MLS: a total system approach

A typical approach and landing operation is described. The microwave landing system (MLS) is then examined, its design characteristics and how it works are shown, and how the MLS design fulfils the user's operational requirements by protecting the guidance signal from reflected signal interference is highlighted. MLS angle system accuracy is discussed in great detail, and its reliability, integrity, and coverage volume are briefly considered. MLS availability at any runway to all aircraft types and their landing scenarios, which is accomplished using narrow scanning beam antennas, is examined     

Dynamics and control of an orbiting flexible mobile manipulator

This paper presents a Lagrangian formulation for studying the dynamics and control of the proposed Space Station based Mobile Servicing System (MSS) for a particular case of inplane libration and maneuvers. The simplified case is purposely considered to help focus on the effects of structural and joint flexibility parameters of the MSS on the complex interactions between the station and manipulator dynamics during slewing and translational maneuvers. The response results suggest that under critical combinations of parameters, the system can become unstable. During maneuvers, the deflection of the MSS can become excessive, leading to positioning error of the payload. At the same time the libration error can also be significant. A linear quadratic regulator is designed to control the deflection of the manipulator and maintain the station at its operating configuration.     

Space experiments aboard the Lomonosov MSU satellite

At present, the Institute of Nuclear Physics of Moscow State University, in cooperation with other organizations, is preparing space experiments onboard the Lomonosov satellite. The main goal of this mission is to study extreme astrophysical phenomena such as cosmic gamma-ray bursts and ultra-high-energy cosmic rays. These phenomena are associated with the processes occurring in the early universe in very distant astrophysical objects, therefore, they can provide information on the first stages of the evolution of the universe. This paper considers the main characteristics of the scientific equipment aboard the Lomonosov satellite.     

Frequency fluctuations of coherent signals from spacecraft observed during dual-frequency radio sounding of the circumsolar plasma in 2004–2008

We have performed spectral processing of the data of experiments on radio sounding of circumsolar plasma by coherent S- and X-band signals from the spacecraft Ulysses, Mars Express, Rosetta, and Venus Express carried out from 1991 to 2009. The experiments were realized in the mode of coherent response, when a signal stabilized by the hydrogen standard is transmitted from the ground station to a spacecraft, received by the onboard systems, and retransmitted to the Earth with conserved coherence. Thus, the signal sounding the coronal plasma passes twice through the medium: on the propagation path ground station — spacecraft and on the same path in the opposite direction. The spectra of frequency fluctuations in both the bands are obtained and, using them, the radial dependences of fluctuation intensities are found, which can be approximated by a power law. It is shown that the ratio of intensities of frequency fluctuations in the S- and X-bands is comparable with the theoretical value and characterizes the degree of correlation of irregularities of the electron density along the propagation path ground station — spacecraft and back. Analysis of the correlation of frequency fluctuations on the two paths allows one to get a lower estimate of the outer scale of the circumsolar plasma turbulence. For heliocentric distances R = 10 solar radii (R _S ) the outer scale is larger than 0.25R _S .     

Pilots for space tourism

This article sheds light on the key player needed for any space tourism adventure: the pilot who flies the spacecraft. The paper addresses the potential benefits of including a pilot at the controls when designing a space tourism spacecraft. It examines the basic qualifications and advanced skills required of space tourism pilots and discusses key training requirements for selected pilots and space pilots' pay and benefits. In addition, the research concludes that, just as the pioneers of passenger transport in aviation entertained and captured the interest of their passengers, the space pilot should have the skills of a tour guide.     

Mercury’s Weather-Beaten Surface: Understanding Mercury in the Context of Lunar and Asteroidal Space Weathering Studies

Mercury’s regolith, derived from the crustal bedrock, has been altered by a set of space weathering processes. Before we can interpret crustal composition, it is necessary to understand the nature of these surface alterations. The processes that space weather the surface are the same as those that form Mercury’s exosphere (micrometeoroid flux and solar wind interactions) and are moderated by the local space environment and the presence of a global magnetic field. To comprehend how space weathering acts on Mercury’s regolith, an understanding is needed of how contributing processes act as an interactive system. As no direct information (e.g., from returned samples) is available about how the system of space weathering affects Mercury’s regolith, we use as a basis for comparison the current understanding of these same processes on lunar and asteroidal regoliths as well as laboratory simulations. These comparisons suggest that Mercury’s regolith is overturned more frequently (though the characteristic surface time for a grain is unknown even relative to the lunar case), more than an order of magnitude more melt and vapor per unit time and unit area is produced by impact processes than on the Moon (creating a higher glass content via grain coatings and agglutinates), the degree of surface irradiation is comparable to or greater than that on the Moon, and photon irradiation is up to an order of magnitude greater (creating amorphous grain rims, chemically reducing the upper layers of grains to produce nanometer-scale particles of metallic iron, and depleting surface grains in volatile elements and alkali metals). The processes that chemically reduce the surface and produce nanometer-scale particles on Mercury are suggested to be more effective than similar processes on the Moon. Estimated abundances of nanometer-scale particles can account for Mercury’s dark surface relative to that of the Moon without requiring macroscopic grains of opaque minerals. The presence of nanometer-scale particles may also account for Mercury’s relatively featureless visible–near-infrared reflectance spectra. Characteristics of material returned from asteroid 25143 Itokawa demonstrate that this nanometer-scale material need not be pure iron, raising the possibility that the nanometer-scale material on Mercury may have a composition different from iron metal [such as (Fe,Mg)S]. The expected depletion of volatiles and particularly alkali metals from solar-wind interaction processes are inconsistent with the detection of sodium, potassium, and sulfur within the regolith. One plausible explanation invokes a larger fine fraction (grain size <45 μm) and more radiation-damaged grains than in the lunar surface material to create a regolith that is a more efficient reservoir for these volatiles. By this view the volatile elements detected are present not only within the grain structures, but also as adsorbates within the regolith and deposits on the surfaces of the regolith grains. The comparisons with findings from the Moon and asteroids provide a basis for predicting how compositional modifications induced by space weathering have affected Mercury’s surface composition.     

Lower and Upper Ionosphere of Mars

The ionosphere of Mars has been explored mostly with the radio occultation experiment onboard Mariners 6, 7, 9; Mars 2, 3, 4, 6; Viking 1, 2, and more recently on Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) and Mars Express (MEX). In addition to the radio occultation experiment, MEX also carried Mars Advanced Radar for the Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding (MARSIS) experiment which provided electron density profiles well above the main ionospheric peak. The atmosphere of Mars was measured directly by the neutral mass spectrometer onboard Viking 1 and 2 Landers. Later, an accelerometer and radio occultation experiment on MGS provided large data sets of atmospheric density at various locations in the upper and lower atmospheres of Mars, respectively. In this paper we review results of these upper and lower atmospheric/ionospheric measurements. Results of these measurements have been compared with theoretical models by several workers; therefore, we also review various atmospheric and ionospheric models of Mars.     

LHT-100霍尔推力器热特性模拟分析

为了对LHT-100霍尔推力器提出热设计优化措施,采用有限元仿真软件进行LHT-100霍尔推力器的稳态、瞬态及空间在轨环境模拟热分析研究,并通过热平衡试验进行了结果比对。分析及试验结果表明,处于工作状态时霍尔推力器的高温部件主要是放电腔、阳极和导磁底座,而受高温影响薄弱部件内线圈、气路组件的温度则分别达到了约401~421℃和141~381℃。热设计优化建议为,在放电腔与内线圈之间增加独立热屏结构后可以有效降低内线圈温度约80~90℃,在阳极气路组件上存在的热应力会是影响霍尔推力器可靠性的重要因素,需要在热设计中得到充分考虑。     

一种实用的弹-地通讯接口设计

为实现普通个人计算机和弹载计算机间的弹一地通讯,对某型弹载计算机专用的增强型通讯接口电路和通讯协议进行了分析,设计了与之匹配的适用于普通计算机的通讯接口硬件电路,并进行了基于VB6．0的通讯程序设计。实际测试及运行结果说明,设计的通讯接口可实现高速、远距离、高可靠性的弹一地数据通讯,误码率低。     

民用飞机复合材料结构制造工艺变化的等效性验证

高性能复合材料已经大量应用于民用运输飞机结构,并以飞机主制造商协同供应商的方式进行复合材料飞机结构的制造。介绍了航空器适航审定对复合材料结构制造的适航要求,引出了复合材料结构制造工艺变化的等效性验证方法。目前,复合材料结构制造工艺变化的等效性验证是通过所制造复合材料物理的、化学和基本力学的性能试验,并对试验结果进行统计分析来实现的。最后提供了等效性验证的接受准则。所述内容,对国内民用飞机复合材料结构在不同供应商处制造以及制造过程中工艺变化如何满足航空器适航审定要求提供借鉴;对其它行业复合材料结构制造的质量控制也有借鉴意义。