Hybrid journal (It can contain Open Access articles) ISSN (Print) 2048-8459 - ISSN (Online) 2048-8467 Published by Inderscience Publishers[450 journals]
Authors:Melissa M. Onishi, Dilmurat M. Azimov Pages: 105 - 124 Abstract: This paper presents the design, analysis and construction of trajectory envelopes for viable descent and landing manoeuvres. A family of envelopes is generated by varying a vast range of terminal conditions allowed by the proposed design space based on previous Mars landing trajectories. The following phases are considered in the landing manoeuvre: exoatmospheric thrust phase, atmospheric transit phase and powered descent and landing phase. The paper investigates cases where two or three entry velocity components are defined as non-zero arbitrary constants to analyse the overall profile of the entry trajectory. Specific parameters are designated to satisfy the design space and achieve feasible landing. The continuity conditions at the junction points have been presented and analysed to provide smooth and continuous change of these parameters except for the control variables. The proposed design and construction of trajectory envelopes can be used in the mission design analysis for planetary landing missions. Simulations of the proposed manoeuvre trajectories are presented. Keywords: entry; descent and landing; trajectory envelopes; powered descent Citation: International Journal of Space Science and Engineering, Vol. 6, No. 2 (2020) pp. 105 - 124 PubDate: 2020-10-15T23:20:50-05:00 DOI: 10.1504/IJSPACESE.2020.110363 Issue No:Vol. 6, No. 2 (2020)
Authors:Dukhang Lee, Thomas Young, Hugh Podmore, John E. Moores, Regina S.K. Lee Pages: 125 - 146 Abstract: In this paper, we assess the feasibility of the neoPASCAL thermal design by performing thermal analysis. NeoPASCAL is a network of compact solar-powered landers on Mars which aim to validate Mars General Circulation Models (GCMs) by measuring the diurnal variations in surface pressure. It is a modern revision of the original Pascal mission proposed in 1996, with each science station being ten times smaller in size and mass (a kg or less) by using miniaturised commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) electronic components and satellite platforms (i.e., Boardsat and CubeSat platforms). Despite the harsh thermal environments, the analysis shows that the Boardsat-based model can survive at ≤ ±60° latitude by using a large flexible-solar-cells-attached sail that was originally designed to attain soft landing. If successful, such a network would provide an unprecedented set of global meteorological data that can be used to investigate various meteorological phenomena including the general circulation. Keywords: Mars lander; thermal design; picosat; low-cost planetary mission Citation: International Journal of Space Science and Engineering, Vol. 6, No. 2 (2020) pp. 125 - 146 PubDate: 2020-10-15T23:20:50-05:00 DOI: 10.1504/IJSPACESE.2020.110359 Issue No:Vol. 6, No. 2 (2020)
Authors:Shafeeq Kaheal Tealib, Yehia Abdel-Aziz, Mervat El-Said Awad, Khalil Ibrahim Khalil, Mohmed Radwan Pages: 147 - 164 Abstract: The electrostatic charge became a possible method to control both orbital and attitude motion without fuel consumption or reduce the fuel cost. This study needs to install an ion collector on the satellite to increase the level of charging as artificial charging. In this paper, we developed a linearised satellite relative motion and a combination of Lorentz forces provided by modulating spacecraft's electrostatic charge (magnetic and electric fields) that can be used to keep the desired relative distances and orientations considering J<SUB align="right">2 perturbation. The proposed controller contains a feedback control using a real-time fuel-optimal control approach is considered for satellite formation control in eccentric orbits based on the developed linear J<SUB align="right">2 dynamic model. Comprehensive simulation numerical results confirmed the capability of Lorentz force to correct the drift in the relative position of formation flying due to the effect of J<SUB align="right">2, these corrections depend on the value of charge to mass ratio and magnitude of the relative position. Keywords: Lorentz-force; electrostatic charge; relative motion; second zonal harmonics; Legendre pseudospectral Citation: International Journal of Space Science and Engineering, Vol. 6, No. 2 (2020) pp. 147 - 164 PubDate: 2020-10-15T23:20:50-05:00 DOI: 10.1504/IJSPACESE.2020.110360 Issue No:Vol. 6, No. 2 (2020)
Authors:Cheng Luo, Min Luo, Yaobing Wang, Wenbo Luo Pages: 165 - 178 Abstract: Viscous damping methods are commonly employed to suppress the vibration due to their simple design, low cost, and stable damping performance. However, the harsh space environment makes the normal viscous dampers suspicious to various failures. This paper proposes a novel and robust design of viscous damper to provide high damping under low-frequency vibration disturbance in space. The characterisation of the damper at low-frequency and large displacement is first investigated by numerical analysis and then validated by experiments. Based on the results of the damper, this paper presents an optimal design strategy for the damping system of large space truss structures, which is critical for space mission because there is no sufficient damping in such space structures. The design is further optimised by weighted-sum that includes the damping characteristics of dampers and elastic flexibility of space truss structures. The effect of the damping system is demonstrated by the optimal design of a 60-bay truss structure. The results show that the damping ratios of the first three modes of the truss structure can be increased by over 10% with two viscous dampers. Comparisons between the structure with and without dampers demonstrate that significant vibration suppression at low-frequency bandwidth can be achieved satisfactorily. Keywords: space truss structures; vibration suppression; viscous damper; weighted-sum optimisation method Citation: International Journal of Space Science and Engineering, Vol. 6, No. 2 (2020) pp. 165 - 178 PubDate: 2020-10-15T23:20:50-05:00 DOI: 10.1504/IJSPACESE.2020.110364 Issue No:Vol. 6, No. 2 (2020)
Authors:Tomasz Noga, Rachita Puri Pages: 179 - 208 Abstract: Suborbital rockets have been used for research purposes for decades, and they are attractive for atmosphere sounding, microgravity research, astronomy and technology validation purposes. This paper aims to give an outline of the current state of suborbital rocket research efforts. We present a short overview of the history of suborbital research and give a general description of suborbital rockets as well as an overview of national and international research programs utilising suborbital rockets. The topic of test ranges and recent commercialisation efforts are described briefly. We divide the research into four general types - technology validation, astronomy, microgravity and atmosphere sounding. Each type is described and a corresponding table of recently flown example missions is included. Additionally, use of suborbital rockets for education purposes is described. We comment on the future of suborbital research based on current trends and forecasts. Keywords: suborbital flight; sounding rocket; microgravity; atmosphere sounding; technology validation; astrophysics Citation: International Journal of Space Science and Engineering, Vol. 6, No. 2 (2020) pp. 179 - 208 PubDate: 2020-10-15T23:20:50-05:00 DOI: 10.1504/IJSPACESE.2020.110365 Issue No:Vol. 6, No. 2 (2020)
Hybrid journal (It can contain Open Access articles)
