A bistatic SAR mission for earth observation based on a small satellite

The authors present a new scientific space mission consisting of a satellite carrying a receiving- only SAR which receives the signal transmitted by the ENVISAT-1 SAR. The integration of ENVISAT-1 SAR and bistatic radar data offers an improved potentiality of surface classification, three-dimensional observation, and the opportunity of advanced scientific experiments in the field of bistatic scattering. The small satellite nominal orbit and the attitude manoeuvres are designed in order to maintain an adequate overlap between the two radar swaths along the whole orbit, taking into account the ENVISAT-1 attitude and pointing. A preliminary satellite design (2-year lifetime) is then performed to evaluate the orbit decay and to determine the appropriate orbit manoeuvres (every 4 days) to control the satellites relative phase. The numerical simulation shows that a spacecraft of about 584kg is able to meet the mission requirements.     

Effects of solar modulation on the cosmic ray positron fraction

We implemented a 2D Monte Carlo model to simulate the solar modulation of galactic cosmic rays. The model is based on the Parker’s transport equation which contains diffusion, convection, particle drift and energy loss. Following the evolution in time of the solar activity, we are able to modulate a local interstellar spectrum (LIS), that we assumed isotropic beyond the termination shock, down to the Earth position inside the heliosphere. In this work we focused our attention to the cosmic ray positron fraction at energy below ∼10 GeV, showing how the particle drift processes could explain different results for AMS-01 and PAMELA. We compare our modulated spectra with observations at Earth, and then make a prediction of the cosmic ray positron fraction for the AMS-02 experiment.     

Design of an end-to-end demonstration mission of a Formation-Flying Synthetic Aperture Radar (FF-SAR) based on microsatellites

The paper focuses on space system design aspects related to an end-to-end demonstration mission, aiming at showing the feasibility of a Formation Flying Synthetic Aperture Radar (FF-SAR) with microsatellite class platforms (~100 kg). Trajectory design approaches that can fulfil payload requirements are addressed to enable selected FF-SAR applications. The exploitation of these applications relies on suitable combinations of FF-SAR techniques like Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) enhancement, High-Resolution Wide Swath (HRWS) SAR imaging, and Coherence Resolution Enhancement (CRE). In this framework, a cluster of 3 micro-satellites, working in X-band, flying in a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) close-formation, has been designed as a candidate end-to-end system demonstration mission. One satellite embarks a Transmitting-Receiving (Tx/Rx) radar, i.e. it is a monostatic SAR. The other two satellites are Receiving-only platforms. Critical design aspects related to spacecraft subsystems and formation-flying analysis are addressed to confirm the technical feasibility of the spaceborne distributed system implementing the FF-SAR principle.     

JIRAM, the image spectrometer in the near infrared on board the Juno mission to Jupiter

The Jovian InfraRed Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) has been accepted by NASA for inclusion in the New Frontiers mission "Juno," which will launch in August 2011. JIRAM will explore the dynamics and the chemistry of Jupiter's auroral regions by high-contrast imaging and spectroscopy. It will also analyze jovian hot spots to determine their vertical structure and infer possible mechanisms for their formation. JIRAM will sound the jovian meteorological layer to map moist convection and determine water abundance and other constituents at depths that correspond to several bars pressure. JIRAM is equipped with a single telescope that accommodates both an infrared camera and a spectrometer to facilitate a large observational flexibility in obtaining simultaneous images in the L and M bands with the spectral radiance over the central zone of the images. Moreover, JIRAM will be able to perform spectral imaging of the planet in the 2.0-5.0 microm interval of wavelengths with a spectral resolution better than 10 nm. Instrument design, modes, and observation strategy will be optimized for operations onboard a spinning satellite in polar orbit around Jupiter. The JIRAM heritage comes from Italian-made, visual-infrared imaging spectrometers dedicated to planetary exploration, such as VIMS-V on Cassini, VIRTIS on Rosetta and Venus Express, and VIR-MS on the Dawn mission.     

Ionospheric path delay models for spaceborne GPS receivers flying in formation with large baselines

GPS relative navigation filters could benefit notably from an accurate modeling of the ionospheric delays, especially over large baselines (>100 km) where double difference delays can be higher than several carrier wavelengths. This paper analyzes the capability of ionospheric path delay models proposed for spaceborne GPS receivers in predicting both zero-difference and double difference ionospheric delays. We specifically refer to relatively simple ionospheric models, which are suitable for real-time filtering schemes. Specifically, two ionospheric delay models are evaluated, one assuming an isotropic electron density and the other considering the effect on the electron density of the Sun aspect angle. The prediction capability of these models is investigated by comparing predicted ionospheric delays with measured ones on real flight data from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment mission, in which two satellites fly separated of more than 200 km. Results demonstrate that both models exhibit a correlation in the excess of 80% between predicted and measured double-difference ionospheric delays. Despite its higher simplicity, the isotropic model performs better than the model including the Sun effect, being able to predict double differenced delays with accuracy smaller than the carrier wavelength in most cases. The model is thus fit for supporting integer ambiguity fixing in real-time filters for relative navigation over large baselines. Concerning zero-difference ionospheric delays, results demonstrate that delays predicted by the isotropic model are highly correlated (around 90%) with those estimated using GPS measurements. However, the difference between predicted and measured delays has a root mean square error in the excess of 30 cm. Thus, the zero-difference ionospheric delays model is not likely to be an alternative to methods exploiting carrier-phase observables for cancelling out the ionosphere contribution in single-frequency absolute navigation filters.     

l1-based calibration of POD-Galerkin models of two-dimensional unsteady flows

This paper discusses a physics-informed methodology aimed at reconstructing efficiently the fluid state of a system. Herein, the generation of an accurate reduced order model of two-dimensional unsteady flows from data leverages on sparsity-promoting statistical learning techniques. The cornerstone of the approach is l₁ regularised regression, resulting in sparsely-connected models where only the important quadratic interactions between modes are retained. The original dynamical behaviour is reproduced at low computational costs, as few quadratic interactions need to be evaluated. The approach has two key features. First, interactions are selected systematically as a solution of a convex optimisation problem and no a priori assumptions on the physics of the flow are required. Second, the presence of a regularisation term improves the predictive performance of the original model, generally affected by noise and poor data quality. Test cases are for two-dimensional lid-driven cavity flows, at three values of the Reynolds number for which the motion is chaotic and energy interactions are scattered across the spectrum. It is found that: (A) the sparsification generates models maintaining the original accuracy level but with a lower number of active coefficients; this becomes more pronounced for increasing Reynolds numbers suggesting that extension of these techniques to real-life flow configurations is possible; (B) sparse models maintain a good temporal stability for predictions. The methodology is ready for more complex applications without modifications of the underlying theory, and the integration into a cyber-physical model is feasible.     

PROBA-3 mission and the Shadow Position Sensors: Metrology measurement concept and budget

PROBA-3 is a space mission of the European Space Agency that will test, and validate metrology and control systems for autonomous formation flying of two independent satellites. PROBA-3 will operate in a High Elliptic Orbit and when approaching the apogee at 6·10⁴ Km, the two spacecraft will align to realize a giant externally occulted coronagraph named ASPIICS, with the telescope on one satellite and the external occulter on the other one, at inter-satellite distance of 144.3 m. The formation will be maintained over 6 hrs across the apogee transit and during this time different validation operations will be performed to confirm the effectiveness of the formation flying metrology concept, the metrology control systems and algorithms, and the spacecraft manoeuvring. The observation of the Sun’s Corona in the field of view [1.08;3.0]R_Sun will represent the scientific tool to confirm the formation flying alignment. In this paper, we review the mission concept and we describe the Shadow Position Sensors (SPS), one of the metrological systems designed to provide high accuracy (sub-millimetre level) absolute and relative alignment measurement of the formation flying. The metrology algorithm developed to convert the SPS measurements in lateral and longitudinal movement estimation is also described and the measurement budget summarized.     

Influence of nuclear de-excitation on observables relevant for space exploration

The composition of the space radiation environment inside spacecrafts is modified by the interaction with shielding material, with equipment and even with the astronauts’ bodies. Accurate quantitative estimates of the effects of nuclear reactions are necessary, for example, for dose estimation and prediction of single-event-upset rates. To this end, it is necessary to construct predictive models for nuclear reactions, which usually consist of an intranuclear-cascade or quantum-molecular-dynamics stage, followed by a nuclear-de-excitation stage.     

Optimum design of a three-axis magnetic field simulator

This paper deals with the design of a three-axis magnetic field simulator for space applications. The simulator main goal is to reproduce, in an assigned volume about its geometrical center, a magnetic field vector with assigned uniformity and time behavior. To this end, different geometrical configurations, in terms of coil shape, dimension, number and distance, are analyzed. Results show that an optimum configuration, in terms of test volume dimensions and maximum power consumption, can be found