Satellite vulnerability: a post-Cold War issue?

The widely discussed use of US reconnaissance satellites during the Gulf War will strongly motivate future regional adversaries to seek ways of countering US space-based assets. The presumption that reconnaissance satellites can operate covertly is obsolete. Tracking US reconnaissance satellites can provide valuable support to a hostile country's concealment and deception programs. Iraq's ability to conceal both major weapons programs and many SCUD launchers is a warning of the serious consequences such programs can have. Space surveillance systems of the type likely to be acquired by Third World countries are inconspicuous and may well go undetected, while direct ascent ASAT rockets are within the reach of many countries. This article argues that fundamental reexamination of the functions and architecture of US overhead reconnaissance is needed, and should be done outside the traditional Cold War bureaucratic structures.     

美国调整军事航天器的发展策略

美国对军事航天器的依赖性不断增强,也面临着航天器越来越长的研制周期和越来越高的研制成本,因此,改变军事航天器的发展策略成为当务之急。美国为提升战场实战能力正在进行发展思路的战略性调整,主要包括:拓展搭载军事有效载荷的途径;推进将大型卫星有效载荷拆分成小卫星的模式;开发分布式军事太空系统结构;对运载资源挖潜;优化商业模式实现业务拓展。对已有卫星的后续系统,进行规模改造与能力提升途径的调整,主要包括:对于军事通信卫星,扩大宽带或"超高频"(SHF)系统,突出窄带或"特高频"(UHF)系统及"先进极高频"(AEHF)系统;分步升级GPS的地面部分,将GPS-3提升为国家关键基础设施;确保导弹预警卫星系统重点。在开发新系统时,美国注重提高效能和降低成本,发展有效的支持能力和低成本小卫星系统,提高低成本机动发射和快速进入太空的能力,并以轨道资源利用为目的开拓新途径。     

Cost-driven design of small satellite remote sensing systems*

Earth remote sensing (alongside communications) is one of the key application of Earth-orbiting satellites. Civilian satellites in the LANDSAT and SPOT series provide Earth images which have been used for a vast spectrum of applications in agriculture, meteorology, hydrology, urban planning and geology, to name but a few. In the defence sector, satellite remote sensing systems are a critical tool in strategic and tactical planning – for the countries which can afford them. To date, remote sensing satellites have fallen into one of these two categories: military missions driven by the requirement for very high resolution and orbital agility; and multipurpose civil satellites using general purpose sensors to serve a diverse community of end users. For military-style missions, the drive to high resolution sets the requirements for optics, attitude control and downlink data bandwidth. For civil missions, the requirement to satisfy multiple, diverse user applications forces compromises on spectral band and orbit selection. Although there are exceptions, many small satellite remote sensing missions carry on in this tradition, concentrating on ultra high resolution products for multiple user communities. This results in satellites costing on the order of US $100 M, not optimised for any particular application. This paper explores an alternative path to satellite remote sensing, aiming simultaneously to reduce cost and to optimise imaging products for specific applications. By decreasing the cost of the remote sensing satellite system to a critical point, it becomes appropriate to optimise the sensor's spectral and temporal characteristics to fit the requirements of a small, specialised user base. The critical engineering trade-off faced in a cost driven mission is how to reduce mission cost while still delivering a useful product to the selected user. At the Surrey Space Centre, we have pursued an engineering path using two dimensional CCD array sensors, commercial off-the-shelf lenses and gravity-gradient stabilised microsatellites. In spite of the inherent limitations of such systems, recent successes with the Thai Microsatellite Company's Thai-Phutt satellite show that a system costing in the region of US $3 million, can approach the spectral and spatial characteristics of LANDSAT. Surrey's UoSAT-12 minisatellite (to be launched April, 1999) will further develop this cost-driven approach to provide 10 m panchromatic resolution and 30 m multi-spectral resolution. This paper describes the Thai-Phutt and UoSAT-12 imaging systems, explaining the engineering methods and trade-offs. Although Surrey is presently the only centre presently pursuing such implementations, our paper shows that they deserve wider consideration.     

波带片衍射成像技术在对地观测卫星中的应用

介绍了国外波带片衍射成像技术在对地观测领域中的发展,论述了光子筛技术的演化历程,并总结了衍射成像技术在国外高轨和低轨卫星成像中的应用,提出了波带片衍射成像技术可使“低轨成像卫星小型化”和“高轨成像卫星高分（辨率）化”的优势,及目前国外在研究波带片衍射成像技术中存在的带宽较窄、薄膜折叠展开方法、衍射透镜面形保持等问题,并对中国开展用于对地观测的波带片衍射成像技术的研发提出了建议。     

现代小卫星的发展及轨道垃圾问题

文章首先综述半个多世纪以来传统和现代小卫星的技术发展,特别是现代小卫星在对地观测、通信导航、空间技术实验与演示、深空探测、军事等方面的应用取得很多成就,尤其是对地观测高分辨率成像系统取得了突破性技术成就;其次讨论小卫星所产生的轨道垃圾及其影响和处理;最后提出未来小卫星技术发展十个原则,对未来小卫星的应用作了展望。     

小卫星的推进系统

小卫星推进系统可以完成多种功能：变轨、轨道保持、姿态控制、重新定位以及离轨等。先进化学推进系统和低功耗电推进系统是现代小卫星的理想选择。近期可供小卫星应用的推进系统包括高压Ｉｒ／Ｒｅ双组元推力器、电弧推力器、霍尔推力器、脉冲等离子体推力器。业已证明，这些推进系统可以在目前计划中的许多小卫星上发挥其用武之地。本文综述了这一技术领域的最新进展。     

我国“风云”气象卫星及其应用的回顾与展望

气象卫星和卫星气象是气象现代化的重要标志。自1988年至今,我国已先后成功发射了4颗风云-1极轨气象卫星和4颗风云-2静止气象卫星,顺利完成了极轨和静止两个系列气象卫星从试验到业务卫星的跨越。由“风云”气象卫星获取的地球大气和地表信息已广泛应用于天气预报、气候预测、环境和自然灾害监测与分析等多个领域。文章介绍了我国“风云”系列气象卫星的发展历程、地面应用系统组成、“风云”卫星产品及应用,最后展望了“风云”系列气象卫星的发展。     

Data relay satellites and remote sensing: Issues for countries developing space capabilities

Data relay satellites can be used to transmit remotely sensed data gathered by other satellites to processing facilities on Earth. The author examines the advantage and disadvantages of DRS systems, particularly from the point of view of developing countries and the developed countries of the southern hemisphere, such as Australia.     

俄罗斯的空间军事能力:1992年～2001年

在过去的10年间,俄罗斯的各种军用卫星的发射率大幅度降低,甚至出现了没有照相侦察卫星在轨的特殊时期。俄罗斯是否由于财政状况,无法维持其军事空间能力呢?还是另有其他原因呢?文章列举了在1992～2001年间,俄罗斯的军用卫星发射情况,分析了其空间计划的前景。     

返回式卫星的最新发展

返回式卫星是在50年代末为军事照相侦察卫星而发展起来的。自70年代后期,返回式卫星在空间微重力试验以及为将来空间站的货物运输方面有着新的广泛的用途。西欧和日本自80年代后半期开始开展返回式卫星的研制,近些年来,获得了一些进展。本文介绍了近十年来,世界各国在研制返回式卫星方面取得的进展。     

Small satellite's role in future hyperspectral Earth observation missions

Along with various advanced satellite onboard sensors, an important place in the near future will belong to hyperspectral instruments, considered as suitable for different scientific, commercial and military missions. As was demonstrated over the last decade, hyperspectral Earth observations can be provided by small satellites at considerably lower costs and shorter timescales, even though with some limitations on resolution, spectral response, and data rate. In this work the requirements on small satellites with imaging hyperspectral sensors are studied. Physical and technological limitations of hyperspectral imagers are considered. A mathematical model of a small satellite with a hyperspectral imaging spectrometer system is developed. The ability of the small satellites of different subclasses (micro- and mini-) to obtain hyperspectral images with a given resolution and quality is examined. As a result of the feasibility analysis, the constraints on the main technical parameters of hyperspectral instruments suitable for application onboard the small satellites are outlined. Comparison of the data for designed and planned instruments with simulation results validates the presented approach to the estimation of the small satellite size limitations. Presented analysis was carried out for sensors with conventional filled aperture optics.     

国外低轨道卫星综述

由于地球低轨道更利于收集情报信息 ,大多被军事侦察卫星所占有。随着太空军事化趋势的日益增强 ,了解和认识当前的低轨道卫星较为必要。介绍了典型低轨道卫星的军事作用和运作机理 ,并给出了当前在轨低轨道卫星的技术参数。最后分析了其发展趋势     

Rethinking national and global security: The role of space-based observations

In 1955 US President Eisenhower made his Open Skies proposal to the USSR, suggesting an exchange of blueprints showing the location of military installations in the two countries. The proposal was rejected at the time, but today the proliferation of remote sensing technology, along with interrelated security concerns, suggests that the time has come to rethink and update the concept. In this paper the author explains his recent proposal to the US Congress that a national commission be established to explore how information gathered by civilian remote sensing satellites could increase international security and stability without jeopardizing national defence.     

国外侦察卫星最新进展

介绍了各国和地区的在轨侦察能力、在研的卫星系统,以及未来的发展规划,最后总结了各国侦察卫星发展概况。     

PFI in the sky, or pie in the sky? — Privatising military space

The UK has made use of dedicated, national military satellites for communications since November 1969. The replacement of the current system, Skynet 4, which will reach the end of its design lifetime early in the next century, is currently under consideration. Possible options which have been mooted to date include a new generation of a national satellite system (Skynet 5), or one of several international collaborative projects. However, these appear to have been superseded by a new possibility — a privately, commercially funded national system under the government's Private Finance Initiative (PFI). This paper examines the historical reliance of the UK on military satellite communications, the options for the next generation of such systems, and, drawing on the UK example, raises a number of questions concerning the potential significance of reliance on commercial enterprise to provide a key element of defence capability.     

Current US remote sensing policies: opportunities and challenges

This article examines recent progress in US land remote sensing policies by reviewing the evolution of policy on commercial imaging satellites from 1992 to the present and charting developments in the Landsat programme. Key features of the new (2003) commercial remote sensing policy are described, which go far in addressing the ambiguities of the earlier (PDD-23) framework that, in practice, hampered development of a commercial industry. In the case of Landsat, problems, particularly those of assured data provision, remain. The key to solving them lies in integrating civil, military and commercial elements more coherently, rather than considering them in isolation.     

采样式成像系统中混叠影响的初步研究

由于采样的固有局限性 ,绝大多数可见和红外的采样式成像系统都存在着不同程度的频率混叠 (或者虚假响应 )问题。伴随着对高分辨率遥感图像的追求 ,采样式成像系统中混叠对图像质量的影响程度一直是人们所关心的问题 ,并提出了不少混叠的量化及容忍程度的方法和标准。文章采用Shade提出的混叠标准 ,对当今的IKONOS、Quickbird、Pleiades等卫星上的高分辨率空间相机进行了仿真和计算 ,分析了这些采样式成像系统中频率混叠的程度 ,并就得到的理论结果提出了建议和看法     

The development of a Russian communication satellite of small class, operating in the geostationary and high-elliptical orbits

In 1994–1995 Lavochkin Association (Russia) together with the other enterprises in accordance with technical requirements of the Russian Space agency, developed a new Russian communication satellite of a small class that will operate in both the geostationary (GSO) and high-elliptical (HEO) orbits. This satellite may be injected into operational orbits using a SOYUZ-2 launch vehicle (LV) and a FREGAT upper stage (US) from Plesetsk and Baykonur space launch sites (SLS).The main reason for creating such a satellite was to decrease the cost of the support and development of the Russian communication geostationary satellites group.Russian satellites Horizont, Express, Ekran and Gals, which operate in GSO, are the basis of the space segment for communications, radio and TV broadcasting. All of these satellites are injected into GSO by the PROTON LV. PROTON is a launch vehicle of a heavy class. The use of a middle class LV instead of a heavy class will allow to reduce considerably the launch cost. The change of a heavy class LV to a LV of middle class determined one economic reason for this project. Besides, the opportunity to launch S/C into GSO from Russian Plesetsk SLS increases the independence of Russia in the domain of space communications, despite the presence of the contract with Kazachstan about the rent of Baykonur SLS. Finally, use of small satellites with a rather small number of transponders is more effective than the use of big satellites. It will allow also to increase a satellite group (by the launch of additional satellites) precisely in accordance to the development of the ground segment.     

The development of a Russian communication satellite of small class, operating in the geostationary and high-elliptical orbits

In 1994-1995 Lavochkin Association (Russia) together with the other enterprises in accordance with technical requirements of the Russian Space agency, developed a new Russian communication satellite of a small class that will operate in both the geostationary (GSO) and high-elliptical (HEO) orbits. This satellite may be injected into operational orbits using a SOYUZ-2 launch vehicle (LV) and a FREGAT upper stage (US) from Plesetsk and Baykonur space launch sites (SLS).The main reason for creating such a satellite was to decrease the cost of the support and development of the Russian communication geostationary satellites group.Russian satellites Horizont, Express, Ekran and Gals, which operate in GSO, are the basis of the space segment for communications, radio and TV broadcasting. All of these satellites are injected into GSO by the PROTON LV. PROTON is a launch vehicle of a heavy class. The use of a middle class LV instead of a heavy class will allow to reduce considerably the launch cost. The change of a heavy class LV to a LV of middle class determined one economic reason for this project. Besides, the opportunity to launch S/C into GSO from Russian Plesetsk SLS increases the independence of Russia in the domain of space communications, despite the presence of the contract with Kazachstan about the rent of Baykonur SLS. Finally, use of small satellites with a rather small number of transponders is more effective than the use of big satellites. It will allow also to increase a satellite group (by the launch of additional satellites) precisely in accordance to the development of the ground segment.     

Tracking and data relay satellite system: NASA's new spacecraft data acquisition system

The growth in NASA's ground network complexity and cost triggered a search for an alternative. Through a lease service contract, Western Union will provide to NASA 10 years of space communications services with a Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS). A constellation of four operating satellites in geostationary orbit and a single ground terminal will provide complete tracking, telemetry and command service for all of NASA's Earth orbital satellites below an altitude of 12,000 km. The system is shared: two satellites will be dedicated to NASA service; a third will provide backup as a shared spare; the fourth satellite will be dedicated to Western Union's Advanced Westar commercial service. Western Union will operate the ground terminal and provide operational satellite control. NASA's Network Control Center will provide the focal point for scheduling user services and controlling the interface between TDRSS and the rest of the NASA communications network, project control centers and data processing facilities. TDRSS single access user spacecraft data systems should be designed for efficient time shared data relay support. Reimbursement policy and rate structure for non-NASA users are currently being developed.