Paths not taken – The Gossamer roadmap’s other options

Highly efficient low-thrust propulsion is increasingly applied beyond commercial use, also in mainstream and flagship science missions, in combination with gravity assist propulsion. Another recent development is the growth of small spacecraft solutions, not in size but in numbers and individual capabilities.Just over ten years ago, the DLR-ESTEC Gossamer Roadmap to Solar Sailing was set up to guide technology developments towards a propellant-less and highly efficient class of spacecraft for solar system exploration and applications missions: small spacecraft solar sails designed for carefree handling and equipped with carried application modules.Soon, in three dedicated Gossamer Roadmap Science Working Groups it initiated studies of missions uniquely feasible with solar sails such as Displaced L₁ (DL1) space weather advance warning and monitoring, Solar Polar Orbiter (SPO) delivery to very high inclination heliocentric orbit, and multiple Near-Earth Asteroid (NEA) rendezvous (MNR). Together, they demonstrate the capability of near-term solar sails to achieve at least in the inner solar system almost any kind of heliocentric orbit within 10 years, from the Earth-co-orbital to the extremely inclined, eccentric and even retrograde. Noted as part of the MNR study, sail-propelled head-on retrograde kinetic impactors (RKI) go to this extreme to achieve the highest possible specific kinetic energy for the deflection of hazardous asteroids.At DLR, the experience gained in the development of deployable membrane structures leading up to the successful ground deployment test of a (20 m)², i.e., 20 m by 20 m square solar sail at DLR Cologne in 1999 was revitalized and directed towards a 3-step small spacecraft development line from as-soon-as-possible sail deployment demonstration (Gossamer-1) via in-flight evaluation of sail attitude control actuators (Gossamer-2) to an envisaged proving-the-principle flight in the Earth-Moon system (Gossamer-3). First, it turned the concept of solar sail deployment on its head by introducing four separable Boom Sail Deployment Units (BSDU) to be discarded after deployment, enabling lightweight 3-axis stabilized sailcraft. By 2015, this effort culminated in the ground-qualified technology of the DLR Gossamer-1 deployment demonstrator Engineering Qualification Model (EQM). For mission types using separable payloads, such as SPO, MNR and RKI, design concepts can be derived from the BSDU characteristic of DLR Gossamer solar sail technology which share elements with the separation systems of asteroid nanolanders like MASCOT. These nano-spacecraft are an ideal match for solar sails in micro-spacecraft format whose launch configurations are compatible with ESPA and ASAP secondary payload platforms.Like any roadmap, this one contained much more than the planned route from departure to destination and the much shorter distance actually travelled. It is full of lanes, narrow and wide, detours and shortcuts, options and decision branches. Some became the path taken on which we previously reported. More were explored along the originally planned path or as new sidings in search of better options when circumstance changed and the project had to take another turn. But none were dead ends, they just faced the inevitable changes when roadmaps face realities and they were no longer part of the road ahead. To us, they were valuable lessons learned or options up our sleeves. But for future sailors they may be on their road ahead.     

Optimal video communication strategy for intelligent video analysis in unmanned aerial vehicle applications

For Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), the intelligent video analysis is a key technology in intelligent autonomous control, real-time navigation and surveillance. However, poor UAV wireless links would degrade the quality of video communication, leading to difficulties in video analysis. To meet the challenges of packet-loss and limited bandwidth in adverse UAV channel environments, this paper proposes a parameter optimization mechanism for UAV intelligent video analysis. In the proposed method, an Optimal Strategy Library (OSL) is designed to optimize the parameters for video encoding and forward error correction. Adapted to the packet-loss rate and bandwidth in practical UAV wireless network, the proposed OSL can facilitate the encoding of video sequences and the recovery of degraded videos with optimal performance. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed solution can keep intelligent video analysis working efficiently with adverse UAV wireless links, and is capable of maximizing the inference accuracy of Multi-Object Tracking (MOT) algorithms in various scenarios.     

Optimal guidance and collision avoidance for docking with the rotating target spacecraft

The guidance and control strategy for spacecraft rendezvous and docking are of vital importance, especially for a chaser spacecraft docking with a rotating target spacecraft. Approach guidance for docking maneuver in planar is studied in this paper. Approach maneuver includes two processes: optimal energy approach and the following flying-around approach. Flying-around approach method is presented to maintain a fixed relative distance and attitude for chaser spacecraft docking with target spacecraft. Due to the disadvantage of energy consumption and initial velocity condition, optimal energy guidance is presented and can be used for providing an initial state of flying-around approach process. The analytical expression of optimal energy guidance is obtained based on the Pontryagin minimum principle which can be used in real time. A couple of solar panels on the target spacecraft are considered as obstacles during proximity maneuvers, so secure docking region is discussed. A two-phase optimal guidance method is adopted for collision avoidance with solar panels. Simulation demonstrates that the closed-loop optimal energy guidance satisfies the ending docking constraints, avoids collision with time-varying rotating target, and provides the initial velocity conditions of flying-around approach maneuver. Flying-around approach maneuver can maintain fixed relative position and attitude for docking.     

多充液贮腔航天器耦合动力学与姿态控制

基于已有的质心面液体大幅晃动等效力学模型，采用拉格朗日方法，系统地建立了任意复杂激励下四贮腔航天器刚-液耦合动力学精确模型。由本文方法所得到的等效晃动力及晃动力矩与通过Flow3D计算出的相应结果吻合良好，验证了所建模型的可靠性。根据所建立的大幅晃动类充液航天器耦合系统动力学模型进一步研究了该类航天器在进行三轴稳定姿态机动时的主要动力学耦合特性，并设计了一类抑制姿态振荡的补偿控 制器。     

一种使用磁力矩器管理双自旋航天器角动量的方法

针对一种新型采用双自旋设计进行对地遥感任务的航天器，提出了一种使用磁力矩器对旋转载荷角动量进行管理的方法。使用旋转载荷固连正交安装的三只磁力矩器，在旋转过程中连续输出周期性变化的磁矩，使自转一周过程中产生的合角动量方向仅沿自转轴方向，避免在其他两轴方向产生角动量累积。该方法在工程上可行性好，仿真结果表明旋转载荷角动量持续保持在期望值附近，不随时间累加。     

Dynamic modeling and multi-stage integrated control method of ultra-quiet spacecraft

Space telescope ultrahigh precision pointing control requires the spacecraft platform to provide an ultra-quiet working environment. Vibration isolator rejection control and the multi-stage integrated control method is believed to be one of the best methods to improve the space telescope attitude control performance. In this paper, the fine dynamics model of multi-stage spacecraft systems is presented and the multi-stage integrated controller design techniques are provided. Effectiveness of the multi-stage integrated control approach is demonstrated by both the numerical simulation and experiment results. An integrated design and demonstrated experimental environment is developed for high-fidelity control performance assessment. The verification experiments for the space telescope attitude control and vibration control are carried out. The results show that the pointing accuracy and stability of the line-of-sight (LOS) for space telescope are improved at least one order by the multi-stage integrated control method.     

Robust H∞ controller design for attitude stabilization of flexible spacecraft with input constraints

This paper addresses the attitude stabilization and vibration suppression problem for flexible spacecraft subject to model parameter uncertainty, controller perturbations, external disturbances and input constraints. The attitude model of flexible spacecraft is described and converted into a state space form in terms of passive and active vibration suppression schemes. A novel state feedback controller is proposed based on the exactly available expectation of a new variable, which is introduced to model a randomly occurring controller gain perturbation. Based on Lyapunov stability theory, sufficient conditions for the existence of the nonfragile H_∞ controller considering input constraints are given based on linear matrix inequalities (LMIs) in terms of additive perturbation and multiplicative perturbation. Then, the developed controller subject to required constraints can be obtained, where the nonfragile property is fully considered to improve the tolerance to uncertainties in the controller. Numerical simulations are performed to demonstrate the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed control strategy in attitude stabilization and vibration suppression, where it should be noted that the passive vibration suppression scheme is superior for high natural frequencies while the active vibration suppression scheme is superior for low natural frequencies. Moreover, the low natural frequencies have more influence on the performance of attitude stabilization and vibration suppression.     

A torus-shaped solar sail accelerated via thermal desorption of coating

A torus-shaped sail consists of a reflective membrane attached to an inflatable torus-shaped rim. The sail’s deployment from its stowed configuration is initiated by introducing inflation pressure into the toroidal rim with an attached circular flat membrane coated by heat-sensitive materials that undergo thermal desorption (TD) from a solid to a gas phase. Our study of the deployment and acceleration of the sail is split into three steps: at a particular heliocentric distance a torus-shaped sail is deployed by a gas inflated into the toroidal rim and the membrane is kept flat by the pressure of the gas; under heating by solar radiation, the membrane coat undergoes TD and the sail is accelerated via TD of coating and solar radiation pressure (SRP); when TD ends, the sail utilizes thrust only from SRP. We study the stability of the torus-shaped sail and deflection and vibration of the flat membrane due to the acceleration by TD and SRP.     

High precision dynamic model and control considering J2 perturbation for spacecraft hovering in low orbit

For spacecraft hovering in low orbit, a high precision spacecraft relative dynamics model without any simplification and considering J₂ perturbation is established in this paper. Using the derived model, open-loop control and closed-loop control are proposed respectively. Gauss's variation equations and the coordinate transformation method are combined to deal with the relative J₂ perturbation between the two spacecraft. The sliding mode controller is adopted as the closed-loop controller for spacecraft hovering. To improve the control accuracy, the relative J₂ perturbation is regarded as a known parameter term in the closed-loop controller. The external uncertainty perturbations except J₂ perturbation are estimated by numerical difference method, and the boundary layer method is used to weaken the impact of chattering on the sliding mode controller. The open-loop control of spacecraft hovering with the relative J₂ perturbation and without the relative J₂ perturbation are simulated and compared, and the results prove that the accuracy of open-loop control with relative J₂ perturbation has been significantly improved. Similarly, the simulation of the closed-loop control are presented to validate the effectiveness of the designed sliding mode controller, and the results demonstrate that the designed sliding mode controller including the derived relative J₂ perturbation can guarantee the high accuracy and robustness of spacecraft hovering in long-term mission.     

智能技术在火箭管路系统研制中的应用研究

管路系统在火箭中布局在狭小空间内,不仅规格种类和数量多,且安装位置和安装接口极其复杂多样,给管路的敷设、制造和装配都带来相当的难度。近年来,国内外与智能技术相关的信息、计算机软硬件、控制和传感器等技术的飞速发展,为火箭管路系统的设计、制造以及高效率装配等提供了坚实的理论基础和技术保障。从国内外火箭管路系统在智能布局、智能制造和智能装配等方面入手,研究了智能技术在火箭管路系统工程应用的现实和前景。