Small satellites and the 2000s

Over the last 20 years we have seen the development of many initiatives around the concept of small satellites for low cost missions using the available or expected low cost launch opportunities. What are the main lines of the French Space Agency's policy for the coming years?     

Radar Altimeter Optimization for Geodesy Over the Sea

The optimum processor and its accuracy limit for radar altimetry for geodetic use over the sea are studied with a model accounting for random surface reflectivity, sea height variation, additive noise, and pointing errors, and allowing for arbitrary antenna patterns, signal modulations, and other system parameters. The ?threshold? case solution (which can have any specified accuracy) dictates a signal modulation bandwidth just shy of resolving the sea height variation and/or illuminated sea area (as scaled into time delay and ?smeared? by pointing errors). For such a modulation a relatively complete solution is obtained. These results are used to determine practical radar altimeter designs, additionally accounting for antenna size, stability, and peak power restraints. Conditions allowing neglecting of limiting or complicating effects due to temporally varying reflectivity, sea height, and vehicle position are given and shown to be satisfied for a typical satellite.     

Attitude stabilization and control of earth satellites

In this paper a survey is made of some aspects of satellite attitude stabilization and control. After a brief discussion of the equations of motion governing the satellite's behaviour, the various disturbing torques acting on a satellite in a space environment are considered. Quantitative values for a hypothetical satellite are discussed. Next, attention is given to several methods of attitude stabilization and control. The analysis is based on the various means to exert torques on the satellite for control purposes. Passive methods, such as spin-stabilization and gravity-gradient stabilization, are discussed in some detail. Not only are the basic principles involved indicated, but also some quantitative values of the variables concerned are mentioned where possible.     

Selecting and scheduling observations of agile satellites

This article concerns the problem of managing the new generation of Agile Earth Observing Satellites (AEOS). This kind of satellites is presently studied by the French Centre National d'Études Spatiales (PLEIADES project). The mission of an Earth Observing Satellite is to acquire images of specified areas on the Earth surface, in response to observation requests from customers. Whereas non-agile satellites such as SPOT5 have only one degree of freedom for acquiring images, the new generation satellites have three, giving opportunities for a more efficient use of the satellite imaging capabilities. Counterwise to this advantage, the selection and scheduling of observations becomes significantly more difficult, due to the larger search space for potential solutions. Hence, selecting and scheduling observations of agile satellites is a highly combinatorial problem. This article sets out the overall problem and analyses its difficulties. Then it presents different methods which have been investigated in order to solve a simplified version of the complete problem: a greedy algorithm, a dynamic programming algorithm, a constraint programming approach and a local search method.     

Imaging of the outer planets and satellites

Imaging is the most widely applicable single means of exploring the outer planets and their satellites and also complements other planet-oriented instruments. Imaging generally is more effectively carried out from a three-axis stabilized spacecraft than from a spinning one.Both specific experimental and broader exploratory goals must be recognized. Photography of Jupiter from terrestrial telescopes has revealed features which were neither predictable or predicted. Close-up imaging from fly-bys and orbiters affords the opportunity for discovery of atmospheric phenomena on the outer planets forever beyond the reach of terrestrial laboratories and intuition. On the other hand, a large number of specific applications of close-up imaging to study the giant planets are suggested by experience in photography from Earth and Mars orbit, and by ground-based telescopic studies of Jupiter and Saturn. Photographic observations of horizontal and vertical cloud structure at both global and finer scale, and motions and other time changes, will be essential for the study of atmospheric circulation. Size and composition of cloud particles also is a credible objective of fly-by and orbiter missions carrying both imaging and photo-polarimeter experiments.The satellites of the outer planets actually constitute three distinct classes: lunar-sized objects, asteroidal-sized objects, and particulate rings. Imaging promises to be the primary observational tool for each category with results that could impact scientific thinking in the late 70's and 80's as significantly as has close-up photography of Mars and the Moon in the last 10 yr.Finally, it should be recognized that photography occupies a unique role in the interaction between science and the popular mind. This popular, educational aspect of imaging constitutes a unique aspect of 20th Century culture. Imaging therefore is not only a primary basis for scientific discovery in the exploration of the outer planets, but an important human endeavor of enduring significance.Contribution No. 2163 of the Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91109.This is one of the publications by the Science Advisory Group.     

Pictures from meteorological satellites and their interpretation

Summary It can thus be seen that organization in various stages of tropical storm development are frequently seen in satellite pictures. And it appears that further work will establish relationships between the size and organization of the cloud masses with the coarse magnitude of the wind speed in the storm area.     

Photographic tracking of artificial satellites

A review of the development of photographic tracking techniques in different countries during the recent 5–6 yr is given. Main results of scientific investigations based on observations with Baker-Nunn cameras are considered. New large Soviet, English, French, German cameras are described. Important international projects on photographic tracking for satellite geodesy are reviewed. Main directions of research in this domain are discussed.     

Detecting near collisions for satellites

A highly efficient algorithm is presented for detecting near collisions involving satellites. Rather than examine all possible pairings of a satellite with another orbiting object, the new approach examines trajectories at a sequence of coarse time steps. Objects which are spatially isolated cannot be involved in a collision, and are discarded. The time steps, orbit calculations, and discarding are repeatedly refined until the only remaining objects experience near collisions.     

Ionospheric gas dynamics of satellites and diagnostic probes

The gas dynamics of interactions of a tenuous ionosphere with moving satellites and probes that have bearings on the diagnostics of the ionosphere are discussed. Emphasis is on the cases where the body is moving at mesothermal speeds, namely intermediate between the thermal speeds of ions and electrons of the ambient ionosphere. Methods of collision-free plasma kinetics with self-consistent field are used. The development of the topics for discussion starts with stationary Langmuir probe which entails the basic mechanism of body-plasma interaction that becomes further intricated as the body moves at a higher and higher speed. Applications of the theory of plasma interaction to meteors which move in the ionosphere are also presented.     

Plans for submillimetre and infrared satellites in Japan

I describe plans for submillimetre and infrared satellites which are now under discussion among Japanese infrared and millimetre astronomers. We propose a submillimetre and/or infrared mission to be launched around 2000 with a main reflector 1–2 m in diameter and cooled down to 50–150 K. This mission, although a small one, will be able to contribute significantly to the advance in submillimetre and infrared astronomy if its role is specified for suitable purposes like surveys.     

Predicting the visibility of LEO satellites

We present a simple algorithm to determine the visibility-time function of a circular low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite at a terminal on the Earth's surface. The simplicity of the algorithm is based on approximating the ground trace of the satellite (which is not a great circle due to Earth's rotation) during a time interval of the order of in-view period, by a great-circle are. This enables us to use spherical geometry to compute the location and time epoch of the observation of the closest approach of the satellite's ground trace to the terminal. This is also the epoch of the observation of the maximum elevation angle from the terminal to the satellite. Applying a result derived relating the maximum elevation angle to the in-view period, we obtain the visibility-time function of the satellite at the terminal. Numerical results illustrate the accuracy of the algorithm for a wide range of LEO orbit altitudes     

Third world radiation threats to satellites

The era of hardening military satellites against nuclear events, lasers, and high-power microwaves, appears to have come to an end. A case is made here for maintaining rudimentary nuclear, laser, and high-power microwave (HPM) hardening requirements in order to protect against developing third world threats. The third world nuclear threat is well known. Less appreciated is the fact that third world laser and microwave threats have changed radically in the past few years     

Physical properties of the natural satellites

This paper reviews the physical nature of the satellites of the planets, excluding the Moon but including the rings of Saturn. Emphasis is placed on the best studied objects: Titan, Phobos and Deimos, the four Galilean satellites (Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto), and the rings of Saturn.The authors dedicate this paper to the memory of Gerard P. Kuiper, who died on 24 December 1973. It was his pioneering research begun in the early 1940's that opened the era of physical studies of the satellites. That work, together with his lifelong study of the origin of the system of planets and satellites, provided the foundation upon which much of the work reviewed in this paper is based.     

Determination des orbites des satellites artificiels

Summary The problem of the determination of the orbit of a celestial body is an old astronomical problem, of which solutions can be found in many classical books on elementary celestial mechanics. However, the introduction of new (radioelectric) means of observations for the artificial satellites have brought up new solutions of this old problem.The author reminds the definitions of the six elliptic elements of an orbit. The problem of their determination is usually divided into two separate steps: a preliminary orbit determination and the improvement of the preliminary elements. Two principal types of preliminary orbit determination exist: the Gaussian type, purely geometrical in which the positions of the body at two different times are determined, and the Laplacian type, of a more dynamical character, in which both position and velocity vectors are found for a given time. The improvement of the preliminary elements is usually obtained by a numerical solution of equations of variations of the elements, minimizing the sum of the squares of the angular distances between the computed and the observed points. The elements on which these variations are applied can be quite various. The coefficients of the equations are usually obtained numerically, although their analytical expressions can also be derived.Most of the modification proposed to the classical methods of orbit determination are more technical improvements in connection with the computation on electronic machines. The most interesting modifications are inspired by the fact that time measurements are less precise than the position (Batrakov, Iszak), the effects of this difference in errors are discussed in this paper. In some cases, using Laplace's method, no preliminary orbit is computed, and all the observations can be used at once (Barlier, Kovalevsky).The determination of orbits from radar measurements is discussed. The proposed methods are quite different in principle from the classical ones. They are actually improvements of a circular orbit whose determination is made by a method of undetermined coefficients (Baker). Some of the elements determined by these methods are quite unstable, and it is always wiser to use other informations together with radar measurements.The determination of orbits from Doppler data alone has been worked out by many investigators. It is the inverse problem of the main problem of all navigational systems. The method proposed by Patton is summarized. The principles of others are quite analogous. The results are improved when more than one receiver are used. The different types of corrections: refraction, perturbations, etc., should be introduced in later stages of the determination, and the whole frequency curve is to be used if a good determination of all elements is desired.Finally, the author quotes a method (Baker) using both Doppler and radar data, and the solution of a new problem: the determination of the orbit of a satellite of another planet from Doppler data alone (Deutsch).