SSETO—Small Satellite for Exoplanetary Transit Observation

SSETO is the result of a phase-A study in context of the small satellite program of the University of Stuttgart that demonstrates the capability of a university institute to build a small satellite with a budget of 5 million Euro. The satellite will be capable of observing exoplanets in a Neptune–Earth scale and obtaining data of interstellar dust. Due to a system failure of NASA?s Kepler mission, there is currently (October 2013) a lack of satellites searching for exoplanets. This paper details the design of subsystems and payload, as well as the required test tasks in accordance with the mission profile at a conceptional level. The costs for standard spacecraft testing and integration tasks are included, but not those of launch, ground support, operations and engineer working hours.     

Conceptualizing an economically,legally, and politically viable active debris removal option

It has become increasingly clear in recent years that the issue of space debris, particularly in low-Earth orbit, can no longer be ignored or simply mitigated. Orbital debris currently threatens safe space flight for both satellites and humans aboard the International Space Station. Additionally, orbital debris might impact Earth upon re-entry, endangering human lives and damaging the environment with toxic materials. In summary, orbital debris seriously jeopardizes the future not only of human presence in space, but also of human safety on Earth. While international efforts to mitigate the current situation and limit the creation of new debris are useful, recent studies predicting debris evolution have indicated that these will not be enough to ensure humanity?s access to and use of the near-Earth environment in the long-term. Rather, active debris removal (ADR) must be pursued if we are to continue benefiting from and conducting space activities. While the concept of ADR is not new, it has not yet been implemented. This is not just because of the technical feasibility of such a scheme, but also because of the host of economic, legal/regulatory, and political issues associated with debris remediation. The costs of ADR are not insignificant and, in today?s restrictive fiscal climate, are unlikely/to be covered by any single actor. Similarly, ADR concepts bring up many unresolved questions about liability, the protection of proprietary information, safety, and standards. In addition, because of the dual use nature of ADR technologies, any venture will necessarily require political considerations. Despite the many unanswered questions surrounding ADR, it is an endeavor worth pursuing if we are to continue relying on space activities for a variety of critical daily needs and services. Moreover, we cannot ignore the environmental implications that an unsustainable use of space will imply for life on Earth in the long run. This paper aims to explore some of these challenges and propose an economically, politically, and legally viable ADR option. Much like waste management on Earth, cleaning up space junk will likely lie somewhere between a public good and a private sector service. An international, cooperative, public-private partnership concept can address many of these issues and be economically sustainable, while also driving the creation of a proper set of regulations, standards and best practices.     

一种新型的自激式除尘器的设计与开发

本文针对我国目前一些小型锅炉烟尘除法装置存在的售价高、使用寿命短、除尘效率低等问题，介绍一种新型湿式陶瓷除尘器的设计与开发过程。该除尘器具有高效、价廉、无二次污染等特性，适用于小型锅炉的烟尘治理。     

彗星中尘埃的带电特性和平衡电势的研究

分析了彗星中尘埃粒子的带电特性，以及计算了彗星尘埃等离子体的典型参数．对Halley彗星和G-Z彗星进行了讨论，得出了彗星中尘埃平衡电势的一些主要规律．一般来说，这些规律也可以适用于其他等离子体彗星．     

Characteristics of piezoelectric lead zirconate titanate multilayered detector bombarded with hypervelocity iron particles

A cosmic dust detector is currently being developed using a piezoelectric lead zirconate titanate (PZT) element. The characteristics of the multilayered detector (MD), which was composed of one hundred PZT disks, were investigated by bombarding it with hypervelocity iron particles supplied by a Van de Graaff accelerator. It was confirmed that there was a linear relationship between the signal amplitude observed from MD and the momentum of the particles. As compared with the single-layered detector (SD) that was composed of one PZT disk, it was found that the sensitivity of MD was ∼3 times higher than that of SD within the limits of the experimental conditions.     

The lunar dust pendulum

An analytic model for the motion of a positively charged lunar dust grain in the presence of a shadowed crater at a negative potential in vacuum is presented. It is shown that the dust grain executes oscillatory trajectories, and an expression is derived for the period of oscillation. Simulations used to verify the analytic expression also show that because the trajectories are unstable, dust grains are either ejected from the crater’s vicinity or deposited into the crater forming “dust ponds.” The model also applies to other airless bodies in the solar system, such as asteroids, and predicts that under certain conditions, particularly near lunar sunset, oscillating dust “canopies” or “swarms” will form over negatively charged craters.     

Simulation and experimental investigation of inner-jet electrochemical grinding of GH4169 alloy

GH4169 alloy is one of the most commonly used materials in aero engine turbine blades, but its machinability is poor because of its excellent strength at high temperatures. Electrochemical machining (ECM) has become a common method for machining this alloy and other difficult-to-machine materials. Electrochemical grinding (ECG) is a hybrid process combining ECM and conventional grinding. In this paper, investigations conducted on inner-jet ECG of GH4169 alloy are described. Two types of inner-jet ECG grinding wheels were used to machine a flat bottom surface. The machining process was simulated using COMSOL software, and machining gaps under different machining parameters were obtained. In addition, maximum feed rates and maximum material removal rates under different machining parameters were studied experimentally. The maximum sizes and the uniformity of the distributions of the gaps machined by the two grinding wheels were compared. The effects of different applied voltages on the machining results were also investigated.     

Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect and the dust emission in the galaxy clusters

It is shown that if the dust is present in the hot intergalactic gas, the galaxy cluster must be very bright source of far infrared emission. This emission can be observed by modern IR astronomy methods. At the same time, taking realistic assumptions about the intergalactic dust nature, it is impossible to explain negative results of the attempts made at observational detecting the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect in the centimeter wavelength region as the compensation of the expected decrements by the dust grains emission.     

Extragalactic observations and future missions

We briefly review some questions of extragalactic astrophysics and cosmology that would most benefit from future missions outside the Earth's atmosphere in the IR and submillimeter. These include the formation and early evolution phases in galaxies and the probably related question of quasar formation; the observation of Active Galactic Nuclei embedded in thick dusty structures (torii) and its impact on the still debated unified model of AGN activity; the observability of radiation processes occurring at very highz through background measurements; the investigation of the large scale structure and velocity field in the distant universe; and studies of the interstellar medium in galaxies. Some more emphasis is given on the galaxy formation problem, because we believe that IR-mm sensitive observations will be crucial to its final solution.     

振动辅助抛光的原理分析与实验研究

首先从理论上分析了振动辅助抛光的加工过程,通过建立单颗磨粒冲击工件的数学模型,分析了振动参数变化引起硬脆材料的塑-脆去除方式转变机制。采用LY-DYNA软件对球形和锥形磨粒冲击工件的仿真分析结果表明：随着振动参数的增强,磨粒切入深度增加,达到临界切削深度后产生裂纹脆性去除,从而能够实现工件材料的额外去除。在实验平台上开展的径向振动抛光实验结果表明：引入振动后抛光去除效率显著提升,证明了理论分析的正确性。