Analysis of the orbit lifetime of CubeSats in low Earth orbits including periodic variation in drag due to attitude motion

It is estimated that more than 22,300 human-made objects are in orbit around the Earth, with a total mass above 8,400,000 kg. Around 89% of these objects are non-operational and without control, which makes them to be considered orbital debris. These numbers consider only objects with dimensions larger than 10 cm. Besides those numbers, there are also about 2000 operational satellites in orbit nowadays. The space debris represents a hazard to operational satellites and to the space operations. A major concern is that this number is growing, due to new launches and particles generated by collisions. Another important point is that the development of CubeSats has increased exponentially in the last years, increasing the number of objects in space, mainly in the Low Earth Orbits (LEO). Due to the short operational time, CubeSats boost the debris population. One of the requirements for space debris mitigation in LEO is the limitation of the orbital lifetime of the satellites, which needs to be lower than 25 years. However, there are space debris with longer estimated decay time. In LEÓs, the influence of the atmospheric drag is the main orbital perturbation, and is used in maneuvers to increment the losses in the satellite orbital energy, to locate satellites in constellations and to accelerate the decay.The goal of the present research is to study the influence of aerodynamic rotational maneuver in the CubeSat?s orbital lifetime. The rotational axis is orthogonal to the orbital plane of the CubeSat, which generates variations in the ballistic coefficient along the trajectory. The maneuver is proposed to accelerate the decay and to mitigate orbital debris generated by non-operational CubeSats. The panel method is selected to determine the drag coefficient as a function of the flow incident angle and the spinning rate. The pressure distribution is integrated from the satellite faces at hypersonic rarefied flow to calculate the drag coefficient. The mathematical model considers the gravitational potential of the Earth and the deceleration due to drag. To analyze the effects of the rotation during the decay, multiple trajectories were propagated, comparing the results obtained assuming a constant drag coefficient with trajectories where the drag coefficient changes periodically. The initial perigees selected were lower than 400 km of altitude with eccentricities ranging from 0.00 to 0.02. Six values for the angular velocity were applied in the maneuver. The technique of rotating the spacecraft is an interesting solution to increase the orbit decay of a CubeSat without implementing additional de-orbit devices. Significant changes in the decay time are presented due to the increase of the mean drag coefficient calculated by the panel method, when the maneuver is applied, reducing the orbital lifetime, however the results are independent of the angular velocity of the satellite.     

基于距离相关分析的航空维修差错影响因素分析

针对一般航空维修差错因素分析中只将相关因素各自独立分析,并将其影响程度进行排序分析方法的局限性,对航空维修差错因素的分类和综合分析,建立基于距离相关分析的航空维修差错影响因素综合分析模型,并通过实例数据分析计算得出航空维修差错相关系数,该相关系数可应用于航空维修差错影响因素的综合关联分析,将航空维修差错因素间的相关性以相关系数定量表示,弥补了传统方法单一性的缺陷.     

Study of seasonal and long-term vertical deformation in Nepal based on GPS and GRACE observations

Lithospheric deformation signal can be detected by combining data from continuous global positioning system (CGPS) and satellite observations from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE). In this paper, we use 2.5- to 19-year-long time series from 35 CGPS stations to estimate vertical deformation rates in Nepal, which is located in the southern side of the Himalaya. GPS results were compared with GRACE observations. Principal component analysis was conducted to decompose the time series into three-dimensional principal components (PCs) and spatial eigenvectors. The top three high-order PCs were calculated to correct common mode errors. Both GPS and GRACE observations showed significant seasonal variations. The observed seasonal GPS vertical variations are in good agreement with those from the GRACE-derived results, particularly for changes in surface pressure, non-tidal oceanic mass loading, and hydrologic loading. The GPS-observed rates of vertical deformation obtained for the region suggest both tectonic impact and mass decrease. The rates of vertical crustal deformation were estimated by removing the GRACE-derived hydrological vertical rates from the GPS measurements. Most of the sites located in the southern part of the Main Himalayan Thrust subsided, whereas the northern part mostly showed an uplift. These results may contribute to the understanding of secular vertical crustal deformation in Nepal.     

Optimal guidance of extended trajectory shaping

To control missile＇s miss distance as well as terminal impact angle, by involving the timeto-go-nth power in the cost function, an extended optimal guidance law against a constant maneuvering target or a stationary target is proposed using the linear quadratic optimal control theory.An extended trajectory shaping guidance（ETSG） law is then proposed under the assumption that the missile-target relative velocity is constant and the line of sight angle is small. For a lag-free ETSG system, closed-form solutions for the missile＇s acceleration command are derived by the method of Schwartz inequality and linear simulations are performed to verify the closed-form results. Normalized adjoint systems for miss distance and terminal impact angle error are presented independently for stationary targets and constant maneuvering targets, respectively. Detailed discussions about the terminal misses and impact angle errors induced by terminal impact angle constraint, initial heading error, seeker zero position errors and target maneuvering, are performed.     

叶片型面测量的数据分析及误差评定方法

通过对三坐标测量机测量精铸叶片的种类、原理和方法进行分析,重点探讨了三坐标测量机测量扭曲叶片产生误差的原因及误差修正方法,并应用实例进行了较为详尽的论述和验证,给出了扭曲叶片检测误差修正的实现算法和评价方法。     

发射惯性坐标系下误差角与数学平台失准角的推导与仿真

基于状态空间法的捷联惯性/天文组合导航系统(SINS/CNS)需要数学平台失准角作为观测值参与滤波估计,工程实际只能得到SINS、CNS二者的姿态误差角.以弹道导弹为背景,在发射惯性坐标系下分别推导了四元数和欧拉角形式的姿态误差角与数学平台失准角之间的相互转换矩阵.建立了弹道导弹SINS/CNS数学模型,并采用EKF和UKF算法验证了该转换矩阵.仿真结果表明误差转换矩阵的正确性.     

基于解析法的用户差分距离误差解算方法(英文)

为了进一步增强星基导航系统的完好性性能,提出了一种基于解析法的用户差分距离误差计算方法。文中首先介绍了卫星时钟和星历改正数的计算方法,认为计算用户差分距离误差的关键是查找卫星服务区域内的最差用户位置。通过变换卫星时钟和星历误差协方差矩阵,将查找最差用户位置变换成一个解析几何问题,通过数学推导得出最差用户位置的解析式,进而求解用户差分距离误差。通过计算机仿真对比了解析法和遍历法之间的性能差异,结果表明:解析法的正确性由遍历法得到了验证,解析法可以减少90%的运行时间并且具有更低的计算复杂度,便于工程实现。     

基于相关误差的变步长LMS算法

以自适应对象建模为应用背景,对不同的变步长LMS算法进行对比研究,提出了一种基于相关误差的变步长LMS算法,仿真结果表明,该算法较现有算法具有较快的收敛速度和较高的收敛精度.     

应变片横向效应对应变测量的影响与修正

首先介绍了应变片横向效应,并对其引起的应变测量误差进行分析;然后分别对T型应变片、450应变花和600应变花测量的应变结果进行修正;最后用两个工程实例说明此方法在实际工作中的应用。     

Improved orbit predictions using two-line elements

The density of orbital space debris constitutes an increasing environmental challenge. There are two ways to alleviate the problem: debris mitigation and debris removal. This paper addresses collision avoidance, a key aspect of debris mitigation. We describe a method that contributes to achieving a requisite increase in orbit prediction accuracy for objects in the publicly available two-line element (TLE) catalog. Batch least-squares differential correction is applied to the TLEs. Using a high-precision numerical propagator, we fit an orbit to state vectors derived from successive TLEs. We then propagate the fitted orbit further forward in time. These predictions are validated against precision ephemeris data derived from the international laser ranging service (ILRS) for several satellites, including objects in the congested sun-synchronous orbital region. The method leads to a predicted range error that increases at a typical rate of 100 m per day, approximately a 10-fold improvement over individual TLE’s propagated with their associated analytic propagator (SGP4). Corresponding improvements for debris trajectories could potentially provide conjunction analysis sufficiently accurate for an operationally viable collision avoidance system based on TLEs only.