Autonomous aerobraking for low-cost interplanetary missions

Aerobraking has previously been used to reduce the propellant required to deliver an orbiter to its desired final orbit. In principle, aerobraking should be possible around any target planet or moon having sufficient atmosphere to permit atmospheric drag to provide a portion of the mission ΔV, in lieu of supplying all of the required ΔV propulsively. The spacecraft is flown through the upper atmosphere of the target using multiple passes, ensuring that the dynamic pressure and thermal loads remain within the spacecraft's design parameters. NASA has successfully conducted aerobraking operations four times, once at Venus and three times at Mars. While aerobraking reduces the fuel required, it does so at the expense of time (typically 3–6 months), continuous Deep Space Network (DSN) coverage, and a large ground staff. These factors can result in aerobraking being a very expensive operational phase of the mission. However, aerobraking has matured to the point that much of the daily operation could potentially be performed autonomously onboard the spacecraft, thereby reducing the required ground support and attendant aerobraking related costs. To facilitate a lower-risk transition from ground processing to an autonomous capability, the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) has assembled a team of experts in aerobraking and interplanetary guidance and control to develop a high-fidelity, flight-like simulation. This simulation will be used to demonstrate the overall feasibility while exploring the potential for staff and DSN coverage reductions that autonomous aerobraking might provide. This paper reviews the various elements of autonomous aerobraking and presents an overview of the various models and algorithms that must be transformed from the current ground processing methodology to a flight-like environment. Additionally the high-fidelity flight software test bed, being developed from models used in a recent interplanetary mission, will be summarized.     

Aerobraking at Venus: A science and technology enabler

Venus remains one of the great unexplored planets in our solar system, with key questions remaining on the evolution of its atmosphere and climate, its volatile cycles, and the thermal and magmatic evolution of its surface. One potential approach toward answering these questions is to fly a reconnaissance mission that uses a multi-mode radar in a near-circular, low-altitude orbit of ∼400 km and 60–70° inclination. This type of mission profile results in a total mission delta-V of ∼4.4 km/s. Aerobraking could provide a significant portion, potentially up to half, of this energy transfer, thereby permitting more mass to be allocated to the spacecraft and science payload or facilitating the use of smaller, cheaper launch vehicles.Aerobraking at Venus also provides additional science benefits through the measurement of upper atmospheric density (recovered from accelerometer data) and temperature values, especially near the terminator where temperature changes are abrupt and constant pressure levels drop dramatically in altitude from day to night.Scientifically rich, Venus is also an ideal location for implementing aerobraking techniques. Its thick lower atmosphere and slow planet rotation result in relatively more predictable atmospheric densities than Mars. The upper atmosphere (aerobraking altitudes) of Venus has a density variation of 8% compared to Mars' 30% variability. In general, most aerobraking missions try to minimize the duration of the aerobraking phase to keep costs down. These short phases have limited margin to account for contingencies. It is the stable and predictive nature of Venus' atmosphere that provides safer aerobraking opportunities.The nature of aerobraking at Venus provides ideal opportunities to demonstrate aerobraking enhancements and techniques yet to be used at Mars, such as flying a temperature corridor (versus a heat-rate corridor) and using a thermal-response surface algorithm and autonomous aerobraking, shifting many daily ground activities to onboard the spacecraft. A defined aerobraking temperature corridor, based on spacecraft component maximum temperatures, can be employed on a spacecraft specifically designed for aerobraking, and will predict subsequent aerobraking orbits and prescribe apoapsis propulsive maneuvers to maintain the spacecraft within its specified temperature limits. A spacecraft specifically designed for aerobraking in the Venus environment can provide a cost-effective platform for achieving these expanded science and technology goals.This paper discusses the scientific merits of a low-altitude, near-circular orbit at Venus, highlights the differences in aerobraking at Venus versus Mars, and presents design data using a flight system specifically designed for an aerobraking mission at Venus. Using aerobraking to achieve a low altitude orbit at Venus may pave the way for various technology demonstrations, such as autonomous aerobraking techniques and/or new science measurements like a multi-mode, synthetic aperture radar capable of altimetry and radiometry with performance that is significantly more capable than Magellan.     

Tether satellite system collision study

A study was performed to determine the probability of collision with resident space objects and untrackable debris for the tether component of the Tethered Satellite System (TSS) after it broke away from the space shuttle orbiter (mission STS-75) in February 1996. Both an analytical and a numerical approach were used in this study, and the results obtained with these two methods were found to be in good agreement. These results show that the deployed tether is expected to have been impacted by several particles 0.1 mm or larger in size. The probability of collision with objects 10 cm in size or larger was on the order of 10⁻³ per month. Since the severed tether reentered within one month after deployment, the collision hazard to other objects while in orbit was small. The analytical methods used in this study are general and can be applied to future tether collision evaluations.     

Refined dynamical analysis of multi-tethered satellite formations

The dynamics of a multi-tethered satellite formation is considered here, in order to derive a minimum complexity model that successfully represents its dynamics under the action of gravity gradient force and tether tension, where tethers are modeled by means of a sequence of point-masses and massless springs (bead model). The results thus obtained are compared with those derived for a simple, massless tether model, in order to highlight the effects of tether mass on the resulting open-loop behavior. The analysis is performed by means of numerical simulation of the considered models. Once the dynamic behavior of the formation is identified for the nominal values of tether characteristics, the problems raised by the presence of tether mass are highlighted and possible solutions are outlined, when possible. A parametric analysis with respect to the tether linear mass, damping and stiffness is also discussed.     

Tether Satellite System Collision Study

A study was performed to determine the probability of collision with resident space objects and untrackable debris for the tether component of the Tethered Satellite System (TSS) after it broke away from the Space Shuttle orbiter (mission STS-75) in February 1996. Both an analytical and a numerical approach were used in this study, and the results obtained with these two methods were found to be in good agreement. These results show that the deployed tether is expected to have been impacted by several particles 0.1mm or larger in size. The probability of collision with objects 10cm in size or larger was on the order of 10^–3 per month. Since the severed tether reentered within one month after deployment, the collision hazard to other objects while in orbit was small. The analytical methods used in this study are useful for tether collision evaluations in general.     

Tether assisted near earth object diversion

Potential earth impact threats posed by asteroids have motivated researchers to find effective NEO diversion techniques. Several means to perturb the motion of an asteroid have been discussed in the literature. Attaching a long tether and ballast mass to the asteroid can effectively alter its trajectory. In this paper it is shown that by cutting the tether at an appropriate time the diversion can be enhanced. The instant of cutting the tether significantly affects the final orbit of the asteroid and thus the resulting deflection from the original path.     

Design concepts for the first 40 km a key step for the space elevator

The Marine Node for the Space Elevator Infrastructure is the base for all activities to load and unload the cargo and climbers. As the basic design of the space elevator power system is solar power only, the first 40 km is hazardous to operations and demands enclosed packaging of fragile tether climbers. A significant question is: how do we place a full-up tether climber, driven by solar power, above the atmosphere? Two approaches, starting at the Marine Node, allow the tether climber to initiate the climb with solar energy above the atmosphere. The third viable approach is to provide a platform at altitude for initiation of tether climb. These approaches would enable solar power to be the source of energy for climbing. The three approaches are:     

The Pioneer Venus spacecraft program

The Pioneer Venus program consist of two spacecraft: an orbiter and a multiprobe. Both arrived at Venus in early December 1978. The orbiter collected data on the upper atmosphere and fields and particles and sensed the clouds and surface remotely from a 75° inclined orbit. The multiprobe consisted of a bus, three small probes, and a large probe. All five objects entered the Venus atmosphere and transmitted data on its characteristics directly to Earth while descending to the surface. The development of these spacecraft required the solution of many difficult and unique technique problems.     

电动绳系在低极轨卫星中的应用研究

低极轨卫星具有轨道周期短、对地观测分辨率高等优点,但由于所在轨道大气阻力大,其使用寿命受到较大限制。文章提出采用水平结构电动绳系抵消低极轨卫星大气阻力的方法,通过系绳电流与地球磁场相互作用产生洛仑兹力进行推进,进而在无燃料消耗的情况下实现对低极轨卫星轨道高度的维持。初步分析了该方法在低极轨不同尺寸卫星中的应用潜力,计算了160 、400 和800 km 典型高度低极轨卫星所经历的地球磁场、电离层和高层大气环境相关参数变化,比较了不同条件下电动绳系推力与大气阻力大小随轨道位置的变化。分析结果表明,该方法适用于400 km 轨道高度以上大卫星;在满足一定系绳长度和轨道高度的条件下,电动绳系可以有效延长低极轨卫星的轨道寿命。     

On the deployment dynamics of tether connected two-body systems

A general formulation of the deployment dynamics of tether connected two-body systems taking into account the three dimensional librational motion, longitudinal and transverse vibrations of the continuous tether, eccentricity of the orbit and aerodynamic drag in a rotating, oblate atmosphere, is presented. Three simple deployment procedures (uniform, exponential and their combination) are considered. In the beginning analytical solutions are obtained for the degenerate case of negligible vibrations in a circular orbit, which help in establishing trends for the more general situation. This is followed by the general dynamics of the system investigated through integration of the linearized autonomous equations of motion numerically. Typical plots are presented which describe the effects of various system parameters on the tether dynamics during deployment of a subsatellite from the Space Shuttle.     

卫星轨道圆化的有限推力点火控制策略

本文研究卫星轨道圆化的点火控制策略，发动机推力为有限常值，方向可调。考虑了燃料消耗引起的质量损失。假设圆轨道上有一飞行器在运动，称为虚拟轨道器。只要卫星与虚拟轨道器软交会，就完成了轨道圆化。文中给出了使卫星与虚拟轨道器软交会的推力方向控制策略和点火位置与关车位置的求取方法。仿真结果表明，本文方法与水平推力策略和切向推力策略相比，具有更高的控制精度，而且燃料消耗接近最优。     

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.     

Experiments and numerical simulations of an electrodynamic tether deployment from a spool-type reel using thrusters

The amount of space debris is ever increasing, and pollution of the space environment has become a serious problem that can no longer be ignored. Consequently, the active removal of large space debris from crowded economically useful orbits should begin as soon as possible. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency has been investigating an active debris removal system that employs highly efficient electrodynamic tether (EDT) technology for orbital transfer. This study investigates the tether deployment from a spool-type reel using thrusters by means of numerical simulations of an EDT system. The thrusters are used in order to ensure the deployment of a tether with the length of several kilometers. In the simulations using a multiple mass tether model, the key parameters are estimated from various on-ground experiments. By means of the numerical simulations, the dynamics of tether deployment is studied and requirements of thruster needed for the deployment, such as the thrust forces and the periods of thruster activation, are clarified.     

利用气动减速的国外深空探测器热控设计特点分析

气动减速技术能在耗费较少燃料的情况下,使探测器顺利进入预定环绕轨道.面向气动减速技术的深空探测器迎风面需要承受较高的气动热负荷与气动力,使得迎风面热控材料的耐热与耐冲击能力成为探测器设计的关键.文章对国外相关应用实例进行了调研和综述,并在此基础上总结了此类深空探测器热控系统的设计特点,可为气动减速技术在我国深空探测任务...     

Orbital and relative motion of a tethered satellite system

A simplified model for the orbital and relative motion of a tethered satellite system is presented. The tether acts as a light elastic string with small structural damping but without bending stiffness. Its mass is taken into account in the calculation of the total kinetic and potential energies of the tethered system. This formulation allows the inclusion of the complete gravity gradient influence on the dynamics of the system. The resulting three-dimensional motion is separated in the centre of mass orbital motion on the one hand and the relative motion of the end-bodies on the other. No restrictions on length of the tether or on mass ratio of the end-masses are imposed. It is found that the frequencies and amplitudes of the longitudinal tether oscillations are realistic as long as the tether mass is less than that of the subsatellite.     

Thick galactic cosmic radiation shielding using atmospheric data

NASA is concerned with protecting astronauts from the effects of galactic cosmic radiation and has expended substantial effort in the development of computer models to predict the shielding obtained from various materials. However, these models were only developed for shields up to about 120 g/cm² in mass thickness and have predicted that shields of this mass thickness are insufficient to provide adequate protection for extended deep space flights. Consequently, effort is underway to extend the range of these models to thicker shields and experimental data is required to help confirm the resulting code. In this paper empirically obtained effective dose measurements from aircraft flights in the atmosphere are used to obtain the radiation shielding function of the Earth's atmosphere, a very thick, i.e. high mass, shield. Obtaining this result required solving an inverse problem and the method for solving it is presented. The results are shown to be in agreement with current code in the ranges where they overlap. These results are then checked and used to predict the radiation dosage under thick shields such as planetary regolith and the atmosphere of Venus.     

Analysis of the dynamics of the deployed aerodynamic space tether system

An analysis of the motion of a deployed space system that consists of two end bodies connected by a tether has been considered. One of the bodies has a relatively large ballistic coefficient that ensures aerodynamic braking or the stabilization of the motion of the entire system in relatively low near-Earth orbits. The deployment of this system mainly occurs due to the action of aerodynamic forces. Several ways of deploying the system have been analyzed, including (1) the uncontrolled release of the tether with hardly any braking; (2) deployment with constant braking force; (3) the dynamic control law without feedback, when the resistance force varies according to a set program; (4) a kinematic control law with feedback when programs are set for varying the velocity and length of the tether release. To analyze the dynamics of the system, a mathematical model of motion has been constructed in which the motion of the end bodies relative to their centers of mass is taken into account.     

空间非合作目标物柔性捕获技术进展

分类探讨了近年来出现的多种空间柔性捕获技术的原理及性能特点,给出了一些具有代表性的案例,结果表明：空间绳系捕获技术在理论及试验研究方面都相对成熟,是未来行之有效、可工程实现的柔性捕获方式之一。重点针对空间非合作目标物捕获中容易出现的翻滚问题,对比分析现有的几种常用的接触式消旋方法,分析表明能同时实现捕获+消旋的一步式消旋法更具有应用前景。以空间绳系捕获技术作为空间柔性捕获的代表,对其捕获后的空间绳系组合体动力学模型建立过程中的系绳模型进行了综述,指出了各种系绳模型的优缺点及适用条件。对系绳控制机构进行了分类综述,给出了设计系绳控制机构需重点关注的问题。最后对空间绳系捕获技术的发展方向做了展望。     

再论空间系绳在回收容器返回中的应用

在已有的研究结果的基础上，对空间系绳在回收容器回中的应用，作了进一步分析，包括从回收容器离开空间站至回收容器从系绳上脱落的系绳伸展运动，（２）从系绳脱落的回收容器的返回运动，（３）释放容器后的系绳的收回运动。对回收容器的动态释放，除了两阶段指数型伸展程序外，还提出了另外两种导致系绳后摆的方式。对静态释放与动态释放，不仅对系绳长度，而且对系绳张力作了计算与分析。为了系绳收回过程的稳定，不仅要施加张力     

空间绳系研究综述

空间绳系根据原理主要分为两类:动量交换绳系和电动力绳系。文章详细介绍了两者的基本原理、动力学模型和控制策略,描述了空间绳系技术实验项目的研究情况以及绳系结构设计和生存能力问题,对空间绳系的研究热点以及发展趋势进行了预测,同时列举了大量关于空间绳系技术的参考文献。研究表明:动量交换绳系和电动力绳系都可以实现无推进剂推进,提供各种离轨和再入功能,具有广阔的应用前景。