Orbit Design for Twin-spacecraft Space VLBI

Space Very Long Baseline Interferometry(S-VLBI) is an aperture synthesis technique utilizing an array of radio telescopes including ground telescopes and space orbiting telescopes.It can achieve much higher spatial resolution than that from the ground-only VLBI.In this paper,a new concept of twin spacecraft S-VLBI has been proposed,which utilizes the space-space baselines formed by two satellites to obtain larger and uniform uv coverage without atmospheric influence and hence achieve high quality images with higher angular resolution.The orbit selections of the two satellites are investigated.The imaging performance and actual launch conditions are all taken into account in orbit designing of the twin spacecraft S-VLBI.Three schemes of orbit design using traditional elliptical orbits and circular orbits are presented.These design results can be used for different scientific goals.Furthermore,these designing ideas can provide useful references for the future Chinese millimeter-wave S-VLBI mission.

Spacecraft potential variations of the Swarm satellites at low Earth orbital altitudes

In this study, we provide the first detailed analysis of variations in the spacecraft potential (Vs) of the three Swarm satellites, which are flying at about 400-500 km. Unlike previous studies that have investigated extreme charging events, usually with spacecraft potentials as negative as −100 V, this study is focused on variations of Swarm Vs readings, which fall within a few negative volts. The Swarm observations show that spacecraft at low Earth orbital (LEO) altitudes are charged only slightly negatively, varying between −7 V and 0 V, with the majority of recorded potentials at these altitudes clustering close to −2 V. However, a second peak of Vs data is found at −5.5 V, though the event numbers for these more-negative observations are less, by an order of magnitude, than for incidents near the −2 V peak. These two distinct Vs peaks suggest two different causes. We have thus divided the Swarm spacecraft Vs data into two categories: less-negatively charged (−5 < Vs < 0 V) and more-negatively-charged (−6.5 < Vs < −5 V). These two Vs categories exhibit different spatial and temporal distributions. The Vs observations in the first category remain relatively closer to 0 V above the magnetic equator, but become much more negative at low and middle latitudes on the day side;at high latitudes, these first-category Vs readings are relatively more-negative during local summer. Second-category Vs events cluster into two bands at the middle latitudes (between ±20°-50° magnetic latitude), but with slightly more negative readings at the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA) region;at high latitudes, these rarer but more-negative second-category Vs events exhibit relatively more-negative values during local winter, which is opposite to the seasonal pattern seen in the first category. By comparing Vs data to the distributions of background plasma density at Swarm altitudes, we find for the first category that more-negative Vs readings are recorded at regions with higher background plasma density, while for the second category the more-negative Vs data are observed at regions with lower background plasma density. This can be explained as follows: the electron and ion fluxes incident on Swarm surface, whose differences determine the potential of Swarm, are dominated by the background “cold” plasma (due to ionization) and “hot” plasma (due to precipitated particles from magnetosphere) for the two Vs categories, respectively.

Effectiveness-based orbital optimization for servicing spacecraft

Effectiveness-based system development is an essential technology developing concept advanced by some countries,such as the U.S.A.Making use of Analytic Hierarchy Process,this paper brings forward a methodology for orbital optimization based on effectiveness in the case of the orbital deployment for the Servicing Spacecraft(SSC),which needs to accomplish many types of tasks and whose orbit is affected by kinds of factors with contradictions in orbital parameter selection.Firstly,the possible tasks of SSC are decomposed and their degrees of importance are given by the times,probabilities,values of their applications.Then,the supporting capabilities are discussed from the viewpoint of orbit design,and the determination of their weights is put forward.Finally,the relationships between the orbital parameters and the effectiveness are established by using effective function,and three synthesizing methods for a single task and its capabilities are presented.

Randomization-based algorithms for servicing spacecraft motion planning on elliptical orbit

Randomization-based motion planning algorithms are presented to solve problems of servicing spacecraft maneuvering in proximity to servicing targets on an elliptical orbit.The feasible trajectories of position and attitude for spacecraft are obtained by these algorithms under a variety of constraints.The state transition matrix is applied to computation of relative motion on elliptical orbits without performing numerical integration.The pseudo body coordinate system is built for identifying the planners on three coordinate axes with different functions.Finally,motion planning algorithm for translation and attitude taking account of the dependent variable (i.e.time) is used to obtain feasible trajectories.As the simulation examples indicate,the effectiveness of these methods is verified for relative motion while getting close to large structures,and the paper concludes with a detailed analysis of the results.

Multi-Feature Fusion Based Relative Pose Adaptive Estimation for On-Orbit Servicing of Non-Cooperative Spacecraft

On-orbit servicing, such as spacecraft maintenance, on-orbit assembly, refueling, and de-orbiting, can reduce the cost of space missions, improve the performance of spacecraft, and extend its life span. The relative state between the servicing and target spacecraft is vital for on-orbit servicing missions, especially the final approaching stage. The major challenge of this stage is that the observed features of the target are incomplete or are constantly changing due to the short distance and limited Field of View (FOV) of camera. Different from cooperative spacecraft, non-cooperative target does not have artificial feature markers. Therefore, contour features, including triangle supports of solar array, docking ring, and corner points of the spacecraft body, are used as the measuring features. To overcome the drawback of FOV limitation and imaging ambiguity of the camera, a "selfie stick" structure and a self-calibration strategy were implemented, ensuring that part of the contour features could be observed precisely when the two spacecraft approached each other. The observed features were constantly changing as the relative distance shortened. It was difficult to build a unified measurement model for different types of features, including points, line segments, and circle. Therefore, dual quaternion was implemented to model the relative dynamics and measuring features. With the consideration of state uncertainty of the target, a fuzzy adaptive strong tracking filter( FASTF) combining fuzzy logic adaptive controller (FLAC) with strong tracking filter(STF) was designed to robustly estimate the relative states between the servicing spacecraft and the target. Finally, the effectiveness of the strategy was verified by mathematical simulation. The achievement of this research provides a theoretical and technical foundation for future on-orbit servicing missions.

A Survey of Research on Service-Spacecraft Orbit Design

On-orbit service spacecraft orbit problem has been addressed for decades. The research of on-orbit service spacecraft orbit can be roughly divided into orbit design and orbit optimization. The paper mainly focuses on the orbit design problem. We simply summarize of the previous works, and point out the main content of the on-orbit service spacecraft orbit design. We classify current on-orbit service spacecraft orbit design problem into parking-orbit design, maneuvering-orbit design and servicing-orbit design. Then, we give a detail description of the three specific orbits, and put forward our own ideas on the existed achievements. The paper will provide a meaningful reference for the on-orbit service spacecraft orbital design research.

Characteristic Model-based Discrete-time Sliding Mode Control for Spacecraft with Variable Tilt of Flexible Structures

In this paper, the finite-time attitude tracking control problem for the spacecrafts with variable tilt of flexible appendages in the conditions of exogenous disturbances and inertia uncertainties is addressed. First the characteristic modeling method is applied to the problem of the spacecraft modeling. Second, a novel adaptive sliding mode surface is designed based on the characteristic model. Furthermore, a discrete-time sliding mode control (DTSMC) law, which makes the tracking error converge into a predefined bound in finite time, is proposed by employing the parameters of characteristic model associated with the sliding mode surface to provide better performances, robustness, faster response, and higher control precision. The designed DTSMC includes the adaptive control architecture and is chattering-free. Finally, digital simulations of a sun synchronous orbit satellite (SSOS) are presented to illustrate effectiveness of the control strategies as well as to verify the practical feasibility of the rapid maneuver mission. © 2014 Chinese Association of Automation.

Orbit Determination Using Satellite-to-Satellite Tracking Data

Satellite-to-Satellite tricking (SST) data can be used to determine the orbits of spacecraft in two ways. One is combined orbit determination, which combines SST data with ground-based tracking data and exploits the enhanced tracking geometry. The other is the autonomous orbit determination, which uses only SST. The latter only fits some particular circumstances since it suffers the rank defect problem in other circumstances. The proof of this statement is presented. The nature of the problem is also investigated in order to find an effective solution. Several. methods of solution are discussed. The feasibility of the methods is demonstrated by their application to a simulation.

CALCULATING METHOD OF SERIES FOR TRUE ANOMALY OF A SPACECRAFT ELLIPTIC ORBIT

The transcendental equation of a true anomaly was written in a power series instead of a differential form. When the sufficient condition of the iterative convergence is satisfied, the relationship between the true anomaly and the time was gotten by the iterative method. And for the others, the transcendental equation of an eccentric anomaly was solved by the iterative method. After the eccentric anomaly had been calculated, the relationship between the true anomaly and the time was gotten with the numerical integral method. The approximate equation, which included the first five terms in general expansion, was written for the spacecraft quasi-circular orbit. And the true anomaly as the function of the time was also gotten by the iterative method. The numerical simulation results show that these methods are efficient.

Angles-only relative navigation in highly elliptical orbits

For angles-only relative navigation system only measures line-of-sight information,there are inherent problems in the ability to determine the range between Chaser and Target. Angles-only relative navigation is an attractive alternative for inspecting or rendezvous with noncooperative target,if adequate accuracy can be achieved. Angles-only relative navigation model considering J2 perturbation is presented for tracking and rendezvous with noncooperative target in highly elliptical orbit. Impulsive out-of-plane maneuvers of the Chaser are used to improve the navigation accuracy. The first impulse burns in cross-track directions to change the orbit inclination of the Chaser. The second impulse burns after one orbit period to change the orbit of the Chaser back. The simulation results show that the relative navigation system without maneuvers can't correct the initial state errors,while impulsive out-ofplane maneuvers of the Chaser improves the navigation accuracy. Angles-only relative navigation with chaser vehicle maneuvers to improve observability is effective when the spacecrafts are in highly elliptical orbits.

Method for Collision Avoidance in Spacecraft Rendezvous Problems with Space Objects in a Phasing Orbit

As the number of space objects(SO)increases,collision avoidance problem in the rendezvous tasks or reconstellation of satellites with SO has been paid more attention,and the dangerous area of a possible collision should be derived.In this paper,a maneuvering method is proposed for avoiding collision with a space debris object in the phasing orbit of the initial optimal solution.Accordingly,based on the plane of eccentricity vector components,relevant dangerous area which is bounded by two parallel lines is formulated.The axises of eccentricity vector system pass through the end of eccentricity vector of phasing orbit in the optimal solution,and orientation of axis depends on the latitude argument where a collision will occur.The dangerous area is represented especially with the graphical dialogue,and it allows to find a compromise between the SO avoiding and the fuel consumption reduction.The proposed method to solve the collision avoidance problem provides simplicity to calculate rendezvous maneuvers,and possibility to avoid collisions from several collisions or from“slow”collisions in a phasing orbit,when the protected spacecraft and the object fly dangerously close to each other for a long period.

Design and control of multiple spacecraft formation flying in elliptical orbits

Spacecraft formation flying is an attractive new concept in international aeronautic fields because of its powerful functions and low cost. In this paper, the formation design and PD closed-loop control of spacecraft formation flying in elliptical orbits are discussed. Based on two-body relative dynamics, the true anomaly is applied as independent variable instead of the variable of time. Since the apogee is considered as the starting point, the six integrating constants are calculated. Therefore, the algebraic solution is obtained for the relative motion in elliptical orbits. Moreover, the formation design is presented and both circular formation and line formation are provided in terms of an algebraic solution. This paper also discusses the PD-closed loop control for precise formation control in elliptical orbits. In this part, the error-type state equation is put forward and the linear quadratic regulator （LQR） method is used to calculate PD parameters. Though the gain matrix calculated from LQR is time-variable because the error-type state equation is time variable, the PD parameters are also considered as constants because of their small changes in simulation. Finally, taking circular formation as an example, the initial orbital elements are achieved for three secondary spacecraft. And the numerical simulation is analyzed under PD formation control with initial errors and J2 perturbation. The simulation results demonstrate the validity of PD closed-loop control scheme.

Influence of Rashba spin–orbit coupling on Josephson effect in triplet superconductor/two-dimensional semiconductor/triplet superconductor junctions

We study theoretically Josephson effect in a planar ballistic junction between two triplet superconductors with pwave orbital symmetries and separated by a two-dimensional(2D)semiconductor channel with strong Rashba spin–orbit coupling.In triplet superconductors,three types of orbital symmetries are considered.We use Bogoliubov–de Gennes formalism to describe quasiparticle propagations through the junction and the supercurrents are calculated in terms of Andreev reflection coefficients.The features of the variation of the supercurrents with the change of the strength of Rashba spin–orbit coupling are investigated in some detail.It is found that for the three types of orbital symmetries considered,both the magnitudes of supercurrent and the current-phase relations can be manipulated effectively by tuning the strength of Rashba spin–orbit coupling.The interplay of Rashba spin–orbit coupling and Zeeman magnetic field on supercurrent is also investigated in some detail.

Breakthrough Made on the Nondestructive Testing of Orbital Spacecraft

Lanzhou Institute of Physics, a subsidiary of CAST, conducted ground testing on its newly developed eddy current nondestructive testing equipment, demonstrating an important breakthrough had been made with the nondestructive testing of orbital spacecraft. The equipment works steadily and has met the design requirements for space applications. It was also announced by the Institute that the equipment would be used during the next lunar exploration mission to detect the status of

Refueling Test System Completed In-orbit Verification

The in-orbit verification of a refueling test system has been completed successfully.The test system based on a surface tension tank was developed by the Beijing Institute of Control Engineering（BICE）,CAST and launched into spacewith the Tianyuan 1 satellite aboard a LM-7 carrier rocket on June 25.The lifetime of any spacecraft is constrained by fuel it carried.

LM-2D Delivered Chuangxin 1-03 and Shiyan Satellite 4 into Preset Orbit

Two experimental satellites, Chuangxin 1-03 and Shiyan Satellite 4, were put into orbit on a LM-2D launch vehicle from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center (JSLC) in northwest China's Gansu Province on November 20.

基于θ-D方法的在轨操作相对姿轨耦合控制

针对诸如模块更换、燃料加注等在轨操作任务中的相对动力学与控制问题,建立了描述航天器间近距离相对运动的轨道姿态耦合动力学模型,结合轨道摄动和姿态干扰力矩分析了耦合项对模型的影响。考虑到基于状态相关系数形式模型的非线性和时变性,采用θ-D次优控制算法设计了相对姿轨耦合控制器。以在轨加注任务最终逼近段为背景,针对目标航天器失控旋转的情况进行了数值仿真,仿真结果表明了θ-D控制算法能够实现对相对轨道和姿态的同步控制,简化对控制器的求解并具有较高的控制精度。

多脉冲C-W交会的优化方法

在航天器的近距离交会中,常采用C-W交会的方法。本文发展了多脉冲C-W交会。建立了一般情况下的优化模型,并进行了分析。为了减少优化变量,提出了三种速度脉冲施加模式:切向、径向、变径向。提出了一种简单的误差修正方法:通过修正计算的目标位置而减小仿真误差。在实际算例中采用了遗传算法。针对多个初始状态,不同的脉冲次数进行了仿真计算,并与文献中的算法进行了对比,精度有了进一步的提高,结果证明优化模型是可行的,可以应用于多种情况。

空间操作任务的分布式仿真系统

针对非合作目标抓捕、在轨维护、空间装配等复杂空间操作任务的地面验证需求,构建一套分布式仿真系统,主要由后台仿真模型、前端视景演示系统和前端主控制器组成。为实现不同建模工具或编程语言之间的多学科模型耦合与交互,引入FMI(functional mock-up interface)标准进行系统集成,提高了系统的模块化程度、通用性与可移植性。为充分利用计算资源、提高仿真效率,分布式部署仿真子系统与模块,利用DDS(data distribution service)通信机制实现高效、可靠的数据交互。双臂空间机器人抓捕非合作目标的演示案例表明,该仿真系统能够高保真模拟从远距离导引到近距离操作的全过程,满足实时仿真的要求。

超低轨飞行器迎风面减阻构型优化研究

针对超低轨飞行器迎风面气动阻力过大的问题,在理论解求自由分子流气动阻力方法的基础上分析迎风面阻力的主要影响因素,计算不同长度下几种典型迎风面构型的气动阻力值并分析其变化原因。在此基础上设计迎风面构型的表达函数并引入智能算法对其迭代寻优。对构型存在的约束,引入罚函数机制以降低不可行解的适应度值。研究结果表明:此方法可获得最小阻力迎风面的近似最优解,在现有材料的约束下,相比锥形构型,优化方法最大减阻可达5%以上,并能有效增加飞行器头部容积;随迎风面高度上升,最小阻力构型从近台形逐渐向锥形转化。提出的构型优化方法,可为后续超低轨飞行器减阻构型设计提供参考。