Thrusting maneuver control of a small spacecraft via only gimbaled-thruster scheme

The thrust vector control (TVC) scheme is a powerful method in spacecraft attitude control. Since the control of a small spacecraft is being studied here, a solid rocket motor (SRM) should be used instead of a liquid propellant motor. Among the TVC methods, gimbaled-TVC as an efficient method is employed in this paper. The spacecraft structure is composed of a body and a gimbaled-SRM where common attitude control systems such as reaction control system (RCS) and spin-stabilization are not presented. A nonlinear two-body model is considered for the characterization of the gimbaled-thruster spacecraft where, the only control input is provided by a gimbal actuator. The attitude of the spacecraft is affected by a large exogenous disturbance torque which is generated by a thrust vector misalignment from the center of mass (C.M). A linear control law is designed to stabilize the spacecraft attitude while rejecting the mentioned disturbance torque. A semi-analytical formulation of the region of attraction (RoA) is developed to ensure the local stability and fast convergence of the nonlinear closed-loop system. Simulation results of the 3D maneuvers are included to show the applicability of this method for use in a small spacecraft.     

用两颗GPS卫星确定低轨卫星轨道的初值方法

研究了用两颗全球定位系统（ＧＰＳ）卫星粗略确定低轨卫星轨道的问题,并着重讨论了其中的初值问题,给出了一种有效的初值方法。实验结果证明：这种方法能给出一个确定的、实用的初值,大大减少了初轨计算的计算量,并使得算法收敛更加有保障。在工程实用方面比传统的猜测方法具有较大的优势。     

小卫星围绕空间站飞行动力学和控制研究

研究微小卫星围绕空间站飞行, 监视空间站运行和外观状态, 减少航天员舱外活动。这是小卫星一种新的应用概念。文章主要研究绕飞轨道动力学和稳定性, 以及在有摄动情况下保持绕飞轨道的控制策略。这种控制策略所消耗燃料非常少, 根据仿真实验结果, 绕飞卫星飞行一个月消耗的燃料可产生速度增量约为３～４ｍ ／ｓ。     

原子氧对航天器表面材料作用的数值模拟

对氏地球轨道环境对航天器表面材料的影响和航天器表面材料的低地球轨道环境寿命评定方法进行了介绍;并对低地球轨道环境和地面试验环境下,有无保护涂层的业胺所受冲蚀作用进行了成功的数值模拟,获得了具有工程应用价值的数值计算结果。该工作对航天器的设计具有指导意义。     

降低高空台涡喷发动机进气流场不均匀度装置的试验研究

本文介绍A及B型涡喷发动机在模拟高空试验时的进口总压畸变及测量技术。发动机在低转速工作时发生“放炮现象”,为消除此故障在发动机进口按装一种整流器(由一个收敛段和气动网格组成)使进口气流分布均匀。试验结果效果良好,使稳态不均匀度和动态湍流度明显下降。文中介绍此类整流器的规格及设计细节,具有工程实用价值。     

风对探空火箭飞行弹道影响的分析

本文导出探空火箭速度方向角(俯仰角)和方位角(偏航角)满足的一组微分方程,并在一些近似假定下分析了风对探空火箭飞行弹道的影响。     

轨道参数对阿尔法磁谱仪太阳辐射热流的影响

为探明阿尔法磁谱仪（AMS）的温度变化规律,并为制定AMS的热控制方案提供指导和依据,推导了AMS重要区域（AMS前方、后方、顶部和左舷）的太阳辐射热流计算公式,分析了这些区域太阳辐射热流随轨道参数的变化,解释了AMS顶部的温度变化和太阳辐射热流变化规律在热控方案中的应用。分析表明在国际空间站（ISS）正常飞行姿态下,AMS前、后方和左舷的太阳辐射热流受太阳光与ISS轨道面的夹角（β角）、ISS与会日点的角距（θ角）和地球阴影区的影响,AMS顶部太阳辐射热流受β角和θ角的影响。得出结论：β角、θ角和地球阴影区均是影响AMS温度的主要因素,各区域的太阳辐射热流变化规律可以作为设计AMS温度控制方案的主要依据之一。     

The impact of orbital errors on the estimation of satellite clock errors and PPP

Precise satellite orbit and clocks are essential for providing high accuracy real-time PPP (Precise Point Positioning) service. However, by treating the predicted orbits as fixed, the orbital errors may be partially assimilated by the estimated satellite clock and hence impact the positioning solutions. This paper presents the impact analysis of errors in radial and tangential orbital components on the estimation of satellite clocks and PPP through theoretical study and experimental evaluation. The relationship between the compensation of the orbital errors by the satellite clocks and the satellite-station geometry is discussed in details. Based on the satellite clocks estimated with regional station networks of different sizes (∼100, ∼300, ∼500 and ∼700 km in radius), results indicated that the orbital errors compensated by the satellite clock estimates reduce as the size of the network increases. An interesting regional PPP mode based on the broadcast ephemeris and the corresponding estimated satellite clocks is proposed and evaluated through the numerical study. The impact of orbital errors in the broadcast ephemeris has shown to be negligible for PPP users in a regional network of a radius of ∼300 km, with positioning RMS of about 1.4, 1.4 and 3.7 cm for east, north and up component in the post-mission kinematic mode, comparable with 1.3, 1.3 and 3.6 cm using the precise orbits and the corresponding estimated clocks. Compared with the DGPS and RTK positioning, only the estimated satellite clocks are needed to be disseminated to PPP users for this approach. It can significantly alleviate the communication burdens and therefore can be beneficial to the real time applications.     

The effect of spatial truncation error on variance of gravity anomalies derived from inversion of satellite orbital and gradiometric data

The spatial truncation error (STE) is a significant systematic error in the integral inversion of satellite gradiometric and orbital data to gravity anomalies at sea level. In order to reduce the effect of STE, a larger area than the desired one is considered in the inversion process, but the anomalies located in its central part are selected as the final results. The STE influences the variance of the results as well because the residual vector, which is contaminated with STE, is used for its estimation. The situation is even more complicated in variance component estimation because of its iterative nature. In this paper, we present a strategy to reduce the effect of STE on the a posteriori   variance factor and the variance components for inversion of satellite orbital and gradiometric data to gravity anomalies at sea level. The idea is to define two windowing matrices for reducing this error from the estimated residuals and anomalies. Our simulation studies over Fennoscandia show that the differences between the 0.5°×0.5°$0.5°\times 0.5°$ gravity anomalies obtained from orbital data and an existing gravity model have standard deviation (STD) and root mean squared error (RMSE) of 10.9 and 12.1 mGal, respectively, and those obtained from gradiometric data have 7.9 and 10.1 in the same units. In the case that they are combined using windowed variance components the STD and RMSE become 6.1 and 8.4 mGal. Also, the mean value of the estimated RMSE after using the windowed variances is in agreement with the RMSE of the differences between the estimated anomalies and those obtained from the gravity model.     

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.