Millennium Program Research Articles

Advanced stellar compass onboard autonomous orbit determination, preliminary performance.

Deep space exploration is in the agenda of the major space agencies worldwide; certainly the European Space Agency (SMART Program) and the American NASA (New Millennium Program) have set up programs to allow the development and the demonstration of technologies that can reduce the risks and the cost of deep space missions. From past experience, it appears that navigation is the Achilles heel of deep space missions. Performed on ground, this imposes considerable constraints on the entire system and limits operations. This makes it is very expensive to execute, especially when the mission lasts several years and, furthermore, it is not failure tolerant. Nevertheless, to date, ground navigation has been the only viable solution. The technology breakthrough of advanced star trackers, like the advanced stellar compass (ASC), might change this situation. Indeed, exploiting the capabilities of this instrument, the authors have devised a method to determine the orbit of a spacecraft autonomously, onboard, and without a priori knowledge of any kind. The solution is robust and fast. This paper presents the preliminary performance obtained during the ground testing in August 2002 at the Mauna Kea Observatories. The main goals were: (1) to assess the robustness of the method in solving autonomously, onboard, the position lost-in-space problem; (2) to assess the preliminary accuracy achievable with a single planet and a single observation; (3) to verify the autonomous navigation (AutoNav) module could be implemented into an ASC without degrading the attitude measurements; and (4) to identify the areas of development and consolidation. The results obtained are very encouraging.

Overview of the earth observing one (eo-1) mission

The Earth Observing One (EO-1) satellite, a part of National Aeronautics and Space Administration's New Millennium Program, was developed to demonstrate new technologies and strategies for improved Earth observations. It was launched from Vandenburg Air Force Base on November 21, 2000. The EO-1 satellite contains three observing instruments supported by a variety of newly developed space technologies. The Advanced Land Imager (ALI) is a prototype for a new generation of Landsat-7 Thematic Mapper. The Hyperion Imaging Spectrometer is the first high spatial resolution imaging spectrometer to orbit the Earth. The Linear Etalon Imaging Spectral Array (LEISA) Atmospheric Corrector (LAC) is a high spectral resolution wedge imaging spectrometer designed to measure atmospheric water vapor content. Instrument performances are validated and carefully monitored through a combination of radiometric calibration approaches: solar, lunar, stellar, Earth (vicarious), and atmospheric observations complemented by onboard calibration lamps and extensive prelaunch calibration. Techniques for spectral calibration of space-based sensors have been tested and validated with Hyperion. ALI and Hyperion instrument performance continue to meet or exceed predictions well beyond the planned one-year program. This paper reviews the EO-1 satellite system and provides details of the instruments and their performance as measured during the first year of operation. Calibration techniques and tradeoffs between alternative approaches are discussed. An overview of the science applications for instrument performance assessment is presented.

Nano/Micro Satellite Constellations for Earth and Space Science

Spacecraft constellations are becoming a reality for NASA’s Earth and Space science, with the first steps already under way in building the infrastructure and knowledge base required for their implementation. In this paper we provide updated information on nano/micro satellite constellation missions either within NASA’s strategic plan or in the proposal stages. We will also present two examples of New Millennium Program technology missions that are today finding the solutions required to enable the constellations of the near and far-term future. Finally we will show what is being done in the area of Guidance, Navigation, and Control to facilitate the interconnectivity of constellations to act as single systems.

Space technology three: mission overview and spacecraft concept description

Space Technology Three (ST3), the third NASA New Millennium Program space technology mission, is focused on validation of key technologies for future separated spacecraft interferometers, such as Terrestrial Planet Finder and the Micro-Arcsecond X-ray Imaging Mission. The main technologies to be demonstrated are autonomous formation flying (AFF) and separated spacecraft interferometry (SSI). This mission uses two spacecraft called the Combiner and Collector, launched together, to validate these technologies. After on-orbit checkout, the spacecraft separate and are maintained within a range of 50– 1000 m . The AFF sensors and control capabilities are validated over a 2 month period followed by three months of SSI operations. Launch into an Earth-trailing heliocentric orbit is tentatively planned for March 2005 on a Delta II 7325. JPL is responsible for formation flying sensors and the interferometer instruments. Ball, selected as ST3 prime and working with JPL, provides the two spacecraft, system integration and test, and operations over the six-month mission duration. This paper summarizes the baseline mission concept and describes the spacecraft bus design in more detail, as defined at the start of the program in November 1999.

A REVIEW OF THE BLACK COUNTRY URBAN FOREST MILLENNIUM PROGRAMME, 1995–2001

Summary In 1995, the National Urban Forestry Unit obtained substantial funding from the Millennium Commission to expand an existing initiative called the Black Country Urban Forest (BCUF). Co-funding was also obtained from other sources. The BCUF Millennium Programme has been one of the most significant urban forestry initiatives in Britain over the past decade. The initiative was developed through the Black Country Environmental comprising local authorities and voluntary organisations. It involved the planting of hundreds of new woodlands, the rehabilitation of extensive areas of neglected woodland and the planting of thousands of new street and garden trees. This paper is based on a detailed review of the initiative that analysed its different elements, assessed their strengths and weaknesses, and determined what progress had been achieved. Now that the Millennium Programme has ended, some priorities for the future development of the BCUF are also identified.

Groundbased investigation of asteroid 9969 Braille, target of the spacecraft mission Deep Space 1

Asteroid 9969 Braille (1992 KD) was encountered on July 29, 1999 by the Deep Space 1 mission, the first of NASA's New Millennium Program, launched on October 24 1998. The data obtained by the space mission seem to indicate a composition of the object similar to that of Vesta. To complete the information obtained in the infrared region by the Deep Space 1 mission we have performed a visible spectroscopic and photometric investigation of the asteroid respectively with the 1.5 m telescope and the NTT of ESO, La Silla. The spectrum was obtained in the spectral range 4500-8200 A and, for the photometry, BVRI filters were used. In this paper we report the results of the analysis of the data obtained indicating that, on the basis of our visible data, the composition of the asteroid may range from V-type to Q-type, but we observe also a strong similarity to the H-type ordinary chondrites.

Multifunctional Structures for Advanced Spacecraft

Lockheed Martin Astronautics (LMA) is involved in the development of enabling technologies for ad- vanced spacecraft. One of the key elements of these efforts is the application of multifunctional structures (MFS) designs. The MFS design system incorporates electronics, thermal control, and structure design into a single spacecraft structural element. The electrical interconnect system is based on flexible circuit patches and jumpers that eliminate the need for black- boxes 'and cable harnesses. The system is ideally suited for high-density electronics such as multichip modules (MCM) and micro electromechanical sys- tems devices. Novel thermal techniques are incor- porated into the structure to handle the localized high heatloads. The MFS design has been included as a technology demonstration in a variety of NASA/Air Force missions such as New Millennium Program (NMP) Deep Space 1 (DSl), NMP Deep Space 2 (DS2), Space Technology Research Vehicle (STRV)- Id, MightySat II Sindri, and Advanced Technology Demonstration Spacecraft (ATDS). During the DSl mission, the MFS flight experiment has successfully performed electrical-interconnect continuity tests and measurements of thermal performance consistent with the predicted performance.

The deep space 1 extended mission

The primary mission of Deep Space 1 (DS1), the first flight of the New Millennium program, completed successfully in September 1999, having exceeded its objectives of testing new, high-risk technologies important for future space and Earth science missions. DS1 is now in its extended mission, with plans to take advantage of the advanced technologies, including solar electric propulsion, to conduct an encounter with comet 19P/Borrelly in September 2001. During the extended mission, the spacecraft's commercial star tracker failed; this critical loss prevented the spacecraft from achieving three-axis attitude control or knowledge. A two-phase approach to recovering the mission was undertaken. The first involved devising a new method of pointing the high-gain antenna to Earth using the radio signal received at the Deep Space Network as an indicator of spacecraft attitude. The second was the development of new flight software that allowed the spacecraft to return to three-axis operation without substantial ground assistance. The principal new feature of this software is the use of the science camera as an attitude sensor. The differences between the science camera and the star tracker have important implications not only for the design of the new software but also for the methods of operating the spacecraft and conducting the mission. The ambitious rescue was fully successful, and the extended mission is back on track.

The development of instrumentation at the ILL—A picture is worth a thousand words

The ILL'S pre-eminent position, which it still enjoys today, was founded upon the implementation of high quality novel instrumentation ranging from the first full scale use of neutron guidesto backscattering spectroscopy and small angle scattering. Equally well the ILL has been a focus for the development of new techniques for future improvement of instruments. Supermirrors, focusing monochromators and position sensitive detectors are highlights of this process. The reactor itself was totally renewed in 1994 and will operate for at least rhe next 20 years. In 1995 a program of instrument renewal was started including a new reflectometer D17 and a rebuild of the liquids diffractometer D4, which is now bearing fruit. In 1999 the opportunity arose to implement a more ambitious program of instrument upgrade which would bring the performance of the Institut's instruments back to the cutting edge of neutron technology, in many cases using techniques first developed at the ILL, such as the use of polarized 3He. In January 2000 the Millennium Program was formally launched with funding from within the Institut's own budget for five instrumentprojects, including a new image plate diffractometer VIVALDI. This program was received with enthusiasm by the user community and by the ILL'S funding authorities and, encouraged by this support, other projects have been included for 2001 and 2002 and individual capital bids have been made for further improvements, driven by groups of users. Furthermore the institut's infrastructure, such as the ageing neutron guides, was also the subject of re-examination. The aim behind the Millennium Program (http://www.ill.fr/pages/menu_g/docs/millennium_programme.pdf) is to set in place a continuous program of instrument renewal. Analysis shows that the major cost of an instrument is its operation and therefore maintaining every instrument at the highest standard is extremely cost effective. In parallel a broader strategic study of opportunities available to the Institut has been published in the ILL'S Road Map (http://www.ill.fr/pages/menu-g/docs/ New roadmap.pdf), which gives directions for the future evolution of the Millennium Program.

LADI—A dedicated facility for biological crystallography

The LAD1 instrument at ILL provides a unique and powerful tacility for neutron protein crysrdlography at high-resolution (l.5Å) and is used to locate hydrogen atoms and water molecules thatcannot be seen by X-ray analysis alone in biological structures [1]. The combination of a broad bandpass quasi-Laue geometry with a large cylindrical area detector provides 10–100 fold gains in efficiency compared with conventional neutron diffractometers [2]. This has made feasible studiesof larger biological complexes and smaller crystals than previously possible and has redefined the role and expectations of neutron protein crystallography [3,4]. Current studies are addressing questions of broad biological significance concerning enzymatic mechanism, ligand-binding interactions, solvent effects, structure dynamics and their implications [5-l0]. Life scientists are nowpresenting state of the art problems in biology that challenge the current capabilities of the insnument and a further order of magrutude gain in performance would be decisive in opening new fields of research. The developments of the instrument proposed to the ILL millennium program will provide unprecedented capability for neutron analysis of biological macromolecules such as proteins and DNA/RNA, and become the benchmark for biomolecular crystallography at the next generation neutron sources.

Results from the Deep Space 1 technology validation mission

Launched on October 24, 1998, Deep Space 1 (DS1) is the first mission of NASA's New Millennium program, chartered to validate in space high-risk, new technologies important for future space and Earth science programs. The advanced technology payload that was tested on DS1 comprises solar electric propulsion, solar concentrator arrays, autonomous on-board navigation and other autonomous systems, several telecommunications and microelectronics devices, and two low-mass integrated science instrument packages. The technologies were rigorously exercised so that subsequent flight projects would not have to incur the cost and risk of being the first users of these new capabilities. The performances of the technologies are described as are the general execution of the mission and plans for future operations, including a possible extended mission that would be devoted to science.

Neutron powder diffraction symposium held in Sydney

On June 22, 2000. the Australian Institute of Science and Technology hosted its Second Annual Symposium on Neutron Scattering, this time on the subject of powder diffraction. Approximately 50 participants, including students and staff from eight universities across the continent, at-tended, along with representatives of two government labs and three overseas visitors. There were plenary talks by Alan Hewat (ILL) and Klaus Yvon (Universite de Geneve) on the subjects of “New Diffractometers at the ILL–the Millennium Programme” and “Neutron Diffraction for the Development of New Metal Hydrides for Energy Storage,” respectively.

Deep Space 2: The Mars Microprobe Mission

The Mars Microprobe Mission will be the second of the New Millennium Program's technology development missions to planetary bodies. The mission consists of two penetrators that weigh 2.4 kg each and are being carried as a piggyback payload on the Mars Polar Lander cruise ring. The spacecraft arrive at Mars on December 3, 1999. The two identical penetrators will impact the surface at ∼190 m/s and penetrate up to 0.6 m. They will land within 1 to 10 km of each other and ∼50 km from the Polar Lander on the south polar layered terrain. The primary objective of the mission is to demonstrate technologies that will enable future science missions and, in particular, network science missions. A secondary goal is to acquire science data. A subsurface evolved water experiment and a thermal conductivity experiment will estimate the water content and thermal properties of the regolith. The atmospheric density, pressure, and temperature will be derived using descent deceleration data. Impact accelerometer data will be used to determine the depth of penetration, the hardness of the regolith, and the presence or absence of 10 cm scale layers.

Mission design for deep space 1: A low-thrust technology validation mission

Deep Space 1 (DS1), currently scheduled for launch in July or August 1998, is the first mission of NASA's New Millennium program, chartered to flight validate high-risk, advanced technologies important for future space and Earth science programs. DS1's payload of technologies will be rigorously exercised during the two-year mission. Several features of the project present unique or unusual opportunities and challenges in the design of the mission that are likely to be encountered in future missions. The principal mission-driving technology is solar electric propulsion (SEP); this will be the first mission to rely on SEP as the primary source of propulsion. Another important technology for the mission design is the autonomous on-board navigation system, which requires frequent (at least weekly) intervals of several hours during which it collects visible images of distant asteroids and stars for its use in orbit determination and maneuver planning. The mission design accommodates the needs of these and other technologies for operational use and for acquiring sufficient validation data to assess their viability for future missions. DS1's mission profile includes encounters with an asteroid and a comet.

Mars microprobe project instrumentation package

The Mars Microprobe Project is a technology validation mission in NASA's New Millennium Program. The project is developing a pair of small, two-piece probes for delivery to the surface of Mars in December of 1999. Descent from orbit to the surface is accomplished with a passive single-stage non-erosive aeroshell designed specifically for this mission. Upon impact each probe separates into a section that penetrates into the Martian regolith and a section that remains on the surface. This design provides an opportunity to collect scientific data both on and up to two meters beneath the surface. The instrumentation package of the Mars Microprobe includes a meteorological instrument for measuring atmospheric pressure and temperature, accelerometers to measure the atmospheric drag on the probe aeroshell during descent, accelerometers for measuring the forces on the probe at impact, temperature sensors in the penetrator to measure the soil thermal conductivity at depth, and an experiment to collect a small sample of the Martian regolith and determine if water is present in the sample. An overview of the instrument design and implementation is reported along with the results of the environmental tests and instrument calibration.

Deep Space One: Preparing for space exploration in the 21st century

Later this month, NASA is scheduled to take a revolutionary step with the launch of the New Millennium Program's Deep Space One (DS1) mission. DS1 will fly by asteroid 1992KD in July 1999 and will then be on a trajectory toward comet 19P/Borrelly (see Figure 1).The target bodies are not what makes DS1 revolutionary, however. NASA has flown missions past comets and asteroids before. Rather, the pioneering role of DS1 is in paving the way for future, even more exciting, science missions by testing a host of new, advanced technologies that are unproven in deep space.

2.4.3 Deep Space One Spacecraft System Engineering Techniques and the Application of Heuristic Reasoning

ABSTRACTThe Deep Space One Project is part of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA's) New Millennium Program. The team is chartered with the design, development, and in‐flight validation of new technologies. The knowledge gained in flight will be instrumental in the success of future projects as they strive to build “faster, better, cheaper” spacecraft for NASA, the nation, and the world. There are a total of twelve new technologies planned to fly as part of the first deep space mission, many of which were either selected by the program and/or project manager independently or some that were coupled un‐conditionally with one another. These technologies include the miniature imaging camera and spectrometer, autonomous on‐board optical navigation, and the small deep space transponder. However, the most striking of these are arguably the ion propulsion system and advanced solar concentrator array, the combination of which will result in a ten fold or order of magnitude increase in impulse (ratio of force over the propellant mass) over a conventional chemical system. At the time of this writing, the Deep Space One Project is nearing completion of the thirty‐three month development life cycle and is being mechanically and electrically integrated and tested at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. This paper discusses the system engineering techniques used to date, especially the application of heuristic reasoning, in the design, development, and test of the Deep Space One spacecraft.

Clinton proposes science funding increase

President Bill Clinton proposed a major increase in science funding and several science and environment initiatives during his State of the Union address on January 28.As part of the White House Millennium Program the administration established to promote the nation's creativity and innovation, the President proposed a 21st Century Research Fund for scientific inquiry that would provide the largest one‐year funding increase in history for the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institutes of Health, and National Cancer Institute.

An autonomous spacecraft agent prototype

This paper describes the New Millennium Remote Agent (NMRA) architecture for autonomous spacecraft control systems. The architecture supports challenging requirements of the autonomous spacecraft domain not usually addressed in mobile robot architectures, including highly reliable autonomous operations over extended time periods in the presence of tight resource constraints, hard deadlines, limited observability, and concurrent activity. A hybrid architecture, NMRA integrates traditional real-time monitoring and control with heterogeneous components for constraint-based planning and scheduling, robust multi-threaded execution, and model-based diagnosis and reconfiguration. Novel features of this integrated architecture include support for robust closed-loop generation and execution of concurrent temporal plans and a hybrid procedural/deductive executive. We implemented a prototype autonomous spacecraft agent within the architecture and successfully demonstrated the prototype in the context of a challenging autonomous mission scenario on a simulated spacecraft. As a result of this success, the integrated architecture has been selected to fly as an autonomy experiment on Deep Space One (DS-1), the first flight of NASA‘s New Millennium Program (NMP), which will launch in 1998. It will be the first AI system to autonomously control an actual spacecraft.

Small NASA Missions

Andrew Lawler's article “Small missions lift planetary science” (News & Comment, [12 Sept., p. 1596][1]) highlights the ongoing transformation in the exploration by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the solar system: a steady stream of relatively small, focused flights (for example, the successful Mars Pathfinder and the soon-to-be-launched Lunar Prospector) is replacing the infrequent multibillion-dollar, comprehensive missions (Galileo, now observing Jupiter and its retinue of moons, and Cassini, launched to Saturn) that NASA used to fly. The introduction of these “smaller, cheaper, faster” missions has reinvigorated a stagnant field. Three recent National Research Council (NRC) reports ([1][2]) agree with Lawler's analysis that NASA's new philosophy brings many advantages. For small planetary missions to fulfill their promise, however, certain guidelines must be met. Each mission should be proposed as an integrated package led by a principal investigator and should be selected through open competition; this is not being done in NASA's New Millennium Program, nor in its Mars Surveyor Program. Moreover, NASA should impose minimal restrictions on the mission design. Last, NASA's past practices must change to eliminate unnecessary oversight and review. Long-term scientific objectives will only be fully achieved if sufficient funds are made available for spacecraft operations and for the full analysis of the data returned by these missions. In the past, mission concepts have been gestated by judicious funding from NASA's Research and Analysis (RA yet RA yet it is far from clear whether NASA's aversion to risk has lessened. Finally, a responsive program for planetary exploration will require a mix of mission sizes ranging from comprehensive missions with multiple objectives to small missions with highly constrained scientific goals ([2][3]). The jury is still out on whether small missions will return as much knowledge, both scientific and technological, per dollar as have the flagship missions of the past. 1. [↵][4]The Role of Small Missions in Planetary and Lunar Exploration (National Academy Press, Washington, DC, 1995). 2. [↵][5]An Integrated Strategy for the Planetary Sciences: 1995–2010 (National Academy Press, Washington, DC, 1994). [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.277.5332.1596 [2]: #ref-1 [3]: #ref-2 [4]: #xref-ref-1-1 View reference 1 in text [5]: #xref-ref-2-1 View reference 2 in text