Computational mission analysis and conceptual system design for super low altitude satellite

This paper deals with system engineering and design methodology for super low altitude satel ites in the view of the com-putational mission analysis. Due to the slight advance of imaging instruments, such as the focus of camera and the image element of charge coupled device （CCD）, it is an innovative and economical way to improve the camera’s resolution to enforce the satel ite to fly on the lower altitude orbit. DFH-3, the mature satel ite bus de-veloped by Chinese Academy of Space Technology, is employed to define the mass and power budgets for the computational mis-sion analysis and the detailed engineering design for super low altitude satel ites. An effective iterative algorithm is proposed to solve the ergodic representation of feasible mass and power bud-gets at the flight altitude under constraints. Besides, boundaries of mass or power exist for every altitude, where the upper boundary is derived from the maximum power, while the minimum thrust force holds the lower boundary before the power reaching the initial value. What’s more, an analytical algorithm is employed to numerical y investigate the coverage percentage over the altitude, so that the nominal altitude could be selected from al the feasi-ble altitudes based on both the mass and power budgets and the repetitive ground traces. The local time at the descending node is chosen for the nominal sun-synchronous orbit based on the average evaluation function. After determining the key orbital ele-ments based on the computational mission analysis, the detailed engineering design on the configuration and other subsystems, like power, telemetry telecontrol and communication （TT＆amp;C）, and attitude determination and control system （ADCS）, is performed based on the benchmark bus, besides, some improvements to the bus are also implemented to accommodate the flight at a super low altitude. Two operation strategies, drag-free closed-loop mode and on/off open-loop mode, are presented to maintain the satel-lite’s altitude. Final y, a flight planning schedule for the satel ite is demonstrated from its launch into the initial altitude at the very beginning to its decay to death in the end.

用于飞机概念设计的设计要求输入和初步定参数环境(英文)

To supply a convenient and expandable tool to organize the designrequirements of a new aircraft and estimate its basic design parameters during conceptual design,the Environment of Design Requirements Input and Preliminary Sizing (EDRIPS) was developed. In thisenvironment, the performance requirements, mission profile and payloads could be inputted orselected respectively through user-friendly interfaces in a highly interactive way. Based on theserequirements, it enables the designer to pick up a design point in the solution space throughconstraint analysis, and then conduct mission analysis either step by step or via auto iteration byusing an improved method for estimating the takeoff weight. The implementation of each module andthe methods utilized are described. A design example is finally presented and analyzed to validatethe efficiency and reliability of applying EDRIPS to aircraft conceptual design.

Target selection for a small low-thrust mission to near-Earth asteroids

The preliminary mission design of spacecraft missions to asteroids often involves,in the early phases,the selection of candidate target asteroids.The final result of such an analysis is a list of asteroids,ranked with respect to the necessary propellant to be used,that the spacecraft could potentially reach.In this paper we investigate the sensitivity of the produced asteroids rank to the employed trajectory model in the specific case of a small low-thrust propelled spacecraft beginning its journey from the Sun–Earth L2 Lagrangian point and heading to a rendezvous with some near-Earth asteroid.We consider five increasingly complex trajectory models:impulsive,Lambert,nuclear electric propulsion,nuclear electric propulsion including the Earth’s gravity,solar electric propulsion including the Earth’s gravity and we study the final correlation between the obtained target rankings.We find that the use of a lowthrust trajectory model is of great importance for target selection,since the use of chemical propulsion surrogates leads to favouring less attractive options 19%of times,a percentage that drops to 8%already using a simple nuclear electric propulsion model that neglects the Earth’s gravity effects and thrust dependence on the solar distance.We also find that for the study case considered,a small interplanetary CubeSat named M-ARGO,the inclusion of the Earth’s gravity in the considered dynamics does not affect the target selection significantly.

Optimal circle-to-rectilinear orbit transfer with circumferential thrust

This paper investigates the optimal transfer trajectories from a circular parking orbit towards the apocenter of a rectilinear ellipse,where the spacecraft reaches a quasi-stationary condition relative to an inertial reference frame.The spacecraft is equipped with a propulsion system that provides a circumferential continuous propulsive acceleration,that is,an acceleration whose direction is perpendicular to the primary body-spacecraft line.The performance index to minimize is the total flight time,and an indirect method is used to analyze the transfer trajectories.In this context,the optimal transfer performance is obtained as a function of the spacecraft propulsive acceleration magnitude through an interpolation procedure of numerical simulations.The results obtained with a continuous thrust propulsion system are also compared with those derived from a multi-impulse transfer.Finally,the paper investigates a heliocentric mission scenario in which the spacecraft minimizes the flight time required to reach a rectilinear ellipse with a given value of the aphelion radius.

Comparison between direct and indirect approach to solar sail circle-to-circle orbit raising optimization

This paper deals with the optimization of the transfer trajectory of a solar sail-based spacecraft between circular and coplanar heliocentric orbits.The problem is addressed using both a direct and an indirect approach,while an ideal and an optical force model are used to describe the propulsive acceleration of a flat solar sail.In the direct approach,the total flight time is partitioned into arcs of equal duration,within which the sail attitude is assumed to be constant with respect to an orbital reference frame,and a nonlinear programming solver is used to optimize the transfer trajectory.The aim of the paper is to compare the performance of the two(direct and indirect)approaches in term of optimal(minimum)flight time.In this context,the simulation results show that a direct transcription method using a small number of arcs is sufficient to obtain a good estimate of the global minimum flight time obtained through the classical calculus of variation.