Electric potential structures of auroral acceleration region border from multi-spacecraft Cluster data

This paper studies an auroral event using data from three spacecraft of the Cluster mission, one inside and two at the poleward edge of the bottom of the Auroral Acceleration Region (AAR). The study reveals the three-dimensional profile of the region’s poleward boundary, showing spatial segmentation of the electric potential structures and their decay in time. It also depicts localized magnetic field variations and field-aligned currents that appear to have remained stable for at least 80?s. Such observations became possible due to the fortuitous motion of the three spacecraft nearly parallel to each other and tangential to the AAR edge, so that the differences and variations can be seen when the spacecraft enter and exit the segmentations, hence revealing their position with respect to the AAR.     

多航天器编队在轨自主协同控制研究

提出一种基于信息一致性的分布式协同控制策略,该策略可自主实现多航天器编队 的 构型建立、保持与整体机动。在该策略中,编队内各航天器均具有局部的分层控制结构：参 考点一致性估计层根据各航天器初始状态与编队内信息拓扑,协商估计出多航天器编队整体 系统基准参考点;协同制导层根据编队整体系统模型预测控制方程,采用并行计算方式,规 划各航天器从初始状态到期望构型的期望重构机动路径;协同控制层采用基于二阶一致性算 法的协同反馈控制律,使各航天器彼此协同地跟踪期望路径和整体机动参考信息。仿真结果 表明:当信息拓扑中存在最大生成树时,该策略能够实现多航天器编队构型建立、保持与整 体机动的协同控制,并具有较好鲁棒性。〖JP〗