Orbital Launcher NERVA as the First Proof of the Discontinuous Variational Solution for the Atmospheric Ascent

2014 ◽  
Vol 555 ◽  
pp. 91-101
Author(s):  
Radu D. Rugescu ◽  
Dragos Ronald Rugescu ◽  
Efim Micu
Keyword(s):  
Sierra Nevada ◽  
Space Flight ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Rocket Engines ◽  
Space Technology ◽  
Small Satellite ◽  
Small Satellites ◽  
Upper Stage ◽  
Orbital Injection ◽  
Space Launcher

Since the earliest days of astronautics, more than a century ago, low cost space launchers persevered to be a long desire for the space flight thinkers. Once space flight became a daily business along the late `50-s, first by consuming large financial resources, the interest for cheap space launchers became even more laud. Today’s growing interest in small satellites have bolstered a large series of space technology companies including Virgin Galactic Corp., Garvey Spacecraft Corp., Quantum Research International, Ventions LLC, Sierra Nevada Corp., Generation Orbit Launch Services and even the giant Boeing to work on the development of various types of such vehicles, some of them of actually small size. They have announced recent progresses in their efforts to develop and test small-satellite launchers and rocket engines. Romanian space launcher effort includes the NERVA project, with the ORVEAL compound engine for the upper stage, securing the orbital injection, project developed by the team of professors and researchers from ADDA Ltd, Bucharest. This project is based on a series of innovative concepts, including the optimal ascent program first proposed by the ADDA team by means of the new discontinuous variational optimization, which is here described in detail.

scholarly journals Low-profile tunable radiator for small satellite application

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 1397-1407
Author(s):  
Nevena Šaponjić ◽  
Tomislav Debogović ◽  
Frédéric Bongard ◽  
Pedro Robustillo-Bayon ◽  
Maria Carolina Vigano ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Frequency ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Basic Element ◽  
Small Satellite ◽  
High Frequency Band ◽  
Small Satellites ◽  
Low Profile ◽  
Low Mass ◽  
Left And Right ◽  
Vibration Tests

A tunable radiator for space application has been developed to meet stringent requirements in terms of electrical and environmental specifications but also low mass, simple manufacturing and low cost. The element is based on the folded planar inverted F-antenna, with size of one quarter of wavelength. It is mechanically tunable to adjust input impedance for any various positions on the satellite body and possible obstacles and protrusions. Results in terms of radiation pattern, S parameters, shock and vibration tests are presented. The antenna operates in ultra-high frequency band (400 MHz) in linear polarization. It has been designed to act as the basic element for miniaturized multi-function antenna systems on board of small satellites that can operate in three different radiating modes and in both left and right hand circular polarizations.

First Flight Experiment with the NERVA-1 Inertial Platform

2013 ◽  
Vol 325-326 ◽  
pp. 990-993 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristian E. Constantinescu ◽  
Radu D. Rugescu ◽  
Silviu Ciochina ◽  
Remus C. Cacoveanu
Keyword(s):  
Degrees Of Freedom ◽  
Inertial Sensors ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Flight Test ◽  
Guidance System ◽  
Ministry Of Education ◽  
Flight Experiment ◽  
Small Satellites ◽  
Space Launcher

The guidance system of the NERVA small space launcher is based on the six degrees-of-freedom information delivered by an inertial platform. Due to the main scope of the project sponsored by the Romanian Ministry of Education, Research, Youth and Sports to build a cost-effective space launcher, the inertial platform was built with extensive use of on-the-shelf, low cost inertial sensors and equipment. Concerns regarding the behavior and reliability of the sensing block were solved during the first flight experiment in June 2010, on-board the military, unguided drone missile RT-759-01 NERVA-1 and the results are described. The behavior of the electronics under the dynamical loads of the rocket flight, involving overloads of more than 20 g-s and the level of vibration during the real flight was the focus of the flight test, the first ever performed in Romania. The data were broadcast through a eight channel telemetry chain and received on the ground in two different locations for reliability enhancement. The data acquisition performed very well and supplied the basis for further development of the more accurate orbital injection guidance system of the NERVA launcher of small satellites in LEO.

scholarly journals Iluminasi Panel Surya pada Satelit Orbit Rendah Ekuatorial

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 480
Author(s):  
DESTI IKA SURYANTI ◽  
SRI RAMAYANTI ◽  
MOHAMMAD MUKHAYADI
Keyword(s):  
Design Process ◽  
Triple Junction ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Solar Panel ◽  
Satellite Orbits ◽  
Small Satellite ◽  
Solar Panels ◽  
Efficient Design ◽  
Small Satellites ◽  
Satellite Design

ABSTRAKDesain satelit telah berkembang ke arah miniaturisasi untuk mengurangi biaya peluncuran. Satelit kecil menyediakan platform berbiaya rendah untuk misi luar angkasa. Salah satu permasalahan utama satelit kecil adalah terbatasnya ketersediaan daya. Karena ketersediaan daya diperlukan agar subsistem satelit dapat bekerja, maka pada proses desain satelit perlu dilakukan analisis dan estimasi ketersediaan daya selama satelit mengorbit dengan tetap mempertahankan kekompakan dan volume yang diberlakukan oleh standar. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui kondisi iluminasi matahari pada panel surya dari berbagai alternatif desain penempatan sehingga diperoleh sebuah desain yang efisien. Iluminasi maksimum sebuah panel surya triple junction yang terpasang secara body mounted pada satelit kurang lebih sebesar 60%. Berdasarkan hasil penelitian ini, kombinasi pemasangan 3 body mounted panel surya dan 2 simple deploy panel surya menghasilkan persentase iluminasi dua kali lipat dibandingkan 5 body mounted panel surya.Kata kunci: panel surya triple junction, iluminasi, body mounted, simple deploy, daya ABSTRACTSatellite design has envolved towards miniaturization to reduce launch costs. Small satellites provide a low-cost platform for space missions. One of the main problems with small satellites is the limited availability of power. Because the availability of power is needed so that the satellite subsystem can work, the satellite design process needs to analyze and estimated power availability as long as the satellite orbits while maintaining the compactness and volume imposed by the standard. This study aims to determine the conditions of solar illumination on solar panels from various alternative design placements in order to obtain an efficient design. Maximum illumination of triple junction solar panel mounted on a small satellite is approximately 60%. Based on the results of this study, the combination of installing 3 body mounted solar panels and 2 simple deploy solar panels produced twice the illumination percentage compared to 5 body mounted solar panels.Keywords: solar panel triple junction, illumination, body mounted, simple deploy, power

scholarly journals Design, Implementation, and Operation of a Small Satellite Mission to Explore the Space Weather Effects in LEO

Aerospace ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (10) ◽  
pp. 108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isai Fajardo ◽  
Aleksander Lidtke ◽  
Sidi Bendoukha ◽  
Jesus Gonzalez-Llorente ◽  
Rafael Rodríguez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Space Weather ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Low Earth Orbit ◽  
Space Environment ◽  
Small Satellite ◽  
Satellite Mission ◽  
Particle Detectors ◽  
Small Satellites ◽  
Environment Effects ◽  
Institute Of Technology

Ten-Koh is a 23.5 kg, low-cost satellite developed to conduct space environment effects research in low-Earth orbit (LEO). Ten-Koh was developed primarily by students of the Kyushu Institute of Technology (Kyutech) and launched on 29 October 2018 on-board HII-A rocket F40, as a piggyback payload of JAXA’s Greenhouse gas Observing Satellite (GOSAT-2). The satellite carries a double Langmuir probe, CMOS-based particle detectors and a Liulin spectrometer as main payloads. This paper reviews the design of the mission, specifies the exact hardware used, and outlines the implementation and operation phases of the project. This work is intended as a reference that other aspiring satellite developers may use to increase their chances of success. Such a reference is expected to be particularly useful to other university teams, which will likely face the same challenges as the Ten-Koh team at Kyutech. Various on-orbit failures of the satellite are also discussed here in order to help avoid them in future small spacecraft. Applicability of small satellites to conduct space-weather research is also illustrated on the Ten-Koh example, which carried out simultaneous measurements with JAXA’s ARASE satellite.

Standardization of Equipment and Methods of Medical Control in Manned Space Flights and Issues of Telemedicine

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-53
Author(s):  
L.B. Strogonova ◽  
◽  
Yu.A. Vasin ◽  
R.A. Gardunio ◽  
A.N. Knyazev ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Space Flight ◽  
Medical Information ◽  
Medical Decision ◽  
Flight Safety ◽  
Space Technology ◽  
Medical Specialists ◽  
Space Flights ◽  
Medical Control ◽  
Manned Space ◽  
Manned Space Flights

Since April 1961, all manned space flights have been accompanied by medical control ensuring flight safety. Medical control in space flight has a technological and medical methodology that allows, at a distance from medical specialists, to make an adequate medical decision for the current situation. This work would be impossible if there were no measures taken to unify and standardize equipment and techniques. Telemedicine technologies developed on the basis of flight medical control. The origin of the word telemedicine comes from the expression «telemetric medical information», adopted in space technology. The issues of mutual development and mutual enrichment, standardization of methods and equipment of two areas of medicine, medical control in extreme situations and general telemedicine are considered in this article.

scholarly journals Design of a high-stability heterogeneous clock system for small satellites in LEO

GPS Solutions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Damon Van Buren ◽  
Penina Axelrad ◽  
Scott Palo
Keyword(s):  
Low Power ◽  
High Stability ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
System Stability ◽  
Small Satellite ◽  
Crystal Oscillator ◽  
Small Satellites ◽  
Clock System ◽  
Wide Range

AbstractWe describe our investigation into the performance of low-power heterogeneous timing systems for small satellites, using real GPS observables from the GRACE Follow-On mission. Small satellites have become capable platforms for a wide range of commercial, scientific and defense missions, but they are still unable to meet the needs of missions that require precise timing, on the order of a few nanoseconds. Improved low-power onboard clocks would make small satellites a viable option for even more missions, enabling radio aperture interferometry, improved radio occultation measurements, high altitude GPS navigation, and GPS augmentation missions, among others. One approach for providing improved small satellite timekeeping is to combine a heterogeneous group of oscillators, each of which provides the best stability over a different time frame. A hardware architecture that uses a single-crystal oscillator, one or more Chip Scale Atomic Clocks (CSACs) and the reference time from a GPS receiver is presented. The clocks each contribute stability over a subset of timeframes, resulting in excellent overall system stability for timeframes ranging from less than a second to several days. A Kalman filter is used to estimate the long-term errors of the CSACs based on the CSAC-GPS time difference, and the improved CSAC time is used to discipline the crystal oscillator, which provides the high-stability reference clock for the small satellite. Simulations using GRACE-FO observations show time error standard deviations for the system range from 2.3 ns down to 1.3 ns for the clock system, depending on how many CSACs are used. The results provide insight into the timing performance which could be achieved on small LEO spacecraft by a low power timing system.

Low cost liquid upper stage for small launch vehicles

1994 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Moser ◽  
Scott Frazier
Keyword(s):  
Low Cost ◽  
Launch Vehicles ◽  
Upper Stage

A Multimodule Planar Air Bearing Testbed for CubeSat-Scale Spacecraft

2013 ◽  
Vol 135 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
William R. Wilson ◽  
Laura L. Jones ◽  
Mason A. Peck
Keyword(s):  
Multibody Dynamics ◽  
Technology Development ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Air Bearing ◽  
Cost Performance ◽  
Small Satellites ◽  
Ground Testing ◽  
Spacecraft Mission ◽  
Cost Scaling ◽  
Design Cost

In the past several years, small satellites have taken on an increasingly important role as affordable technology demonstrators and are now being viewed as viable low-cost platforms for traditional spacecraft mission objectives. As such, the CubeSat standard (1 kg in a 10 cm cube) has been widely adopted for university-led development efforts even as it is embraced by traditional spacecraft developers, such as NASA. As CubeSats begin to take on roles traditionally filled by much larger spacecraft, the infrastructure for dynamics and controls testing must also transition to accommodate the different size and cost scaling associated with CubeSats. While air-bearing-based testbeds are commonly used to enable a variety of traditional ground testing and development for spacecraft, few existing designs are suitable for development of CubeSat-scale technologies, particularly involving multibody dynamics. This work describes Cornell University's FloatCube testbed, which provides a planar reduced-friction environment for multibody dynamics and controls technology development for spacecraft less than 6 kg and a 15 cm cube. The multimodule testbed consists of four free-floating air-bearing platforms with on-board gas supplies that allow the platforms to float over a glass surface without external attachments. Each of these platforms, or FloatCubes, can host CubeSat-sized payloads at widely ranging levels of development, from prototype components to full-scale systems. The FloatCube testbed has already hosted several successful experiments, proving its ability to provide an affordable reduced-friction environment to CubeSat-scale projects. This paper provides information on the system design, cost, performance, operating procedures, and applications of this unique, and increasingly relevant, testbed.

Low-Cost Small-Satellite Delivery System

2002 ◽  
Vol 39 (5) ◽  
pp. 818-820 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frederick W. Boltz
Keyword(s):  
Delivery System ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Small Satellite

Development of Appropriate Power Distribution Design for Can-Sized satellite (canSAT)

2021 ◽  
Vol 02 (02) ◽  
Author(s):  
Devina Cristine Marubin ◽  
◽  
Sim Sy Yi ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Power System ◽  
Data Acquisition ◽  
Power Supply ◽  
Communication System ◽  
Power Distribution ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Small Satellite ◽  
Power Budget ◽  
Space Agency ◽  
Rules Set

Can-Sized satellite (canSAT) is a small satellite that is used for educational purpose. CanSAT offer student to build their satellites with their creativity which make the learning process more effective. In Malaysia, SiswaSAT is held by the Malaysia Space Agency for students in different categories to participate and build their satellites according to rules set and it should be a low-cost project. CanSAT can be divided into few parts which are communication system, onboard data acquisition, ground control station and power system. The power system is one of the important and heaviest subsystems, it needed to supply power, but weight and size are one of the main concerned as the canSAT should not exceed the required weight and selecting power supply that is matched with the overall power budget that has small size and lightweight is challenging. Therefore, the power supply selection should consider this detail. The power distribution design should be able to supply an appropriate amount of current and voltage to the components according to their specification. This study aims to develop and test the proposed prototype which is named ScoreSAT able to provide data and have enough power supply for the whole operation. Therefore, an initiative to develop the appropriate power distribution design for canSAT is taken to overcome the problem of the power system. Moreover, each subsystem needs to be tested by obtaining the results from the onboard data acquisition and transmit the data using the communication system before integrating into the power system. ScoreSAT prototype needs to carry the system that is mounted inside, thus the space inside the prototype needs to be fully utilized for the whole system to fit in. ScoreSAT completes the mission by obtaining data acquisition during the operation.

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