Removing orbital debris with lasers

Orbital debris in low Earth orbit (LEO) are now sufficiently dense that the use of LEO space is threatened by runaway collision cascading. A problem predicted more than thirty years ago, the threat from debris larger than about 1 cm demands serious attention. A promising proposed solution uses a high power pulsed laser system on the Earth to make plasma jets on the objects, slowing them slightly, and causing them to re-enter and burn up in the atmosphere. In this paper, we reassess this approach in light of recent advances in low-cost, light-weight modular design for large mirrors, calculations of laser-induced orbit changes and in design of repetitive, multi-kilojoules lasers, that build on inertial fusion research. These advances now suggest that laser orbital debris removal (LODR) is the most cost-effective way to mitigate the debris problem. No other solutions have been proposed that address the whole problem of large and small debris. A LODR system will have multiple uses beyond debris removal. International cooperation will be essential for building and operating such a system.     

Internal fuselage noise: comparison of computations and tests on a Falcon airframe

An unequipped Falcon 2000 airframe, a complex heterogeneous structure reduced to the fuselage alone, was subjected to vibro-acoustic characterization within the framework of a cooperative effort by Aerospatiale, Dassault-Aviation, and Onera. Onera's Structural Dynamics and Coupled Systems Department measured the structure's vibro-acoustic responses for four mechanical excitation configurations, and analysed three structural configurations: fuselage alone without floor, with floor, and with floor and internal wall. The resulting database of vibratory and acoustic level measurements is used for validating numerical models in the low- and medium-frequency range, as well as statistical energy analysis (SEA) models in the medium- and high-frequency range.The database was analysed by Dassault-Aviation and Onera. We present here the computation/test comparisons and the limitations of the methods in use. All of the data and comparisons validate the predictive vibro-acoustic response models and methods for a Falcon fuselage subjected to a mechanical excitation.     

Deflecting APOPHIS with a flotilla of solar shields

The possibility to use the photonic pressure from the Sun for acting upon the orbit of a man-made object is well known.     

The Coma of Comet 9P/Tempel 1

As comet 9P/Tempel 1 approaches the Sun in 2004–2005, a temporary atmosphere, or “coma,” will form, composed of molecules and dust expelled from the nucleus as its component icy volatiles sublimate. Driven mainly by water ice sublimation at surface temperatures T > 200 K, this coma is a gravitationally unbound atmosphere in free adiabatic expansion. Near the nucleus (≤ 10² km), it is in collisional equilibrium, at larger distances (≥10⁴ km) it is in free molecular flow. Ultimately the coma components are swept into the comet’s plasma and dust tails or simply dissipate into interplanetary space. Clues to the nature of the cometary nucleus are contained in the chemistry and physics of the coma, as well as with its variability with time, orbital position, and heliocentric distance. The DI instrument payload includes CCD cameras with broadband filters covering the optical spectrum, allowing for sensitive measurement of dust in the comet’s coma, and a number of narrowband filters for studying the spatial distribution of several gas species. DI also carries the first near-infrared spectrometer to a comet flyby since the VEGA mission to Halley in 1986. This spectrograph will allow detection of gas emission lines from the coma in unprecedented detail. Here we discuss the current state of understanding of the 9P/Tempel 1 coma, our expectations for the measurements DI will obtain, and the predicted hazards that the coma presents for the spacecraft. An erratum to this article is available at .     

Cometary Dust

This review presents our understanding of cometary dust at the end of 2017. For decades, insight about the dust ejected by nuclei of comets had stemmed from remote observations from Earth or Earth’s orbit, and from flybys, including the samples of dust returned to Earth for laboratory studies by the Stardust return capsule. The long-duration Rosetta mission has recently provided a huge and unique amount of data, obtained using numerous instruments, including innovative dust instruments, over a wide range of distances from the Sun and from the nucleus. The diverse approaches available to study dust in comets, together with the related theoretical and experimental studies, provide evidence of the composition and physical properties of dust particles, e.g., the presence of a large fraction of carbon in macromolecules, and of aggregates on a wide range of scales. The results have opened vivid discussions on the variety of dust-release processes and on the diversity of dust properties in comets, as well as on the formation of cometary dust, and on its presence in the near-Earth interplanetary medium. These discussions stress the significance of future explorations as a way to decipher the formation and evolution of our Solar System.     

Origin of Molecular Oxygen in Comets: Current Knowledge and Perspectives

The Rosetta Orbiter Spectrometer for Ion and Neutral Analysis (ROSINA) instrument onboard the Rosetta spacecraft has measured molecular oxygen (O₂) in the coma of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67P/C-G) in surprisingly high abundances. These measurements mark the first unequivocal detection of O₂ in a cometary environment. The large relative abundance of O₂ in 67P/C-G despite its high reactivity and low interstellar abundance poses a puzzle for its origin in comet 67P/C-G, and potentially other comets. Since its detection, there have been a number of hypotheses put forward to explain the production and origin of O₂ in the comet. These hypotheses cover a wide range of possibilities from various in situ production mechanisms to protosolar nebula and primordial origins. Here, we review the O₂ formation mechanisms from the literature, and provide a comprehensive summary of the current state of knowledge of the sources and origin of cometary O₂.     

A Program Plan for Earth Orbital Space Astronomy

Manned space flight offers the opportunity to couple the astronaut /scientist's ability to select and process data and to calibrate, modify, and repair instruments with the vantage point for astronomical observations provided by a platformlocated above the Earth's atmosphere. The role which manned space flight may play in the 1970-1990 time period in meeting astronomy research needs is examined. The instruments and facilities that appear feasible for that period are described.     

International market for a reusable launch vehicle

A reusable launch vehicle could be developed early next century if the X-33 program is successful. Its development will be funded by industry, and the vehicle will be operated privately. A critical task is to assess the future market for such a vehicle. The total number of commercial payloads could range between 40 and 60 satellites per year, taking into account the market elasticity due to the launch price reduction. The RLV would face important competition from expendable launch vehicles. However, the RLV could capture two-thirds of this market, or 26–33 commercial payloads per year.     

Reconfigurability in planetary surface vehicles

Traditionally, space systems have been built for fixed requirements and optimized for highest performance. Future systems for human exploration of Moon and Mars, however, require focus on new architectural strategies geared towards increased affordability and survivability in addition to performance. Reconfigurability is a new paradigm in system design that enhances these qualities. Reconfigurable systems can attain different states with new or modified capabilities, as required with changing needs, over time. Such systems can lower mission costs through mass savings by efficient use of a fixed set of hardware for multiple functions. Their survivability is improved through their ability to reconfigure into different states so that some level of over-all functionality is retained. This study, with a focus on planetary surface vehicles, presents a methodology for determining optimal designs of reconfigurable systems. It also proposes metrics for assessing the impact of reconfigurability. It is found that for the specific scenario considered, the mass utilization efficiency in a fleet of reconfigurable vehicles is increased by 27% while the survivability can be increased by a factor of 3.