Uncontrolled Attitude Motion of the Orbital Station MIR in the Last Months of Its Flight

The results of determination of the uncontrolled attitude motion of the orbital station MIR on four prolonged segments of its unmanned flight in 2000 and 2001 are presented. The determination was carried out on the basis of the data of onboard measurements of the Earth's magnetic field. The data obtained on a time interval of several hours were processed jointly by the least squares method by integration of the equations of motion of the station with respect to its center of mass. The processing resulted in the estimation of the initial conditions of the motion and of the parameters of the mathematical model used. Several types of regular motion were observed on sufficiently prolonged time intervals on the studied segments. Some of these motions were planned; others were established spontaneously.     

Mathematical Modeling of Convection in the DACON Sensor under Conditions of Real Space Flight

A mathematical model of the operation of the sensor of convection under ground and space conditions is described, and the results of modeling are compared to experimental data. A good agreement of the model and experiment is obtained for ground conditions. The sensor operation under conditions of a space flight is simulated using actual microaccelerations that took place onboard the Mirstation. Good sensitivity of the sensor to the measured components of acceleration is demonstrated. The results of simulation are compared to the results of space experiments carried out with the DACON instrument onboard the Mirstation.     

Influence of Basic Sources of Disturbances on Microgravity Conditions in the MirStation Modules as Estimated from the Data of the SAMS and MASU Instruments

The influence of basic sources of disturbances on microgravity conditions in the modules of the Mirorbital station is estimated. The onboard air compressor, gyrodynes, and the crew activity are among these sources. The data of measurements made with the SAMS and MASU instruments in 1996–1997 are used.     

Empirical model of pitch-angle distributions of trapped protons on the inner boundary of the Earth’s radiation belt

We have made a generalization of experimental data on the fluxes of trapped protons that were detected by various instruments on three low-orbit satellites (NOAA-17, Universitetskii-Tatiana, and CORONAS-F) during April of 2005. Based on these data, a new quantitative model is suggested to describe the fluxes of trapped protons. It allows one, using analytical expressions, to predict the fluxes of protons with energy from 30 keV to 140 MeV under quiet geomagnetic conditions in the period close to the solar activity minimum at drift shells L = 1.14–1.4. The suggested model establishes differential directional fluxes of protons as a function of pitchangle on the geomagnetic equator and takes into account the anisotropy of trapped particles on the lower boundary of the Earth’s radiation belt.     

Experimental Study of the Structures of Macroparticles in the Dust Plasma under Microgravity Conditions onboard the MirOrbital Complex

The dynamics of formation of the ordered structures of charged macroparticles under microgravity conditions is investigated. The experimental observations of the behavior of an ensemble of macroparticles were carried out onboard the Mirspace station. The analysis and comparison of results of experimental and theoretical investigations allow us to conclude that under microgravity conditions the formation of elongated, ordered structures of macroparticles, charged by solar radiation, is possible.     

Influence of Microgravity on Self-Propagating High-Temperature Synthesis of Refractory Inorganic Compounds

The self-propagating high-temperature synthesis was applied for the production of foam materials under the conditions of microgravity aboard the Mirstation. The materials obtained have a porous bimodal structure. The results of space experiments predicted using the interpolation method are checked. An unpredicted phase separation of the combustion products is discovered. The autowave combustion of suspended nickel-clad aluminum solids is observed for the first time. The combustion products were found to have a frame structure.     

Determination of parameters of rotational motion of the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Monitor-E</Emphasis> spacecraft from the telemetry data on solar batteries’ current

The Monitor-E spacecraft executed uncontrolled flight due to emergency situation, no telemetry information on parameters of the spacecraft’s attitude motion being available. So, the problem arose to determine the spacecraft’s rotational motion from the accessible indirect information—the electric current provided by solar batteries. In this paper the integrated statistical technique is described, that allows one to solve this problem. The values of current, obtained over the time interval some tens of minutes long, have been processed simultaneously by the least squares method using the integration of the equations of spacecraft’s rotational motion. As a result of processing, the initial conditions of motion were estimated, and the spacecraft’s moments of inertia were updated, as well as the angles, specifying solar batteries position in the spacecraft-fixed coordinate system. The results of processing of 12 data sets are presented, which allowed us to reconstruct the actual rotational motion of the spacecraft.     

The Production of Biologically Active Substances by Plant Cell Cultures in Space

The impact of the conditions of space flight on the productivity of cultures of the plant cells with respect to the biomass and the metabolites is investigated. The experiments were performed with the callus cultures of the cells of ginseng (Panax ginseng), red root puccoon (Lithospermum arythrorhizon), and macrotomia coloring (Macrotomia euchroma) onboard the orbital station Mirand American Space Shuttle. A more pronounced variation of the output of the metabolites is noted with respect to the ground control. This output depends upon the properties of the strain and conditions of the experiment.     

Dynamics of Temperature and Density of Cold Protons of the Earth's Plasmasphere Measured by the Auroral Probe/Alpha-3 Experiment Data during Geomagnetic Disturbances

We present the results of temperature and density measurement of plasmaspheric protons under quiet and disturbed conditions in the night and dayside sectors of the plasmasphere obtained with the Auroral Probe/Alpha-3 instrument during September 1996 and January 1997. According to the experimental data, the proton temperature in the night sector of the plasmasphere depends on the level of geomagnetic disturbance: it is found that at night hours the values of temperatures inside the plasmasphere at 2.4 < L < 3.5 decreased considerably after the commencement of a geomagnetic storm. The temperature decrease, as a rule, was accompanied by the formation of a flat plateau on the density distribution n(L) at 2.4 < L < 3.5. The above experimental facts (decreasing proton temperature and formation of a flat part on the n(L) distribution) allow us to conclude that the decrease in the proton temperature in the night sector of the plasmasphere connected with magnetic disturbances is caused by the filling of field tubes (depleted after the commencement of the storm) with colder ionospheric plasma. The proton temperature in the dayside sector of the plasmasphere virtually does not depend on the level of the geomagnetic disturbance.     

Uncontrollable Rotational Motion of the Mir Orbital Station

The results of determining the rotational motion of the Mir orbital station are presented for four long segments of its unmanned uncontrolled flight in 1999–2000. The determination was carried out using the data of onboard measurements of the Earth's magnetic field intensity. These data, taken for a time interval of several hours, were jointly processed by the least squares method with the help of integration of the equations of station motion relative to its center of mass. As a result of this processing, the initial conditions of motion and the parameters of the mathematical model used were evaluated. The technique of processing is verified using the telemetry data on angular velocity of the station and its attitude parameters. Two types of motion were applied on the investigated segments. One of them (three segments) presents a rotation around the axis of the minimum moment of inertia. This axis executes small oscillations with respect to a normal to the orbit plane. Such a motion was used for the first time on domestic manned orbital complexes. The second type of motion begins with a biaxial rotation which, in a few weeks, goes over into a motion very similar to the rotation around the normal to the orbit plane, but around the axis of the maximum moment of inertia.     

Large proton disturbances in the orbit: 14 years later

A comparison of the measurement data of radiation conditions onboard the ISS during solar proton events in October 2003 and onboard the Mir orbital station in October 1989 is carried out. It is shown that there is a difference in the conditions of particle penetration to the station orbits during these series of flares. Computational estimates of the absorbed doses are obtained, and they agree well with the data of measurements by standard instruments of radiation monitoring. The comparisons made demonstrate that the equivalent thickness of the shield at the location of the R-16 radiometer onboard the ISS exceeds the corresponding value onboard the Mir station by a factor of 2.8.Translated from Kosmicheskie Issledovaniya, Vol. 42, No. 6, 2004, pp. 663–667.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2004 by Bondarenko, Mitrikas, Tsetlin.     

Investigation of Thermal Convection and Low-Frequency Microgravity by the DACON Sensor aboard the MirOrbital Complex

The DACON instrument for studying the convection caused by low frequency microaccelerations aboard spacecraft is described. The convection sensor serves as a measuring element of this instrument. This is a cylindrical cavity filled with air, where two crossed differential thermocouples are located. The thermocouple junctions lay on two mutually perpendicular lines parallel to the bases of the cylinder and crossing at its axis. The distances from the junctions to this axis are equal. The lateral surface of the cylinder is thermally insulated, the difference of temperatures on its bases being kept constant. One of the tasks for the sensor is to prepare the data for checking the adequacy of mathematical models of fluid convection under weightlessness conditions and for obtaining quantitative characteristics of the microgravitational medium. The results of ground-based tests of the DACON instrument and the results of experiments with it aboard the Mirstation are presented.     

Evolution of seismo-ionospheric disturbances according to the data of dense network of GPS stations

The evolution of seismo-ionospheric disturbances accompanied strong destructive earthquakes in the region of Kuril and Japan Islands on October 4, 1994, September 25, 2003, and November 15, 2006 is studied in the paper. For determination of the dynamics of spatial-temporal and amplitude parameters of disturbances in the total electron content (TEC) on the basis of the Japan network of receiving GPS stations GEONET and Korean network KGN, the method of drawing “distance-time” diagrams and quasi-optimal algorithm of spatial-temporal processing of the GPS network data was used. The ionospheric response was detected at a distance D from the epicenter up 2500 km. The maximal value of the disturbance amplitude is observed at D = 400–600 km. For the September 25, 2003 and November 15, 2006 earthquakes, the velocity V of propagation of the dominant disturbance mode is independent of the distance and equal to 850 and 1100 m/s, respectively. At a distance D ∼ 600 km, the wave disturbance from the main shock of the October 4, 1994 earthquake is split into two modes: the velocity of the “fast mode” of the disturbance increases with distance from 1500 to 2400 m/s, while the velocity of the “slow mode” V = 600 m/s does not depend on D. Possible interpretation of the obtained results is given.     

On the Origin of High-Latitude Boundary Layer of the Earth's Magnetosphere

Localization of the reconnection region at the dayside magnetopause is among the unsolved problems of magnetospheric physics. There are two alternative models, one of which predicts the reconnection at the equatorial magnetopause, and the other predicts the reconnection in the region where the magnetic field of the solar wind flowing around the magnetosphere is antiparallel to the geomagnetic field. The statistical analysis carried out for 53 INTERBALL-1crossings of the high-latitude magnetopause in a special coordinate frame invariant with respect to the interplanetary conditions shows that the model of a reconnection in antiparallel fields agrees well with the experimental data.     

Electromagnetic Pulse in the Magnetosphere Generated by Impulsive Current near the Lower Boundary of the Ionosphere

A solution to the problem of current spreading is constructed in the case of relaxation of electric charges, which have arisen in the mesosphere for one reason or other. These currents penetrate into the conductive region with anisotropic conductivity of the D- and E-layers of the ionosphere, being transformed to a MHD-wave that propagates into the magnetosphere. Based on this solution, the form and spectrum of the generated MHD signal are calculated for Alfvenic and magnetosonic modes coming out to the ionosphere and magnetosphere. Electric charges and currents can arise, for example, in the space between a thunderstorm cloud and the ionosphere, or between the shock wave from a ground explosion and the ionosphere. Some signal parameters accepted in the model are close to those expected for high-altitude electric discharges of the Red Sprite type. The conditions are determined under which the Alfven impulse with an amplitude of up to 100 nT propagates in the magnetosphere above high-altitude discharge of this type. Such an impulse was recorded by the AUREOL-3 satellite after the ground explosion MASSA-1. Recently, this impulse was hypothesized to originate as a result of a high-altitude electric discharge. The hypothesis on a similar MHD pulse allows one to explain in a semiquantitative way the short burst of electron field-aligned acceleration observed by the DE-2 satellite over the Debbie hurricane. The high-altitude atmospheric discharge of this type can be a powerful, though short-time and local, source of electrons with kiloelectronvolt energies at low and middle latitudes. One could expect that such an effect causes a modified character of the so-called Trimpi-effect (a short-term disturbance of propagation of VLF waves in the ionosphere), and thus, it can be observable.     

Structure of the earth’s magnetosheath at small fluctuations in the interplanetary magnetic field direction

Spatial structure of the magnetosheath of the Earth was studied under the conditions when no sharp (more than 40° during 5 min) changes in the interplanetary magnetic field direction were observed. On the basis of 24 flights of the Interball-1 satellite through the magnetosheath, it is found that three regions differing from each other by parameters of the field and plasma can be observed in the magnetosheath under the above-indicated conditions. These regions also differ from the solar wind region before front of the Earth’s magnetospheric bow shock. Empirical distributions of parameters were studied in each region. Taking into account the influence of the interplanetary magnetic field direction on the processes in the magnetosheath, the cases of quasi-perpendicular and quasi-parallel shock waves were considered separately. The study showed that the distribution of parameters in the selected regions (in the solar wind before front of the bow shock, in the magnetosheath behind the bow shock (post-shock), in the region of the magnetosheath with minimal fluctuations in the field, and in the inner magnetosheath) differ from each other at any interplanetary magnetic field direction.     

Modeling the Modification of the Nighttime High-Latitude F-Region by Powerful HF Radiowaves

A mathematical model of the high-latitude F-region, taking the ionospheric plasma convection into account, is used for modeling a response of the auroral F-region to irradiation by powerful high-frequency (HF) radiowaves. The model enables us to calculate the time variations in the profiles of the electron concentration, the velocity of positive ions, and the ion and electron temperatures in the part of a magnetic-flux tube moving over an artificial ionospheric heater under the action of a convective electric field. The modeling was carried out for a part of the magnetic flux tube intersecting the F-layer irradiated by the Norwegian heater at Tromsö when it is located near the midnight magnetic meridian. The calculations were made for the equinox conditions under the high solar and low geomagnetic activity. The results of our modeling show that substantial variations in the profiles of the electron temperature, the velocity of positive ions, and the electron concentration can be produced in the nighttime high-latitude F-layer due to HF heating. The perturbation caused by a 20 s rectangular pulse should exist for about 20 min at the level of the F-layer maximum. The disturbed plasma volume can leave the region irradiated by the heater and move away for over 500 km within the above-mentioned time period.     

Application of periodic solutions of three-dimensional three-body problem to designing the orbit of a space telescope

A method of constructing three-dimensional orbits with a necessary evolution in the system the Sun — (Earth + Moon) is described. The orbit (promising from the viewpoint of solving formulated research problems) of the Millimetron spacecraft is suggested. Feasibility of such an orbit is demonstrated, as well as a possibility to observe with its help the majority of objects on the celestial sphere and to transmit the data to the Earth.     

Autogeneration of an Instability of a Plasma Composition Equilibrium in the Plasmaspheric Transition Region during a Postsunset High-Altitude Launch of the Vertikal'-10 Rocket

A cause of the instability of equilibrium of plasma ion composition is discussed and exemplified by the data on a burst of amplitudes of small-scale plasma irregularities in the plasmaspheric transition region during an evening launch of the Vertikal'-10 rocket. This burst is accompanied by a simultaneous decrease in the average plasma density at altitudes of 700–1100 km. Specific features of the observed events are compared to postsunset incoherent scatter radar observations of the ion diffusion flux density. It is demonstrated that the instability is caused by peculiarities of the protonosphere–ionosphere interaction associated with a sharp difference between thermal conditions of the ionospheric and protonospheric air shortly after sunset. The induced nonuniformity of postsunset cooling of the protonospheric–ionospheric plasma causes density irregularities in ion diffusion fluxes and generates local bunches of heavy ions, which are usually only a minor impurity to lighter ions. As a result, conditions are created that are favorable for the nondissipative accumulation of potential energy for the mutual opposition of two or more groups of ions with different masses and for the subsequent release of this energy by a threshold excitation of impurity-driven plasma instabilities.     

Estimation of the determination accuracy of orbit parameters of the apophis asteroid from measurement results

An analysis of the existing astrometric and radar observations of the Apophis asteroid is performed. On the basis of this analysis, characteristics of future measurements of the asteroid orbit and limitation on their conduction are accepted. A proposed launching of a spacecraft to the asteroid in order to obtain high-accuracy measurements of its distance and radial velocity is also considered. Trajectories of the flight to the asteroid in 2012–2022 are studied. Estimates of the accuracy of the Apophis position determination at various sets of both available and planned measurements at various numbers of determined parameters are obtained. The method of estimating accuracy is similar to that used in [1] for the Vega project.