EVA-related activities in Japan

Recognizing the importance and fertility of the extra vehicular activity technologies in future space development and utilization, some related research activities have been conducted in Japan, though it has not committed itself to developing its own manned space flight capability. The purpose of this paper is to introduce and evaluate these EVA-related activities and to indicate the next step for Japan to get into the era of manned space activities including EVA in reality.     

Comparison of gradual and rapid onset runs in a short-arm centrifugation

A gradual onset run (GOR) in a short-arm centrifugation was performed on ten healthy students. The centrifuge had a 1.8 m radius, and the subjects sat on a chair in a cabin. The Gz force increased to 2.2 Gz at 0.1 °/sec² for 32 min. and the same Gz-level was maintained for 20 min. Three out of ten subjects completed the whole protocol; the load on the others was terminated because of symptoms or increased heart rate. There were few symptoms such as vertigo, that was a common problem with a rapid onset run (ROR) in former experiments, due to the short-arm centrifugation. The changes of the flicker test after the load were much less in the GOR protocol than in the ROR protocol, even in the terminated group. GOR seemed preferable to ROR in preventing vertigo even though it took longer to reach the necessary G load.     

自由翻滚故障卫星外包络抓捕及抓捕路径优化

自由翻滚故障卫星抓捕是航天器在轨服务及空间碎片清理的基础。由于难以确定固定抓捕点及目标运动参数不确定,传统机械臂抓捕方法无法适用类似自由翻滚故障卫星的空间非合作目标。提出一种具有鲁棒性的外包络抓捕方法及抓捕路径优化方案。外包络抓捕方式能够适用于自由翻滚故障卫星抓捕问题,其特点在于,第一,由抓捕末端执行器构成的抓捕包络可以包络空间目标,约束其运动并最终实现抓捕,因此不需要固定抓捕点;第二,末端执行器构成的抓捕包络,能够约束故障卫星运动,而两者之间的摩擦可以有效消除两者之间的相对运动最终成功抓捕翻滚目标。进一步,针对外包络抓捕方法,提出了一种最小燃料消耗及最小抓捕扰动的机械臂抓捕路径。为验证外包络抓捕方法的有效性,构建旋转立方星抓捕地面实验,并利用数值仿真验证外包络抓捕机械臂最优路径规划,仿真结果验证了所提出方法的有效性。     

共轴双旋翼直升机扭振系统固有特性计算方法研究

区别于常规单旋翼带尾桨直升机,共轴双旋翼直升机具有独特的动力传动构型,其所构成的扭振系统特性也具有自身特点。采用模态综合法分析建立此类直升机的扭振系统动力学分析模型,通过算例对该系统扭振固有特性进行了计算和结果分析,验证了此种分析计算方法的可行性。结果表明,此方法可用于研究共轴双旋翼直升机扭振系统固有特性,同时该方法可在共轴双旋翼直升机初步工程设计阶段为旋翼及动力传动系统的设计提供一定的设计指导。     

低纬Pi2地磁脉动的东西方向传播特性

１９９６年１０月至１１月２９日在地磁北纬２９．６°附近的新疆喀什,甘肃安西和北京,沿东西方向建立了地磁脉动观测台链。根据观测数据,研究了低纬Ｐｉ２脉动东西方向的传播和性和偏振特性,发现黄昏区以东向传播的右旋偏振为主。     

复合推进剂线粘弹本构方程的细观力学分析(Ⅱ)非球颗粒增强效应分析

应用等效夹杂的细观力学理论,针对一种与取向相关的细长椭球颗粒填充情况,研究复合固体推进剂粘弹本构方程。发现颗粒对基体的增强效应主要体现在颗粒的纵向,得到了颗粒无序取向对基体的增强效应与颗粒单轴取向对基体沿该取向的增强效应之间存在一个定量的等效关系。     

GPS在多航天器相对导航和姿态确定中的应用

研究了ＧＰＳ在一类没有结构和力约束,但存在运动约束的多航天器系统中的应用。首先分析了ＧＰＳ在该系统中应用的模式和方案。重点研究了相对ＧＰＳ（ＲＧＰＳ）导航和ＧＰＳ姿态确定的方法和算法。然后提出了ＧＰＳ在该系统中应用的总体结构和功能结构。最后对ＧＰＳ在该系统中应用的选星、滤波器设计、误差消除等问题进行了讨论。研究结果有助于ＧＰＳ在多航天器系统中应用的标准化。     

空间站姿态控制的一种新算法

以四元数作为定位参数对空间站进行姿态控制。首先给出了以四元数表示的系统动力学西式其次提出了非线性三轴姿态控制方法,该方法是以四元数作为反馈量,控制力矩陀螺作为执行元件,利用李亚普诺夫函数对非线性系统进行控制,为大型航天器的姿态控制开辟了新的途径;最后以一空间粘为例进行了姿态控制仿真计算,从而说明以四元数为定位参数的空间站姿态控制方法具有计算速度快、计算精度高等优点。     

Drilling systems for extraterrestrial subsurface exploration

Drilling consists of 2 processes: breaking the formation with a bit and removing the drilled cuttings. In rotary drilling, rotational speed and weight on bit are used to control drilling, and the optimization of these parameters can markedly improve drilling performance. Although fluids are used for cuttings removal in terrestrial drilling, most planetary drilling systems conduct dry drilling with an auger. Chip removal via water-ice sublimation (when excavating water-ice-bound formations at pressure below the triple point of water) and pneumatic systems are also possible. Pneumatic systems use the gas or vaporization products of a high-density liquid brought from Earth, gas provided by an in situ compressor, or combustion products of a monopropellant. Drill bits can be divided into coring bits, which excavate an annular shaped hole, and full-faced bits. While cylindrical cores are generally superior as scientific samples, and coring drills have better performance characteristics, full-faced bits are simpler systems because the handling of a core requires a very complex robotic mechanism. The greatest constraints to extraterrestrial drilling are (1) the extreme environmental conditions, such as temperature, dust, and pressure; (2) the light-time communications delay, which necessitates highly autonomous systems; and (3) the mission and science constraints, such as mass and power budgets and the types of drilled samples needed for scientific analysis. A classification scheme based on drilling depth is proposed. Each of the 4 depth categories (surface drills, 1-meter class drills, 10-meter class drills, and deep drills) has distinct technological profiles and scientific ramifications.     

Experiment LEND of the NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter for high-resolution mapping of neutron emission of the Moon

The scientific objectives of neutron mapping of the Moon are presented as 3 investigation tasks of NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mission. Two tasks focus on mapping hydrogen content over the entire Moon and on testing the presence of water-ice deposits at the bottom of permanently shadowed craters at the lunar poles. The third task corresponds to the determination of neutron contribution to the total radiation dose at an altitude of 50 km above the Moon. We show that the Lunar Exploration Neutron Detector (LEND) will be capable of carrying out all 3 investigations. The design concept of LEND is presented together with results of numerical simulations of the instrument's sensitivity for hydrogen detection. The sensitivity of LEND is shown to be characterized by a hydrogen detection limit of about 100 ppm for a polar reference area with a radius of 5 km. If the presence of ice deposits in polar "cold traps" is confirmed, a unique record of many millions of years of lunar history would be obtained, by which the history of lunar impacts could be discerned from the layers of water ice and dust. Future applications of a LEND-type instrument for Mars orbital observations are also discussed.