Implications of previous space commercialization experiences for the reusable launch vehicle

In evaluating the prospects for the development of a commercially viable RLV, it may be useful to examine ’lessons learned‘ from previous space commercialization efforts– both those that succeeded and those that did not. It can be argued that several distinct streams of market and technological development may have to converge for successful commercialization of space systems to occur. Factors influencing the prospects for commercialization include the size and growth rate of the potential customer base, the extent to which a governmental customer exists to underpin the market, the development of associated ’value-added‘ markets, the stability of governmental policies, the availability of enabling or enhancing infrastructure, the levels of technological and business risk, and the degree to which competitive markets exist. This paper examines two previous space commercialization experiences, evaluates the relative importance of the various factors that influence the prospects for success of commercialization efforts, and assesses the implications of those factors for the commercial viability of the proposed RLV.     

Experiments with injection of powerful plasma jet into the ionosphere

This paper describes two rocket experiments “Aelita” with high power lithium plasma injection. The results of onboard magnetometer, massspectrometer, photometer, plasma, corpuscular and ground radar measurements are given. Dynamics and structure of plasma formation are discussed.     

Comparisons between primrose lake (54°N, 110°W) ROCOB winds (20–60 km) and Saskatoon (52°N, 107°W) M. F. radar winds (60–110 km): 1978–1982

The development of the new CIRA will require the combination of winds from many sources, e.g. rockets (ROCOB) up to ～60 km, and radar winds ～60–110 km. Difficulties are that such rocket data have larger errors at 60–65 km, and tidal effects may become significant. Radar data for 60–80 km may also have tidal contamination, due to ? 16h of data per day: from 80–110 km tidal corrections are usually reliable.Comparisons are made between the unique Saskatoon MF radar set, which is continuous from mid 1978–1983, and the ROCOB data from Primrose Lake, which is only 340 km northwest. While the agreement is satisfactory, special care is required when matching the two regions: particular problems are the low rocket sampling rate, and the unexpectedly large amplitude of the diurnal tide. Important differences from the zonal winds of CIRA-72 emerge, especially in winter months. Meridional cross-sections differ from previous data models in the extent of the summer equatorward flow.     

Shock acceleration of energetic particles in corotating interaction regions

A simple shock model for the acceleration of energetic particles in corotating interaction regions (CIR) in the solar wind is presented. Particles are accelerated at the forward and reverse shocks which bound the CIR by being compressed between the shock fronts and magnetic irregularities upstream from the shocks, or by being compressed between upstream irregularities and those downstream from the shocks. Particles also suffer adiabatic deceleration in the expanding solar wind, an effect not included in previous shock models for acceleration in CIR's. The model is able to account for the observed exponential spectra at earth, the observed behavior of the spectra with radial distance, the observed radial gradients in the intensity, and the observed differences in the intensity and spectra at the forward and reverse shocks.     

Airglow atmospheric imager on board the ‘IK-Bulgaria-1300’ satellite

This paper shows the possibilities of the optical scanning imager for investigation of the structure of the auroral, SAR and tropical arcs and in this way to study the particle precipitation, neutral winds across the magnetic equator, drifts, electric fields and the current systems in the ionosphere.     

Periodicities of the LDE-type flare occurrence (1969 - 1992).

The power spectrum was calculated for the time series of the LDE-type flare occurrence during the last three solar cycles (the 20-th, the 21-st and the first part of the 22-nd cycle). LDE-type flares (Long Duration Events in SXR) are associated with the interplanetary protons (SEP and STIP as well), energized coronal arches and radio type IV emission. Generally, in all the cycles considered, LDE-type flares mainly originated during a 6-year interval of the respective cycle (2 years before and 4 years after the sunspot cycle maximum). The following significant periodicities were found: in the 20-th cycle: 1.4, 2.1, 2.9, 4.0, 10.7 and 54.2 of month; in the 21-st cycle: 1.2, 1.6, 2.8, 4.9, 7.8 and 44.5 of month; in the 22-nd cycle, till March 1992: 1.4, 1.8, 2.4, 7.2, 8.7, 11.8 and 29.1 of month; in all interval (1969-1992): 1. the longer periodicities: 232.1, 121.1 (the dominant at 10.1 of year), 80.7, 61.9 and 25.6 of month, 2. the shorter periodicities: 4.7, 5.0, 6.8, 7.9, 9.1, 15.8 and 20.4 of month. Solar variability has an extremely complex time dependence. The Sun is a multiperiodic system. The strong periodicities "near 155 and 270 days" were found also in the LDE-type flare occurrence.     

A high-performance ground-based prototype of horn-type sequential vegetable production facility for life support system in space

Vegetable cultivation plays a crucial role in dietary supplements and psychosocial benefits of the crew during manned space flight. Here we developed a ground-based prototype of horn-type sequential vegetable production facility, named Horn-type Producer (HTP), which was capable of simulating the microgravity effect and the continuous cultivation of leaf–vegetables on root modules. The growth chamber of the facility had a volume of 0.12 m³, characterized by a three-stage space expansion with plant growth. The planting surface of 0.154 m² was comprised of six ring-shaped root modules with a fibrous ion-exchange resin substrate. Root modules were fastened to a central porous tube supplying water, and moved forward with plant growth. The total illuminated crop area of 0.567 m² was provided by a combination of red and white light emitting diodes on the internal surfaces. In tests with a 24-h photoperiod, the productivity of the HTP at 0.3 kW for lettuce achieved 254.3 g eatable biomass per week. Long-term operation of the HTP did not alter vegetable nutrition composition to any great extent. Furthermore, the efficiency of the HTP, based on the Q-criterion, was 7 × 10⁻⁴ g² m⁻³ J⁻¹. These results show that the HTP exhibited high productivity, stable quality, and good efficiency in the process of planting lettuce, indicative of an interesting design for space vegetable production.     

LET variation measurements behind different absorber thicknesses on COSMOS-1129 satellite

LET variation with the absorber thickness was measured by plastic detectors exposed on COSMOS-1129 satellite.