The Galactic Halo from Microlensing

The status of the microlensing search for galactic dark matter in the form of massive astronomical compact halo objects (machos) is reviewed. Unresolved issues are discussed, as well as possible ways to solve these.     

Public funding of space activities: a case of semantics and misdirection

The semantic ambiguity of the word ‘space’ causes problems for both the funding of space activities and the determining of space policies. The historical practice of lumping all space activities together, to be funded by a single budgetary line, is inappropriate to the range of such activities and for the economic and strategic interests at stake: it has direct consequences for the priorities governments want to make, and can pervert the directions industry is trying to go in. While continued government support for space is imperative, given the strategic, national-development nature of many of its applications, new ways must be found of allocating it a budget that take account of the diversity of the areas in which it plays a role.     

液体树脂灌注成型工艺中树脂流动前沿特性的估测和分析

 近年来树脂浸泡成型工艺(RIP)越来越多地应用到了航空复合材料制造业上。作为树脂浸泡成型工艺中一种新型的有着良好运用前景的液体树脂灌注 (LRI)成型工艺开始进入了人们的视野。为了增加对LRI工艺的认知和提高对其的监控能力,着重介绍如何在LRI工艺进程中监测树脂流体的流动前峰。树脂流体流动前峰的检测将依赖于一组放置在纤维层中的微型热电偶传感器来完成,通过与光纤传感器测量结果的比较,表明微型热电偶传感器可以利用测量纤维层中不同处的温度变化来监测树脂流体到达该处的时间。测量与分析结果大大提高了对LRI工艺中树脂流体在纤维层层面和沿纤维层厚度两个方向上流动特性的认识,并为将来的模拟计算和对此工艺的进一步研究奠定良好的基础。     

Measurement and stability of the pointing of the BepiColombo Laser Altimeter under thermal load

The BepiColombo Laser Altimeter (BELA) has been selected to fly on ESA?s BepiColombo mission to Mercury. The instrument will be the first European laser altimeter designed for interplanetary flight. This paper describes the setup used to characterize the angular movements of BELA under the simulated environmental conditions that the instrument will encounter when orbiting Mercury. The system comprises a laser transmitter and a receiving telescope, which can move with respect to each other under thermal load. Tests performed using the Engineering Qualification Model show that the setup is accurate enough to characterize angular movements of the instrument components to an accuracy of ≈10 μrad. The qualification instrument is thermally stable to operate during all mission phases around Mercury proving that the transmitter and receiver sections will remain within the alignment requirements during its mission.