manned Mars mission possible without having to design and build new, advanced biological LSS.     

Enhanced operations efficiency by using the unified synoptic system

The unified synoptic system (USS) was developed by ESA for replacing the existing Columbus display solutions and to unify the display system used on-board and on-ground. USS provides enhanced flight operations efficiency and reduced effort for product preparation, qualification and maintenance for synoptic displays. Additional to its use for Columbus it is installed at JAXA and NASA to support requirements definition and review of NASA generated ISS displays. Due to its advanced capabilities, which go beyond existing known solutions, it has been made available to be reused for future spacecraft EGSEs and control centres (e.g. exploration missions, satellites) as well. Use of synoptic display is mostly guided by operational procedures which are in electronic format. However, till now the full operational benefit has not yet been realized. Procedure viewers and synoptic display systems are completely separate entities. Direct interaction of procedure viewers with synoptic display systems or underlying system control software is not supported at all. Therefore astronauts, flight controllers and operators still have to carry out a lot of mundane activities when executing operational procedures. The USS based procedural display viewer provides the user with a coherent, task oriented user interface for using synoptic displays and executing procedures in an efficient manner.     

Precise modelling of solar and thermal accelerations on Rosetta

This paper presents an analytical approach for the high-fidelity model of the accelerations induced by the Solar Radiation Pressure (SRP) and the Thermal Recoil Pressure (TRP) on ESA’s Rosetta spacecraft. The relevant gravitational forces that are induced by planets, moons, and asteroids can readily be incorporated for predicting interplanetary trajectories. However, there are additional perturbation forces that cause residual errors in the orbit determination process. These are the so-called “small forces”, which are mainly induced by the SRP and TRP effects and are often not modelled adequately or not completely. In the case of deep-space missions, the spacecraft travels a wide range of distances relative to the Sun. This makes the spacecraft exposed to a wide range of solar fluxes and surface temperatures. This paper establishes a high-fidelity acceleration model, which enables more precise orbit predictions for interplanetary spacecraft. The application of the model is demonstrated and validated using the orbit determination data and in-flight temperature data of the Rosetta spacecraft.     

近地轨道大型航天器的环境充电

许多空间实验和电子计算机预测已经揭示，在极光电子环境中大型航天器的充电电位会高达６０００－－７０００Ｖ。对采用大功率太阳阵的航天器而言，其相对于空间等离子体的悬浮电位将因太阳阵工作电压的提高而增加。例如表面材料因遭受离子轰击和电弧放电而老化、剥蚀、由于材料再沉积而使表面污染增加以及航天器电子系统因静电放电而受到严重的干扰和破坏等。因而对载人航天和长寿命空间站而言，解决航天器带电问题不可等闲视之。对     

NASA空间环境及效应(SEE)计划进展

文章介绍了NASA在1993年提出的空间环境及效应(下称SEE)计划,其目的是明确空间环境的定义,为设计、研制能适应严酷空间环境效应的航天器系统并使其正常运行提供技术支持.该计划包括认识空间环境、飞行试验和地面试验技术的优化、更新空间环境及其效应的预测模型、保存信息并将之纳入航天器的设计流程等方面.文章描述了SEE计划目前已取得的成就和未来的打算.     

Trends in space life support.

Considerable progress has been made in recent years on development of candidate physico-chemical components for use in regenerative life support systems (LSS) for future extended-duration-mission spacecraft; these life support systems provide air revitalization including carbon dioxide reduction, water reclamation, and limited waste management. For still longer duration manned space flights, such as a permanently inhabited space station, it is generally recognized that development of biological life support systems capable of generating food and regenerating wastes will be essential to reduce logistics costs.     

Greenhouse design integration benefits for extended spaceflight

It has been demonstrated that plants can be grown in microgravity, and almost every space programme has included experimental greenhouses to investigate technical and biological feasibility, as well as the habitability-related benefits of plant growth activities in space.Aside from nutritional and life support system applications, these benefits include sensory and spatial enhancement of the spacecraft environment, both through the plants as such and the design of their growth chambers, as well as by providing meaningful occupation through individual interaction. In view of long duration missions, plant growth facilities should not be regarded as a desirable add-on, but as an essential component of the habitat.Following a review of existing greenhouse designs and plants grown on past missions, the paper summarizes the benefits of greenhouses and outlines potential forms of architectural integration within the spacecraft interior.     

航天器器一地对应仪表显示系统软件的设计与实现

仪表显示系统作为航天器性能参数、导航参数显示及航天员人机交互的窗口,在航天飞行任务中发挥着重要作用.针对依据工程遥测源码值监视航天器状态的传统方法直观性差、不便于地面人员监控的特点,文章设计并开发了一套基于VC++和OpenGL的航天器器一地对应仪表显示系统软件,并对其实现进行了分析和说明.该软件仿真了多功能仪表显示器...     

基于模型的系统工程方法在载人航天任务中的应用探讨

针对基于文档的航天任务设计中设计数据分散、一致性差、跟踪难度大等问题,引入了基于模型的系统工程(MBSE)方法。首先,介绍了MBSE方法理念,即通过构建图形化的模型来支持系统的需求捕获、设计、分析、验证和确认等全生命周期活动。然后,给出了MBSE方法的一般工作流程,即先构建系统的需求模型,用于指导功能模型、物理架构模型等的构建,按照事先制定好的逻辑规则建立模型间的关系,依靠模型间的关系实现设计过程中的关联性分析、参数查询等工作。最后,应用MBSE方法于载人飞船交会对接任务中。结果表明,此方法改善了人员沟通,提高了设计效率,降低了设计风险,可为MBSE方法在航天任务设计中的进一步应用提供参考。     

航天器机动时DGMSCMG磁悬浮转子干扰补偿控制

双框架磁悬浮控制力矩陀螺（DGMSCMG）具有寿命长、综合效益好等突出优势,但航天器机动时,航天器及DGMSCMG内、外框架系统的转动均导致磁悬浮高速转子产生一定的耦合运动,影响磁悬浮转子系统的稳定性,同时使输出力矩精度下降,从而严重影响航天器姿态控制的精度。本文建立了基于DGMSCMG的航天器动力学模型,分析航天器、外框架、内框架、磁悬浮转子四者之间的动力学耦合关系。针对磁悬浮转子的非线性耦合干扰,提出一种基于复合控制的补偿方法,通过磁轴承产生相应的电磁力,对陀螺耦合力矩和惯性耦合力矩进行补偿控制。仿真结果表明,干扰补偿控制能有效抑制航天器及框架对磁悬浮转子的耦合干扰,也有效提高了磁悬浮转子系统的稳定性。     

航天器微振动稳态时域响应分析方法

由于航天器在轨工作时处于无约束状态,采用传统的时程积分法分析微振动响应会受到刚体"漂移"和弹性体瞬态效应的影响,难以获得满足实际工程需要的分析结果。文章提出了基于复频理论的航天器稳态时域响应分析方法,介绍了该方法的实现途径,并应用于某航天器微振动问题。研究结果表明:该方法对于航天器在谐波形式干扰源作用下的微振动时域响应计算,可以完全消除刚体"漂移"和弹性体瞬态效应的影响,直接获得稳态时域响应。     

Inflatable antenna for cubesats: Motivation for development and antenna design

CubeSats and small satellites have potential to provide means to explore space and to perform science in a more affordable way. As the goals for these spacecraft become more ambitious in space exploration, moving from Low Earth Orbit (LEO) to Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) or further, the communication systems currently implemented will not be able to support those missions. One of the bottlenecks in small spacecraft communication systems is represented by antennas' size, due to the close relation between antenna gain and dimensions. Current antennas for CubeSats are mostly dipole or patch antennas with limited gain. Deployable (not inflatable) antennas for CubeSats are currently being investigated, but these solutions are affected by the challenge of packaging the whole deployable structure in a small spacecraft.The work that we propose represents the first attempt to develop an inflatable antenna for CubeSats. Inflatable structures and antennas can be packaged efficiently occupying a small amount of space, and they can provide, once deployed, large dish dimension and correspondent gain. Inflatable antennas have been previously tested in space (Inflatable Antenna Experiment, STS-77). However they have never been developed for small spacecraft such as CubeSats, where the packaging efficiency, the deployment, and the inflation represent a challenge.Our study explores for the first time the possibility of developing such antenna in a way compatible with CubeSat dimensions and constraints. The research provides answers on the possible dimensions for an inflatable antenna for small satellites, on the gain and resolution that can be achieved, and on the deployment and inflation mechanism compatible with CubeSat. Future work in the development of the antenna will include the test of the antenna in flight during a specific technical demonstration mission.The article is structured as follows: context and motivation for Cubesat inflatable antenna are described; then a study to design the antenna which achieves the required performance metrics, while respecting the constraints imposed by CubeSat structure, is presented.     

Reducing mission operations costs through spacecraft autonomy: the near earth asteroid rendezvous (near) experience

With a maximum time of 12 days out of ground contact and a round-trip light time as high as 56 minutes, The Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) spacecraft requires a moderate degree of onboard autonomy to react to faults and safe the spacecraft. Beyond the basic safing requirements, additional functions are carried out onboard. For example, on-board calculation of the Sun, Earth, asteroid, and spacecraft positions allow the spacecraft to autonomously orient itself for science and downlink operations. On-board autonomous momentum management during cruise relieves Mission Operations from planning, scheduling, and carrying out many manual momentum dumps. During development, additional operations, such as center-of-mass management during propulsive maneuvers and optical navigation were also considered for onboard autonomy on the NEAR spacecraft, but were not selected. The allocation of functions to onboard software or to ground operations involved tradeoffs such as development time for onboard software versus ground software, resource management, life cycle costs, and spacecraft safety.After two years of cruise operations, considerable experience with the NEAR autonomy system has accrued. The utility of some autonomous capabilities is greater than expected, others less so. Software uploads increased spacecraft autonomy in some cases, and the impact on Mission Operations can be assessed. Allocation of functions between spacecraft autonomy and ground operation during development of future missions can be improved by applying the lessons learned from the NEAR experience.     

航天器真空热试验数据可视化系统设计与实现

针对航天器真空热试验测控数据处理现状和需求,通过引入三维数据可视化技术,设计了一种数据可视化系统。该系统运用Java 3D技术,通过虚拟场景设定,将真空热试验试件三维设计模型与热模型结合,实现温度数据—颜色映射,以云图形式显示测控数据,并实现与现有测控软件数据交互。典型试验结果表明:该可视化系统可以实时、真实、直观地显示试件在真空热试验过程中的温度变化情况,为试验过程中的实时温度监视和工况判读提供有效手段。     

航天器环境工程研究与展望

文章对航天器环境工程的发展进行了科学的探讨。文章指出：开展高可靠、长寿命航天器环境试验评价及防护技术研究,是航天器环境工程的长期重点发展方向;开展月球探测器特殊环境效应与模拟试验技术的研究,是探月工程的需求;航天器环境效应综合预示系统及航天器虚拟总装工艺技术,是未来发展的趋势;而建立空间环境天地一体化应用系统和建立空间环境试验与总装生产体系,是未来发展的模式。     

Magnetobraking for Mars return vehicles

It is proposed that magnetobraking may be used to dissipate hyperbolic excess velocity from a spacecraft returning from Mars to Earth orbit. In magnetobraking, an electrodynamic tether is deployed from the spacecraft. The Earth's magnetic field produces a force on electrical current in the tether, which can be used to either brake or accelerate the spacecraft without expenditure of reaction mass. The peak acceleration on the Mars return is 0.007 m/s², and the amount of braking possible is dependent on the density and current-carrying capacity of the tether, but is independent of length. Since energy is produced as the spacecraft velocity decreases, no on-board power source is required. As the spacecraft approaches the Earth, the magnetic field increases and the power produced by the tether increases, reaching a maximum of about 800 W per kg of spacecraft mass at closest approach.