Assessment of space debris collisions against spacecraft with deorbit devices

Deorbit methods have been employed to remove space debris from orbit. One of these methods is to utilize atmospheric drag. In this method, a membrane loaded into the spacecraft is expanded to increase atmospheric drag. Although this method works without requiring fuel, it has the disadvantage of a high risk of collision with other debris owing to its larger area. Area-time product and energy-to-mass ratio have been used as indices to evaluate the risk of collisions between spacecraft and debris. However, the evaluation criteria were uncertain because these two indices are independent. In this paper, we propose a new evaluation index, single-sheet collision factor (SSCF), that comprehensively evaluates the collision risk based on experiments simulating debris collisions. As a result of the hypervelocity collision experiment, we found that the penetration-area mass of the spacecraft affects the severity of debris collisions. In this paper, the product of the exterior-wall thickness, the exterior-wall density, and the space debris cross-sectional area defines the penetration-area mass of the spacecraft. Furthermore, we compare and evaluate various deorbit methods using SSCF. The comparison showed that the penetration-area mass of the SSCF could be quantitatively determined for the debris-collision severity due to difference in structural materials of spacecraft. SSCF will be used to create rules for space-environment conservation with the expansion of the space-development market.     

大型航天器再入陨落时太阳翼气动力/热模拟分析

采用直接模拟蒙特卡洛（DSMC）方法对大型航天器离轨再入陨落过程中,其太阳翼帆板在稀薄过渡流域的气动力、气动热特性进行数值模拟,计算中采用流场直角与表面三角形非结构混合网格以及网格自适应技术处理这类复杂外形的流动模拟,考虑内能激发和化学反应来准确模拟气动加热,并基于MPI环境的并行算法解决计算量庞大的难题。通过计算分析太阳翼水平和垂直放置时在不同高度、不同攻角下的复杂流动特征,表明在90km以上高空,太阳翼垂直放置时,飞行器头部脱体激波与帆板脱体激波会产生更强烈、更复杂的激波/激波和激波/边界层的干扰,在气动力和气动热的双重作用下要比水平放置时的太阳翼更快地被撕裂并脱离目标航天器。     

利用轨道瞬时根数预报的离轨制动控制方法

针对再入飞行器离轨制动问题,在考虑地球引力J2项摄动及有限推力影响下,设计了一种航天器自主离轨制动控制算法。该算法根据再入点状态约束,确定了离轨过渡轨道的平均轨道根数及其与离轨待命轨道平均轨道根数的关系,从而得到制动参数初值。通过在线数值递推轨迹,实时预报再入点瞬时轨道根数并计算再入点航迹倾角,当预报的航迹倾角满足约束条件时结束制动,并根据再入点纬度幅角误差修正制动起始点,从而修正制动参数。制动过程中,在考虑了J2项摄动影响下实时预报再入点瞬时轨道根数,依据实际任务需求确定关机时机。最后通过考虑初始状态误差、质量误差、推力误差以及姿态误差情况下的蒙特卡洛打靶仿真,分析了不同关机策略的落点散布特性,检验了该算法的自主决策和高精度再入点控制能力。     

Development status of AEOLDOS – A deorbit module for small satellites

A prototype CubeSat module to deploy a gossamer aerobrake, using strain stored in tape-springs, at end-of-life is described. A novel hub geometry to reduce bending shock at end-of-deployment while simultaneously permitting radial, as opposed to tangential, deployment is proposed. The rpm of the hub is measured under various deployment conditions to verify that the system offers highly-repeatable performance, while high-speed photography is used to characterise the behaviour of the tape-spring during unspooling and contrast it to the behaviour of a traditional tangential-deployment system. Secondly the folding pattern of the membrane, which takes advantage of the symmetrical deployment offered by the petal hub, is developed and the unfolding mechanism is verified by numerical and experimental analysis. Finally, the release of the stored strain is considered and a novel burn-though device is designed and prototyped to meet this requirement.