Brouwer’s satellite solution redux

Brouwer’s solution to the artificial satellite problem is revisited. We show that the complete Hamiltonian reduction is rather achieved in the plain Poincaré’s style, through a single canonical transformation, than using a sequence of partial reductions based on von Zeipel’s alternative for dealing with perturbed degenerate Hamiltonian systems. Beyond the theoretical interest of the new approach as regards the complete reduction of perturbed Keplerian motion, we also show that a solution based on a single set of corrections may yield computational benefits in the implementation of an analytic orbit propagator.

Assessment of environmental risks of space activities as a determinant of global security

The paper investigates environmental risks of space activities in ensuring the concept of Clean Space as an integral component of global security. It has been proven that man-made debris in orbital space reached catastrophic proportions which calls upon immediate changes with the purpose of sustainable development of space activities. The work incorporates an elaborated classification of environmental risks that occur in the process of space activities, divided into four groups: by the source of risk, by type of orbit, by cause and effect and by the possibility of influence. It has been determined that countries to have generated the most space debris objects are Russia (the USSR), USA and China. Ukrainian national legislation in the sphere of space activities is currently at the stage of harmonization with international space agencies. Numerous issues remain insufficiently substantiated: improvement of the Technical Regulations for space activities, Procedures of liability insurance for damage inflicted to the space object, since the respective insurance contract must be one of the documents mandatory for fulfilling international obligations of the state with regard to its accountability for any type of national space activities. It has been established that apart from the Kessler effect there also exists a temporality effect – the effect of ”lengthened” time combined with the effect of its acceleration (singularity) – accelerated development of situational changes. This affects the catastrophic state of space debris cluttering in Earth’s orbit since the launch of the first artificial satellite. The paper examines a particular range of risks in accordance with two phases of the technological lifespan of space systems – ‘Operation’ & ‘Utilization’. It is stipulated by the fact that namely in these phases there exists the highest probability of occurrence of major risks of “influence”. Prospects of further research consist in the development of the system for assessment of risks of influence at all phases of the technological lifespan of space systems: ‘Mission analysis/needs definition’; ‘Feasibility’; ‘Preliminary design’; ‘Detailed design’; ‘Qualification & Production’; ‘Operation’; ‘Utilization’.

Structural and thermodynamic properties for the BaMn(Fe=V)F7 Fluoride glass system by using the Hybrid Reverse Monte Carlo simulation

The Hybrid Reverse Monte Carlo (HRMC) simulation has been widely used as a very useful method for displaying the pair partial distribution functions (PDFs) g(r) eliminating as soon as possible the artificial satellite peaks appear by the RMC simulation. The HRMC is an extension of the RMC algorithm, which introduces an energy penalty term (potential) in the acceptance criteria.The glass retains the structure presented by the liquid at the glass transition temperature Tg, and the thermodynamic properties are influenced by these structural modifications. We are interested in this study to apply the structural parameters g(r), obtained from HRMC simulation, to determine some structural and thermodynamic properties for the BaMn(Fe=V)F7 Fluoride glass.The calculated structural properties such as the running coordination number n(r) were in good agreement with coordination constraint. We suggest also that the structural parameters g(r) is a good tool to determine the thermodynamic properties as the energy of the system.

International Cooperation: A Brief History We've Experienced

The solar-terrestrial space is of considerable significance for human activities. Since the first artificial satellite Sputnik 1 was launched in 1957, more knowledge about the dynamic conditions of the space environment has been acquired. With growing dependence on modern technology — both in space and on the ground, the vulnerability of the modern society and its infrastructure to space weather has increased dramatically. To better understand, forecast and reduce the adverse effects of space weather, science programs on space weather always prioritize the measurement or acquisition of the data from different locations of the geo-space, such as in magnetopause, polar cusps, and the magnetic tail. For the ground observations, it is necessary to locate the instruments in different longitudes and latitudes. For a single country, it is impossible to cover all these observation points. Therefore, international cooperation is very much needed. The paper reviews some of the international space weather observation programs we have experienced at the system design level. It may provide lessons learned for the community that may enable such kind of cooperative programs in the future.

Chaotic Oscillation of Satellite due to Aerodynamic Torque

This study presents the chaotic oscillation of the satellite around the Earth due to aerodynamic torque. The orbital plane of the satellite concurs is same as the tropical plane of Earth. The half-width of riotous separatrix is assessed utilizing Chirikov’s measure. Variety of boundary techniques shows that streamlined force boundary (ɛ), unpredictability of circle (e), and mass-proportion (ω0) convert normal wavering to the disorganized one. We studied the behavior of trajectories due to change in parameters with Lyapunov exponents and time series plots. The theory is applied to Resourcesat-1, an artificial satellite of the Earth.

Human–Robotic Cooperative Space Exploration

Humans have always looked up at the stars and dreamed about outer space as the final frontier. The launch of the first artificial satellite—Sputnik—in 1957 by the Soviet Union and the first man on the Moon in 1969 represent significant missions in space exploration history. In 1972, Apollo 17 marked the last human program on the lunar surface. Nevertheless, several robotic spacecrafts have traveled to the Moon, such as the Soviet Luna 24 in 1976, and China’s Chang’e 4 in 2019, which was the first time a space vehicle touched down on the Moon’s far side. The international space community is currently assessing a return to the Moon in 2024 and even beyond, in the coming decades, toward the Red Planet, Mars. Robots and rovers (for example Curiosity, Philae, Rosetta, and Perseverance) will continue to play a major role in space exploration by paving the way for future long-duration missions on celestial bodies. It is still impossible to land humans on Mars or on other celestial bodies because there are significant challenges to overcome from technological and physiological perspectives. Therefore, the support of machines and artificial intelligence is essential for developing future deep space programs as well as to reach a sustainable space exploration. One can imagine a future scenario where robots and humans collaborate on the Moon’s surface or on celestial bodies to undertake scientific research, to extract and to analyze space resources for a possible in situ utilization, as well as to build sites for human habitation and work. The principles of free exploration and cooperation are core elements in the international space legal framework as mentioned in Article I of the 1967 Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies. In this context of new ‘robots–humans’ cooperation, it is also necessary to consider the provisions of the 1972 Convention on the International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects, the 1975 Convention on Registration of Objects Launched into Outer Space, the 1968 Agreement of the Rescue of Astronauts, the Return of Astronauts and the Return of Objects Launched into Outer Space, and the 1979 Agreement Governing the Activities of States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, as well as some recent international agreements signed for future Moon missions given their significant importance for space exploration.

The Vision of an Axe. Dostoevsky and Astronautics

This essay explores the scientific and literary origins of the image of an axe thrown into outer space to orbit the earth, as it appears in the chapter “The Devil. The Vision of Ivan Fyodorovich” in Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov. Did Dostoevsky anticipate the idea of an artificial satellite, as many critics and journalists argue? How were science (in this case astronomy) and literature connected in his mind? How did Dostoevsky’s scientific and creative imagination work in general? The author shows that Dostoevsky’s “prophetic” reference to a sputnik was rooted in popular articles and textbooks about Newton’s mechanics and in Marko Vovchok’s (Maria Vilinskaya’s) translation of Jules Verne’s science fiction novel Around the Moon (“Autour de la Lune”), published in The Russian Herald (Russkii vestnik) in 1869. The novel relates the chronicle of a voyage of brave researchers inside a cannonball that was fired out of a giant space gun. The essay reconstructs the trajectory of Verne’s image of a manmade satellite in Russian literature of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.