卫星:所有通信业务发展的必由之路

1　概述□□未来航天活动的特点是,建造卫星星座,开展新业务及新应用,增强运载火箭推力。还应当考虑为地面通信网开发有关技术,满足用户不断增长的需求。为了对上述变化作好准备,乃至采取未雨绸缪的行动,阿尔卡特航天公司(AlcatelSpace)已经对其组织结构进行了变动。1998年,阿尔卡特公司卫星业务部和法国宇航公司及汤姆逊-CSF公司合并,组建了拥有近6000名员工的AlcatelSpace。目前,这家世界主要的卫星制造商从事两种主要的活动:1制造由阿尔卡特航天工业公司(AlcatelSpaceIndustries)负责;2运行和业务由阿尔卡特空间通信公司(AlcatelSpa…     

Recursive temporal-spatial information fusion with applications totarget identification

Centralized/distributed recursive algorithms for temporal-spatial information integration using the Dempster-Shafer technique are developed. Compared with the Bayesian approach, the Dempster-Shafer technique has the strong capability of handling information uncertainties, which are particularly desirable in many applications. In the centralized integration algorithm, all information is pooled into the central processor and integrated. In contrast, the distributed integration algorithm shares the computational burden among the local processors, which increases the computational efficiency. The developed algorithms are effectively applied to a target identification problem with three sensors: identification of friend-foe-neutral (IFFN), electronic support measurement (ESM), and infrared search and track (IRST)     

Improved bolometric corrections for WR stars

Evolutionary models allow an assignment of both a mass and a luminosity to a Wolf-Rayet (WR) star in a cluster, and hence allow a determination of the Bolometric Correction (B.C.). The B.C.'s derived for WN stars range from –4.0 to –6.0 with the expected trend of larger values (in absolute values) for stars with higher excitation spectra. For WC stars, there is little evidence for a similar trend; most observations presented here are consistent with B.C.=–4.5, as found by Smith and Maeder (1989). The convergence of B.C. values derived from evolutionary and atmospheric models is extremely satisfactory, giving increased confidence in both methods.     

Is it a plane?

An international colloquium on the Spaceplane and the Law was organized by the French Society for Air and and Space Law, with the help of the European Space Agency, the French Civil Aviation Authority, the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES) and Air France, and had ICAO, Eurocontrol and the French Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Transport, PTT and Research as its patrons. The purpose of the colloquium was to create awareness of the legal problems that may arise when spaceplanes become reality, and to propose solutions to those problems. The colloquium was held in Paris on 14–15 May 1991.     

Deriving the spin rate/orientation from the quiescent spacecraft ABRIXAS using optical observations

With the loss of the battery system of ABRIXAS shortly after launch and consequent absence of telemetry, there was urgent need to determine ABRIXAS' spin rate and orientation in order to assess the possibility of re-establishing telemetry during periods of full-Sun orbits. We, therefore, conducted optical and video observations of ABRIXAS passages with a 1-second time resolution, and later simulated the optical appearance of ABRIXAS for several passages based on a three-dimensional model of the reflectivity properties of the 2.5m × 1.8m × 1.2m size-satellite. Here we present the results of the comparison of our grid of light curve models with the observations and show (i) how the spin rate of ABRIXAS slowed down between June and December 1999 and (ii) what information can be deduced on the temporal change of the orientation of the spin axis. We conclude with discussing the benefit of using ground based optical observation as a cost effective way to develop information about the orientation of a satellite when there is no telemetry.     

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.     

Inactivation, mutation induction and repair in Bacillus subtilis spores irradiated with heavy ions.

Studies on the response of bacterial spores to accelerated heavy ions (HZE particles) help in understanding problems of space radiobiology and exobiology. Layers of spores of Bacillus subtilis strains, differing in repair capabilities, were irradiated with accelerated boron, carbon and neon ions of linear energy transfer (LET) values up to 14000 MeV cm2/g. Inactivation as measured by loss of colony forming ability and induction of mutations as measured by reversion to histidine prototrophy and resistance to 150 micrograms/ml sodium azide were tested, as well as the influence of repair processes on these effects. For inactivation, the cross-sectional values sigma plotted as a function of LET follow a saturation curve. The plateau, which is reached around a LET of 2000 MeV cm2/g, occurs at 2.5 x 10(-9) cm2, a value in good agreement with the dimensions of the spore protoplast. Lethal damage produced at LET values < 2000 MeV cm2/g is reparable. Recombination repair is more effective than excision repair. At higher LET values, lethal damage could not be reconstituted by the repair mechanisms studied. In addition, at these high LET values, the frequency of induced mutations was drastically decreased. The data support the assumption of at least two qualitatively different types of lesion, depending on the LET of the affecting heavy ion.     

Position Location from Sensors with Position Uncertainty

A statistical analysis of a mixed-mode position-location system with sensors position uncertainty is described. Expressions for the maximum likelihood estimator and its error statistics, under ?small errors? assumption, are derived.     

An Optimally Integrated Track Recovery System for Aerial Bathymetry

An airborne system has been developed for charting shallow coastal and inland waters. The primary components of this system are an aerial survey camera, a profiling laser radar, an analytical stereo plotter, and a multisensor track recovery system (TRS). The TRS comprises a gimbaled inertial navigation system and a number of auxiliary sensors which acquire redundant position and attitude information. The sensor data are combined postmission using a U-D factorized Kalman filter and modified Bryson-Frazier smoother to compute accurate estimates of the orientation parameters of the survey camera at the times of film exposure. These parameters are used to position each overlapping pair of photographs on the analytical plotter to form a stereo image and corresonding analytical stereomodel from which water depth measurements are made. Flight trial results demonstrate that the TRS can achieve radial position and attitude accuracies which exceed 1 m and 2 arcmin root mean square (rms), respectively, and that this level of performance is sufficient to enable water depth measurements to be made to an accuracy of better than 0.65 m (rms).