Overview of hardware for registering an impact on the surface of a space-craft

A review of devices that allow detecting micrometeoroid impacts on the spacecraft body is given, namely: piezoelectric sensors, fiber-optic sensors based on Bragg gratings, resistive sensors, sensors based on solar panels, robots, video surveil-lance cameras and thermography. The advantages and disadvantages of the devic-es presented in this article, their schemes and experimental results are presented

BepiColombo – Mercury Swing-Bys

<p><strong>Abstract</strong></p> <p>The BepiColombo spacecraft was launched on 20 October 2018 from the European spaceport in French Guyana and is currently on its way to Mercury. On its way, the spacecraft will swing-by Mercury six times in its stacked configuration, before releasing the Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO) and the Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) in their corresponding orbits around the target planet.</p> <p><strong>Introduction</strong></p> <p>Mercury is in many ways a very different planet from what we were expecting. On 20 October 2018 the BepiColombo spacecraft [1] started its 7 year journey to the innermost terrestrial planet to investigate on the fundamental questions about its evolution, composition, interior, magnetosphere, and exosphere.</p> <p>BepiColombo is a joint project between the Euro- pean Space Agency (ESA) and the Japanese Aero- space Exploration Agency (JAXA). The Mission con- sists of two orbiters, the Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) and the Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO). From their dedicated orbits the two space- craft will be studying the planet and its environment.</p> <p>The mission has been named in honor of Giuseppe (Bepi) Colombo (1920–1984), who was a brilliant Italian mathematician, who made many significant contributions to planetary research and celestial mechanics.</p> <p>During the cruise phase, the spacecraft flies in a stacked configuration: the MMO and MPO are mounted ontop of the Mercury Transfer Module (MTM). As a consequence, most remote sensing instruments onboard the MPO are mounted towards the MTM and have a fully obstructed field-of-view. The MMO instrumentation is shielded by a protection shield (MOSIF) and several instruments still await the deployment on measurement booms.</p> <p>Despite the reduced instrument availability, scientific and engineering operations will be scheduled during the cruise phase, especially during the swing-bys.</p> <p><strong>Mercury Swing-bys</strong></p> <p>Following the Earth and two Venus swing-bys, six Mercury swing-bys are foreseen from October 2021 until 9 January 2025. The poster will discuss the flyby geometries and potential operation opportunities, in comparison with the three MESSENGER Mercury swing-bys from 2008 and 2009 [2][3].</p> <p><strong>References: </strong>[1] Benkhoff, J., et al. (2010) <em>Planet. Space Sci. </em>58, 2-20. [2] Baker, D.N. et al. (2011) Planet. Space Sci 59, 2066-2074. [3] McNutt, R.L. et al. (2010), Acta Astronautica V67, Iss 7-8, p 681-687</p>

Practical Battery Discharge Regulator with Weinberg Topology

A BDR (battery discharge regulator) required to keep battery voltage within acceptable limits and improve life of the battery. A converters with greater reliability, high power density, tolerance to any fault, are needed for BDR in space craft power supply. Weinberg converter topology is suitable meet this specification. This topology can be treated as a modified push-pull converter topology with coupled inductor. Use of coupled inductor makes output current of converter is continuous, which reduces the output filter capacitors requirement. In this, working of converter and its main features are explained and also practically implemented the converter and its results are analyzed.

Origami and space research: classroom activities

<p>When origami is mentioned, the first associations are paper cranes.  But origami is much more, and it is actually a mathematical discipline, so powerful that even NASA uses origami in its space research. Flat origami, where figures are as such as the above mentioned crane, is full of mathematical problems. There are seven origami axioms, widely known as Huzita-Hatori axioms, that describe creases. They represent the mathematically formal description of origami constructions. But when talking about involving origami and space science, we need to mention Miura folding  This form of origami folding is proposed by Japanese astrophysicist Koryo Miura. Miura-ori is a way of folding paper or another flat surface into smaller area.  In the presentation we describe how we have made Miura-ori folding, how we 3D printed and made a model of a space craft in our classroom. Connecting different disciplines and inquiry students learned about the most recent scientific research and applied their knowledge during the project. </p>

Analysis of the cyclogram of maintaining a low working orbit of a space-craft of the AIST-2 class using an electric jet engine

A study was made of the time parameters of the cyclogram for maintaining the low working orbit of a small spacecraft of the AIST-2 class using an electric jet engine. The analysis is made for working orbits with a height in the range from four hundred to five hundred kilometers with a changing upper atmosphere of the Earth, depending on the level of solar activity. The calculations used the thrust of an electric jet engine equal to twenty millinewtons with a service life of not more than a thousand hours. The methodological and software were used: for calculating the level of aerodynamic drag depending on the level of solar activity; for modeling and analysis of the parameters of the orbital motion of the spacecraft under the action of corrective and aerodynamic forces. The results of the analysis showed that the electric jet engine allows maintaining the working orbit in the range of designated heights. If the average altitude of the orbit deviates by no more than three kilometers, correction can be carried out in less than a day. The time of one correction cycle can vary from four to four hundred and seventy-eight days, depending on the level of solar activity and the design and ballistic parameters of the spacecraft. The operating life of an electric jet engine equal to one thousand hours can maintain the working orbit of the spacecraft for more than seven years with low solar activity in the range of the studied heights.

Assessment and Validation of Collision “Consequence” Method of Assessing Orbital Regime Risk Posed by Potential Satellite Conjunctions

Collision risk management theory requires a thorough assessment of both the likelihood and consequence of potential collision events. Satellite conjunction risk assessment has produced a highly-developed theory for assessing the likelihood of collision but typically neglects to account for the consequences of a given collision. While any collision may compromise the operational survival of a space-craft, the amount of debris produced by the potential collision, and therefore the degree to which the orbital corridor may be compromised, can vary greatly among satellite conjunctions. Previous studies leveraged work on satellite collision modeling to develop a method to estimate whether a particular collision is likely to produce a relatively large or relatively small amount of resultant debris. The approximation of the number of debris pieces is dependent on a mass estimation process for the secondary objects utilizing the radar cross section of said object. This study examines the validity of the mass estimation process and establishes uncertainty bounds on the secondary object mass which will be used to best approximate the possible consequences of a prospective collision.