CASH 2021: commercial access and space habitation

Issues about commercialization of space have been a growing concern in the past decade for the space community. This paper focuses on the work from a team of 51 students attending the Summer Session Program of the International Space University in Bremen, Germany. CASH 2021 (Commercial Access and Space Habitation) documents a plan that identifies commercial opportunities for space utilization that will extend human presence in space, and will chart the way forward for the next 20 years. The group selected four commercial sectors that show the most promise for the future: tourism, entertainment, space system service, assembly and debris removal, and research and development/production. The content of this document presents the results of their research. Historical activities in each of the commercial sectors are reviewed along with the current market situation. To provide a coherent background for future commercialization possibilities a scenario has been developed. This scenario includes a postulated upon ideal future and includes social, political and economic factors that may affect the space industry over the timeline of the study. The study also presents a roadmap, within the limited optimistic scenario developed, for the successful commercialization of space leading to future human presence in space. A broad range of commercially viable opportunities, not only within the current limits of the International Space Station, but also among the many new developments that are expected by 2021 are discussed.     

First astrometric observations of space debris with the MéO telescope

The MéO (for Métrologie Optique) telescope is the Satellite and Lunar Laser Ranging (SLR) dedicated telescope of Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur (France) located at plateau de Calern. The telescope uses an altazimuth mount. The motorization of the mount has a capability of 6 deg/s allowing the follow up of Low Earth Orbits (LEO) satellites, as well as Medium Earth Orbits (MEO) and geostationary (GEO) satellites, and the Moon. The telescope has a primary mirror of 1.54 m. It uses a Nasmyth focus equipped with an EMCCD camera. The telescope field of view, defined by the equivalent focal length and the size of the camera, is currently 3.4 arcmin × 3.4 arcmin.     

电-热耦合对航空复合材料拉伸及疲劳性能的影响

为研究碳纤维增强树脂基复合材料(CFRP)层合板的导电性能和电-热耦合效应及其对拉伸和疲劳性能的影响,主要针对2种不同铺层的试件(单向层合板(UD)[0]8和准各向异性层合板(QI)[45/90/-45/0]s)进行导电及电-热耦合实验和通电状态下的拉伸及疲劳实验。在电-热耦合实验中分别对试件通以1~8A的直流电和交流电,测量其温度场的分布及最高温度,以确定温度对电阻的影响。依据实验现象建立了简化后的电-热耦合分析模型,并与实验结果进行对比,发现两者吻合很好。简化后的电-热耦合模型能够很好地预测试件在达到稳态平衡时的最高温度值。在通电情况下对不同初始状态时的QI试件进行拉伸和疲劳实验,通过实验发现,在疲劳加载过程中无论是通以直流电、交流电或者是改变电流强度和电流频率,对试件的疲劳寿命影响不大,没有发现明显差异,但在实验过程中试件表面的温度会随着电流强度的增加而升高。同时,在监测试件沿着纤维方向的电阻变化时发现,在一定的疲劳载荷下,随着循环次数的增加,试件的电阻会不断增加,这表明试件内部出现了损伤,累积后直至试件断裂。依据实验现象分别建立了电阻模型-1和电阻模型-2,分析计算后发现模型-1能够较好地模拟试件变形的线性阶段(εxx≤0.4%),而模型-2能较好地模拟非线性阶段直至试件断裂(εxx0.4%)。     

Debris Discs Around Stars: The 2004 ISO Legacy

Debris discs around stars were first discovered by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) in 1983. For the first time material orbiting another star than the Sun, but distinct from a circumstellar envelope, was observed through its far infrared emission. This major discovery motivated astronomers to investigate those discs by further analyzing the IRAS data, using ground-based telescopes for the hunting of exoplanets, developing several projects using the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO), and now exploiting the ISO Data Archive (IDA). This review presents the main ISO results, statistical as well as individual, on debris discs in orbit around pre-main-sequence and main-sequence stars. Based on observations with ISO, an ESA project with instruments funded by ESA Member States (especially the PI countries: France, Germany, The Netherlands, and the United Kingdom), and with the participation of ISAS and NASA.     

The Rotation and Interior Structure Experiment on the InSight Mission to Mars

The Rotation and Interior Structure Experiment (RISE) on-board the InSight mission will use the lander’s X-band (8 GHz) radio system in combination with tracking stations of the NASA Deep Space Network (DSN) to determine the rotation of Mars. RISE will measure the nutation of the Martian spin axis, detecting for the first time the effect of the liquid core of Mars and providing in turn new constraints on the core radius and density. RISE will also measure changes in the rotation rate of Mars on seasonal time-scales thereby constraining the atmospheric angular momentum budget. Finally, RISE will provide a superb tie between the cartographic and inertial reference frames. This paper describes the RISE scientific objectives and measurements, and provides the expected results of the experiment.     

A liquid propulsion panorama

Liquid-propellant rocket engines are widely used all over the world, thanks to their high performances, in particular high thrust-to-weight ratio. The present paper presents a general panorama of liquid propulsion as a contribution of the IAF Advanced Propulsion Prospective Group.After a brief history of its past development in the different parts of the world, the current status of liquid propulsion, the currently observed trends, the possible areas of future improvement and a summarized road map of future developments are presented. The road map includes a summary of the liquid propulsion status presented in the “Year in review 2007” of Aerospace America.Although liquid propulsion is often seen as a mature technology with few areas of potential improvement, the requirements of an active commercial market and a renewed interest for space exploration has led to the development of a family of new engines, with more design margins, simpler to use and to produce associated with a wide variety of thrust and life requirements.