The management of the geostationary environment

The population in the geostationary orbit is increasing at the rate of about 25 spacecraft a year and operating lifetimes are increasing. The size of the spacecraft is increasing, as is the power level. The only way to protect the operational arc is to reboost spacecraft at end of life to a burial orbit. While most operators do some reboost maneuver at end of mission there has been no agreed upon criterion for the maneuver. The ITU-R S. 1003¹ recommends reboost of not less than 300 km with the apogee as high as possible. The Interagency Debris Coordination Working Group (IADC) has recently achieved a consensus on a recommendation that the minimum maneuver be 235 km + Cr 1000 A/M. The concept is that this accommodates the ± 3 7.5 km variance in normal radial positioning and a 167.5 km corridor above the arc for repositioning or supersynchronous delivery and establishes a criterion by which the dispositioned spacecraft will never enter that zone after its completion of the maneuver. It also deals with the fact the area mass ratio of spacecraft has been evolving to higher values. Earlier spacecraft had characteristic values of 0.03 but the average now is closer to 0.05 and there are some as great as 0.10.

Disposition of the upper stage should be the same as the spacecraft if it is delivered to GSO. It is preferable to have the stage deliver the spacecraft supersynchronous and then have the spacecraft maneuver down to the GSO.     

Thermal protection system development,testing, and qualification for atmospheric probes and sample return missions: Examples for Saturn,Titan and Stardust-type sample return

The science community has continued to be interested in planetary entry probes, aerocapture, and sample return missions to improve our understanding of the Solar System. As in the case of the Galileo entry probe, such missions are critical to the understanding not only of the individual planets, but also to further knowledge regarding the formation of the Solar System. It is believed that Saturn probes to depths corresponding to 10 bars will be sufficient to provide the desired data on its atmospheric composition. An aerocapture mission would enable delivery of a satellite to provide insight into how gravitational forces cause dynamic changes in Saturn’s ring structure that are akin to the evolution of protoplanetary accretion disks. Heating rates for the “shallow” Saturn probes, Saturn aerocapture, and sample Earth return missions with higher re-entry speeds (13–15 km/s) from Mars, Venus, comets, and asteroids are in the range of 1–6 KW/cm². New, mid-density thermal protection system (TPS) materials for such probes can be mission enabling for mass efficiency and also for use on smaller vehicles enabled by advancements in scientific instrumentation. Past consideration of new Jovian multiprobe missions has been considered problematic without the Giant Planet arcjet facility that was used to qualify carbon phenolic for the Galileo probe. This paper describes emerging TPS technologies and the proposed use of an affordable, small 5 MW arcjet that can be used for TPS development, in test gases appropriate for future planetary probe and aerocapture applications. Emerging TPS technologies of interest include new versions of the Apollo Avcoat material and a densified variant of Phenolic Impregnated Carbon Ablator (PICA). Application of these and other TPS materials and the use of other facilities for development and qualification of TPS for Saturn, Titan, and Sample Return missions of the Stardust class with entry speeds from 6.0 to 28.6 km/s are discussed.     

Parameterized Regional Ionospheric Model and a comparison of its results with experimental data and IRI representations

We describe a Parameterized Regional Ionospheric Model (PARIM) to calculate the spatial and temporal variations of the ionospheric electron density/plasma frequency over the Brazilian sector. The ionospheric plasma frequency values as calculated from an enhanced Sheffield University Plasmasphere–Ionosphere Model (SUPIM) were used to construct the model. PARIM is a time-independent 3D regional model (altitude, longitude/local time, latitude) used to reproduce SUPIM plasma frequencies for geomagnetic quiet condition, for any day of the year and for low to moderately high solar activity. The procedure to obtain the modeled representation uses finite Fourier series so that all plasma frequency dependencies can be represented by Fourier coefficients. PARIM presents very good results, except for the F region peak height (hmF2) near the geomagnetic equator during times of occurrence of the F₃ layer. The plasma frequency calculated by IRI from E region to bottomside of the F region present latitudinal discontinuities during morning and evening times for both solar minimum and solar maximum conditions. Both the results of PARIM and the IRI for the E region peak density show excellent agreement with the observational values obtained during the conjugate point equatorial experiment (COPEX) campaign. The IRI representations significantly underestimate the foF2 and hmF2 compared to the observational results over the COPEX sites, mainly during the evening–nighttime period.     

Thermionic/AMTEC cascade converter concept for high-efficiencyspace power

This paper presents trade studies that address the use of the thermionic/AMTEC cell-a cascaded, high efficiency, static power conversion concept that appears well-suited to space power applications. Both the thermionic and AMTEC power conversion approaches have been shown to be promising candidates for space power. Thermionics offers system compactness via modest efficiency at high heat rejection temperatures, and AMTEC offers high efficiency at modest heat rejection temperature. From a thermal viewpoint, the two are ideally suited for cascaded power conversion: thermionic heat rejection and AMTEC heat source temperatures are essentially the same. In addition to realizing conversion efficiencies potentially as high as 35-40% such a cascade offers the following perceived benefits: Survivability-capable of operation in the Van Allen belts; Simplicity-static conversion, no moving parts; Long lifetime-no inherent life-limiting mechanisms identified; Technology readiness-Large thermionic database; AMTEC efficiencies of 18% currently being demonstrated, with more growth potential available; and Technology growth-applicable to both solar thermal and reactor-based nuclear space power systems. Mechanical approaches and thermal/electric matching criteria for integrating thermionics and AMTEC into a single conversion device are described. Focusing primarily on solar thermal space power applications, parametric trends are presented to show the performance and cost potential that should be achievable with present-day technology in cascaded thermionic/AMTEC systems     

High-power, light-weight power conditioning

After a review of light-weight transformer efforts in the US, a weight analysis is carried out. From basic transformer relations and geometrical considerations it is shown how transformer specific power should scale with power and frequency. The result compares well with design results for frequency scaling but not for power scaling. After refinements for variations of voltage, cooling technique, power (while voltage is held constant) and current density, an algorithm is presented that agrees well with the results of adiabatic transformer designs and with vapor cooled transformer designs. Transformer specific powers as low as 0.01 kg/kW are predicted at an operating frequency of 20 kHz. Caution is advised in the use of the algorithm because few of the transformers with which the algorithm is compared have actually been considered. The SDI/AF/NASA megawatt converter program is discussed, and results of Phase I are summarized     

Low sidelobe radar waveforms derived from orthogonal matrices

Novel waveforms are described that have low sidelobes when individual or multiple waveforms are approximately processed. They are related to orthogonal matrices that may be associated with complementary sequences and also with periodic waveforms having autocorrelation functions with constant zero-amplitude sidelobes. Also described are sets of sequences whose cross-correlation functions sum to zero everywhere. A potential application is the elimination of ambiguous range stationary clutter     

Applications of slotted cable antennas in the instrument landingsystem

The use of slotted waveguides in the instrument landing system (ILS) is discussed, and applications of slotted cable antennas to the ILS localizer and glide slope are described. Examples are given of both existing and prospective designs intended to provide solutions for specific siting problems. Important applications are to the end-fire glide slope and category-III localizers     

Spacecraft telemetry link performance in a transfer orbit

There are several critical periods early in the mission of a geo-stationary communication satellite. The first is the period from launch vehicle ignition until the upper stage final successful burn. The second is after the above span until the vehicle reaches its final altitude of a synchronous orbit. For a nominal low thrust apogee boost ascent subsystem during that later time, almost continuous telemetry is mandatory. This is especially true during the crucial periods of main engine burns and attitude correction phases. Maintaining a strong telemetry link throughout this phase requires an adequate RF signal link from the spacecraft to a ground station in the telemetry RF channel. An analysis of this link performance during each orbit until final position has two major aspects. One, the location of the spacecraft in relation to the ground tracking station at each moment in the mission is a matter of geometry and Keplerian physics. The other is the RF signal and its supporting subsystems, both on the ground and aboard the vehicle. The fundamental theoretical considerations or both the orbit parameters and radio link components are examined and then the individual parameter sensitivities are analyzed. Next, a nominal cast for a generic mission is studied. This survey considers the telemetry performance during each major stage of the flight from the launch through the transfer orbit to the postinjection period to the final orbit. Then abnormal situations due to both orbit and RF faults are examined. Finally, some design and operation concepts which may lessen the impact of the previous anomalies, are presented     

NASA''S strategy for Mars exploration in the 1990s and beyond

NASA's Office of Space Science is changing its approach to all its missions, both current and future. Budget realities are necessitating that we change the way we do business and the way we look at NASA's role in the U.S. Government. These challenges are being met by a new and innovative approach that focuses on achieving a balanced world-class space science program that requires less U.S. resources while providing an enhanced role for technology and education as integral components of our Research and Development (R&D) programs. Our Mars exploration plans, especially the Mars Surveyor program, are a key feature of this new NASA approach to space science. The Mars Surveyor program will be affordable, engaging to the public with global and close-up images of Mars, have high scientific value, employ a distributed risk strategy (two launches per opportunity), and will use significant advanced technologies.