Multifunctional fiber-optic sensors for space infrastructure

Sensors used in rocket and space technology are subject to extreme external influences in terms of temperature, vibration, and shock. Therefore, the choice of the type of sensors is justified precisely by the resistance to such factors, as well as the ability to ensure the temporal and parametric stability of measurements. A new type of sensors – fiber-optic ones – meets these conditions. The basis for the selection and further improvement of such sensors were such requirements as minimum power consumption, high accuracy and stability of measurements, the ability to combine several measurements in one sensor. It is noted that for space infrastructure the factor of the possibility of simultaneous measurement of several parameters with one sensor is one of the important quality indicators. This is due to the possibility of reducing the number of sensors themselves, which reduces the mass and size parameters of space technology. This applies, first of all, to measurements of pressure and temperature, since they, in aggregate, account for at least 40 % of all measurements in space products. The path of choos-ing the types of methods and sensor designs led to the combination of the amplitude conversion method and optical communication in one sensor. In this case, amplitude modulation of pressure and temperature is carried out by a microelec-tromechanical unit (module), and the modulated optical signal is transmitted by an optical module. Such a modular composition of the sensor makes it possible to dispense with optical ana-lyzers (interrogators) and carry out further pro-cessing based on standard interfaces. A limitation of the proposed methods and designs is the need for microelectromechanical structures that measure certain physical quantities. Such structures for fiber-optic sensors are not mass-produced; therefore, their manufacture can be established at instrument-making enterprises with microelectronic equipment

Past experience and future prospects for launching our country's small spacecraft from Plesetsk launch site

The paper provides an integrated analysis of the problem of the fast growing field of development and operation of Small Spacecraft (SS) constellations and participation of domestic launch site Plesetsk in solving this problem. It reviews the history of launches from Plesetsk, and describes the current status of work to build up and replenish SS-based orbital constellations. It describes major methods of SS launches. When describing multiple launches of SS on heavy launch vehicles it cites foreign practices of SpaceX Company, as well as lays down the prospects for development of our country’s heavy launch vehicles. As for the small-lift launch vehicles, it cites the experience of launching from Plesetsk of launch-vehicles Rokot and Soyuz-2 Phase 1v. For the super-small-lift launch vehicles, it cites the experience of USA and PRC, as well as our country’s development project of the launch vehicle Irkut, which is planned to be launched from Plesetsk, among other places. As for changes in the configuration of ground space infrastructure, the paper points out a trend towards processing SS at a single common processing facility (there is no need to construct processing facilities for each specific small spacecraft). The paper presents general trends in the system for operation of space facilities. The trends towards standardizing mechanical handling equipment in particular, and processing facilities in general, make it possible to lower development costs and speed up development schedules for advanced small spacecraft. Reducing small spacecraft processing time has a beneficial effect on the operational efficiency of the launch campaign, while the use of mobile checkout equipment makes it possible to quickly put together mobile and flexible processing facilities, the use of which will undoubtedly contribute to shaping the future of our country’s launch system. An important point made in the paper is the conclusion that in spite of our country’s lagging behind in super-small-lift launch vehicles, it has a significant scientific and engineering potential for developing this type of launch vehicles. Regardless of the value of other conclusions of the paper, the key point is that the current state of the ground space infrastructure facilities and the accumulated experience of specialists at Plesetsk make it possible to address the full spectrum of SS launch operations. Key words: small spacecraft, launch vehicles, ground space infrastructure, system for operation of space facilities.

Assessing the Efficiency of Russian Business Support Institutions in the Digital Economy

Aim. The presented study aims to determine methodological approaches to assessing the efficiency of government regulation and support of small and medium enterprises in the context of the digitalization of the economy, to propose directions for its improvement, and to consider institutions and tools that could contribute to solving the problems of small enterprises in the post-COVID period.Tasks. The authors examine the major problems in the development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Russia, potential opportunities and solutions; analyze the main problems of SME support; determine indicators and criteria for evaluating the efficiency of this type of national and municipal administration.Methods. This study uses the methods of abstraction and aggregation, historical analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, systemic and structural approaches.Results. The results of the study prove that the assessment of the efficiency of government regulation and support of small and medium enterprises in the context of the digitalization of the economy should be considered not only using KPI, but also by applying extended criteria and indicators at various management levels as part of an integrated approach. This makes it possible to determine why SMEs, which traditionally experience a lack of financial resources, use government support mechanisms to such a small extent.Conclusions. In Russia, government support is provided to SMEs in the form of guarantees and benefits, subsidization of the costs of leasing contracts and participation in advertising campaigns and exhibitions, co-funding of regional system-forming business projects. At the same time, the most important factor in optimizing the system of government regulation and support of entrepreneurship is the creation of digital space infrastructure to increase the efficiency of interaction between the government and business structures, since the existing system is not optimal.

Policies for incentivizing orbital debris assessment and remediation

Space debris threatens to destroy valuable space infrastructure, but damages from debris are not an inevitability. The scientific community has ideas for how to prevent the creation of new debris and limit the impact of pre-existing debris, but it will take government action to see that vision through. This essay unpacks how we know what we know, in service of ultimately discussing how policy-makers can use predictions of the long-term risks posed by satellites and debris on the orbital environment to more effectively prescribe behavior for operators. Financial incentives for sustainability, including taxation and cap-and-trade systems, have the potential to greatly benefit the safety and reliability of space missions, but they carry a variety of political and economic challenges, particularly at the international level. Now is a critical time to determine a policy strategy for debris management, because negotiations in the near-term may set valuable precedents for controlling the next century of debris proliferation.

Why international space collaborations should be anticolonial

<p>This paper synthesises and presents evidence from existing literature on how space projects and infrastructures built in the Global South have had – often unintended – negative impacts on local and Indigenous communities (Redfield 2000). The example of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) in South Africa demonstrates that there are often competing priorities at play within space projects and that equitable practices must be at the heart of all space initiatives that aim to foster inclusive and just outcomes (Walker, Chinigo’ 2019). While dispossession due to space infrastructure has received recent scholarly attention, the ways in which the methods of scientific research reframe relationships and the sites of space research often remain invisible. This paper touches upon three areas where more equitable practices are needed to address historically crystallised asymmetries of power: 1) partnerships; 2) fieldwork; 3) approaches to science. I use Harding’s decolonial philosophies of science (2017) to instigate a dialogue with other disciplines and propose a change of practice in science. Fieldwork in analogue environments in Africa is used as an example of fostering collaborations and scientific endeavours that are actively anticolonial and combat the ways in which the Global North can be extractive in its approach to space projects on our planet. Can ethical frameworks be useful tools to appropriately consider the potential impacts of space projects and collaborations on local communities?</p> <p> </p>

Understanding the City-transport System of Urban Agglomeration through Improved Space Syntax Analysis

From the perspective of city-transport system, this article applies space syntax to analyze the physical integration of cities. Traditionally, space syntax is mainly applied to urban areas, buildings, and other scales. However, when space syntax is applied to the configuration analysis of urban agglomeration, the change of scale causes changes in spatial perception and human behavioral patterns. Thus, we present a new method of space syntax. This method defines the lane and track between entrance and exit, and city as node, which represents small-scale space. Infrastructure, such as stations, entrances, and exits, are defined as links. The urban agglomeration is thus transformed into a topological network, and then displayed as a bipartite graph of cities and routes. We take the urban agglomerations in the Yangtze River Middle Reaches (YRMR) as the case study area and analyze its spatial configuration from the perspectives of local and integral, interfaces at different scales, gaps, evolution of the dual foreground and background networks, and evolution of the transport networks. The results reveal the way cities integrate with each other and further reveal the multi-scale spatial structure of urban agglomeration.

Conceptual scenarios for development of ground infrastructure for receiving mission payload data from a perspective Earth remote sensing satellite constellation

The paper addresses the problem of cooperative development of ground space infrastructure and orbital constellation of Earth remote sensing spacecraft (ERS). In view of the considerable number of elements in space and ground segments of a heterogenous space ERS system, a mechanism is required for developing its concepts involving acquiring updated inputs for determining measures to optimize the ERS ground segment configuration geography-wise and outfit receiving systems for receiving the mission payload data from high-performance ERS spacecraft. The paper describes trends in the development of equipment and technologies for transmitting ERS mission payload data, in particular, the current status of the high data rate optical backbone network in order to determine possible locations for ERS Ground Segment elements. It introduces indicators which provide system-level characterization of the capabilities for a distributed network of data receiving stations. Based on the obtained data, system-level patterns were determined in the development of the ground segment for receiving the ERS mission payload data depending on the state of the ERS orbital constellation, driving further development of growth strategy for the ERS ground space infrastructure. Key words: Earth remote sensing, concept, mission payload data, receiving system, data reception station.