Spacecraft Test Research Articles

Satellite Reference Databases: A literature review of data exchange formats and industrial initiatives

Satellite Reference Databases (SRDBs) aim to manage the definition of telemetry and telecommand objects used by the ground systems to develop satellite operation procedures as well as encode and decode the flow of information between the ground system and the satellite. SRDBs have been identified as a key area of research and industry as they play a major role in the design, operation, and testing of spacecraft. This paper aims to answer research questions about SRDB data exchange formats and SRDB industrial initiatives. To this end, a comprehensive survey of existing research on SRDB has been conducted. To facilitate comprehension of this survey study, a use case is presented to illustrate the various aspects discussed in the literature.

Measurement method of vacuum degree in satellite in vacuum thermal test of spacecraft based on diaphragm gauge

Measurement method of vacuum degree in satellite in vacuum thermal test of spacecraft based on diaphragm gauge

Study on in situ mass spectrometry leak detection technique of working fluid in spacecraft electric propulsion system

Helium mass spectrometry leak detection technology requires that the leak detection medium of spacecraft test object is helium, but the general working medium of spacecraft electric propulsion system is xenon. The existing helium mass spectrometry leak detection technology can not realize the in-situ leak detection of all kinds of working media. The in situ mass spectrometry leak detection technology of spacecraft working medium based on mass spectrometry has been widely concerned for its advantages of direct leak detection of working medium and obtaining real leak rate, but the sampling and leak detection of mass spectrometry under atmospheric environment is one of its difficulties. In this paper, a leak detection model and test system of spacecraft working medium in situ mass spectrometry are established, and theoretical and experimental studies are carried out. The research results show that, The leak detection sensitivity of in situ working mass spectrometry is better than 1.0 × 10−8 Pa m3/s by shunt current limiting sampling method in atmospheric environment. The appropriate shunt pumping speed and shunt chamber pressure have important influence on in situ leak detection of working medium. When the pressure of capillary shunt chamber is higher than 550Pa, the test system has better stability and repeatability. Not only the background noise of the leak detection by mass spectrometry is reduced, the detection accuracy is improved, and the response time of the system is shortened.

Вклад специалистов Ленинграда в создание плавучих научно-измерительных и командно-измерительных комплексов. Часть I. Переоборудование гражданских судов в морские космические научно-измерительные комплексы (конец 1950-х – 1960-е годы)

The article analyzes the initial stage of the creation of floating scientific measuring points (NIPS) to ensure the testing and operation of spacecraft during their passage over the world's oceans. It is emphasized that at first, floating NPCs were made by re-equipping already built civilian vessels (mainly bulk carriers). The study identifies both the main state and departmental documents on the basis of which the vessels were re-equipped: dry cargo, motor, and timber carrier ships; the factories where this was carried out, the projects for the vessels conversion, as well as the organization of ship testing on the ocean expanses. The process of improving scientific and measuring technology is also considered as oceanographic expeditions in the Pacific Ocean (TOGE-4 and TOGE-5) and a floating telemetry complex for the Atlantic Ocean were being formed, which subsequently functioned as independent military units subordinate to the command of the Strategic Missile Forces and the Military Space Forces. It is claimed that the experience gained as a result of these vessels operation was then creatively used in the construction of special vessels equipped as command and measurement complexes for tracking and controlling rocket and space technology. The authors of the study focus on showing the role of Leningrad scientists, designers and shipbuilders in the early period of creating a domestic "space fleet"

Development and application of the 2×350kN dual parallel excitation horizontal vibration test system

Vibration test is an important method to test the vibration environment during the launch and flight of spacecraft. With the development of China’s space industry, large spacecraft weighing more than 10 tons and diameter greater than 3 m are becoming more and more common. Key capabilities such as load bearing, table size, rated thrust and overturning moment of the original vibration test equipment can not meet the needs of large spacecraft development. Therefore, this paper develops a set of 2×350kN dual parallel excitation horizontal vibration test system which can carry out horizontal vibration test of large spacecraft. This paper introduces the structure and design method of the system, and analyzes the test results of the system. The technical indexes of the system all meet the design requirements. The system has been successfully applied to the vibration test simulation of large spacecraft such as the core module of the space station, which provides a better evaluation method for the ground test of large spacecraft in China.

Spacecraft Test Data Integration Management Technology based on Big Data Platform

In this paper, a general test platform for spacecraft data management is designed and constructed. This paper introduces a portable software development environment based on LUA. The technology of space environment data management, comprehensive analysis, parameter correction and visual display of spacecraft is realized. The relationship between continuity, mixed dispersion, variation and indication of remote sensing data is studied. This project uses the integrated Long Short Term Memory network (LSTM) technology to detect anomalies in satellite remote sensing observation data. Give full play to the advantages of laser scanning tunneling microscope in the nonlinear field. The combination of this method and the matrix method can improve the adaptive ability of spacecraft in an operation state to better identify abnormal information in remote sensing data. Experiments show that the algorithm can significantly improve the anomaly detection rate of the system. The system can monitor the front test device and record the data. The method can be connected with the space vehicle’s central control and automatic test system. The comprehensive management of the integrated test system of space vehicles is realized.

Test mass 6-DOF control allocation based on the null space for space gravitational wave mission

This paper proposes a novel 6-DOF control allocation based on the null space for the capture control of the drag-free spacecraft's test mass. Considering the unconstrained case firstly, an unconstrained time-varying weighted least square control allocation method is presented to eliminate the error of the test mass along every DOF synchronously to reach stable state quickly. Subsequently, an improved null-space-based method is proposed to modify the unconstrained solution of the weighted least square control allocation to meet the physical constraints of actuators. Numerical simulations illustrate the efficiency of the proposed control allocation scheme, which realizes coordinated control allocation of 6-DOF generalized forces, reduces allocation errors and computational complexity, and improves the efficiency of capture control of the test mass.

Research and Development of the Tianzhou Cargo Spacecraft

After more than 7 years of development, the Tianzhou cargo spacecraft (TZ), a space station cargo transfer spacecraft, was successfully launched on 2017 April 20. The TZ is robotic spacecraft that is designed to support China space station operation by transporting pressurized cargo, unpressurized cargo, large cargo, propellant, and other supplies. The vehicle is equipped with the crew specifications necessary for astronauts to unload pressurized cargo. TZ can be utilized for a variety of commercial, engineering, scientific, or other proposed activities once its primary mission is complete. TZ is China's first dedicated space cargo transport spacecraft, but the safety designs for crew activities are also particular to TZ. Newly developed technologies were applied to enable high-efficiency cargo shipment. Its development was carried out under the policy of adopting flight-proven technologies to enhance the reliability and safety of a mission. The success of the flight test of the TZ-1 cargo spacecraft marked the perfect end of the mission of the China Space Laboratory and laid the foundation for the smooth implementation of the manned space station project. As a novel manned spacecraft, TZ-1 has broken through key technologies such as cargo transportation, propellant replenishment, and fully autonomous rapid rendezvous and docking. TZ has the characteristics of high transport efficiency, multitasks, and strong self-control ability. The paper describes the phylogeny, main technical schemes, and technological achievements of China TZ.

Analysis of S-Parameters for RF Coaxial Cables at Different Environmental Conditions

RF coaxial cables are essential components in radio frequency and microwave systems. RF coaxial cables are necessary for the test and measurement systems. In spacecraft (TTC & Payload subsystem) testing, RF coaxial cables are used to uplink the signal from signal sources to spacecraft and receive the signal from spacecraft to measuring equipment. The performance of the RF coaxial cable can affect the test results of the spacecraft. The primary performance parameter for coaxial cable is the loss or attenuation. The losses are attributed to several factors and are present in all the RF Coaxial Cables. Environmental conditions affect coaxial cables, including temperature, pressure, moisture, dampness, etc. In this paper, an analysis of S-Parameters for RF coaxial cables at different environmental conditions is given. For this purpose, in the thermo vacuum chamber (TVAC), an experiment was conducted on N-type Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) or Teflon coaxial cables during TVAC IST. A vector network analyzer and a computer with a LabVIEW-based application were used as a data acquisition system. All the processing of acquired data is done using the matrix laboratory (MATLAB) tool.

Ground test technology for the Tianwen-1 Mars Probe

<p indent="0mm">The mission characteristics of Tianwen-1 Mars Probe, and the complicated environment during the entry descent and landing (EDL) and the rover exploration put forward a high demand for ground validation technology. At the research and development stage, in addition to conventional spacecraft tests, many special tests for the mission goals and the Mars environment characteristics are carried out. The adequacy of the ground test ensures the successful implementation of the mission. After the introduction of ground verification requirements, the system-level special test planning, implementation, and test results are thoroughly described. Finally, the ground test methods and test technology of the Tianwen-1 Mars probe are summarized. It has an important reference for future ground verification of deep space landing probes.

METROLOGICAL EVALUATION OF HELMHOLTZ FACILITY SETUP FOR TESTING OF MAGNETIC ATTITUDE DETERMINATION AND CONTROL SYSTEMS (ADCS) OF SMALL SATELLITES

The number of CubeSats launched to space has largely increased during last years. Any kind of satellite, even CubeSats, need to have some control on their attitude for pointing, i.e. antenna to Earth or solar panels to Sun. Among the available technology to control the attitude, CubeSats usually have cylindrical coils called magnetorquers, whose magnetic field interacts with the Earth’s magnetic field. CubeSat To verify its performance, it can be used a testing facility capable of simulating magnetic field along the satellite orbit. This work presents a metrological uncertainty analysis of a testing facility based on Helmholtz cage. Magnetic field uncertainty is obtained by performing uniformity, stability and gaussmeter calibration error tests. To simulate low Earth orbit satellite magnetic field conditions, the International Geomagnetic Reference Field model is used. The operation algorithms and software, developed using Python language, are validated by contrasting its results with Systems Tool Kit software, a commercial package, showing a maximum relative error of 0.03 %. Values from the testing facility are compared with in-situ measurements from Lume-1 satellite on-board gaussmeter, showing a maximum discordance lower than 50 mG. Keywords: spacecraft tests; attitude control system; Helmholtz facility; uncertainty evaluation; metrology

ПЕРСПЕКТИВИ РОЗВИТКУ УКРАЇНСЬКО-КИТАЙСЬКОГО СПІВРОБІТНИЦТВА В КОСМІЧНІЙ ГАЛУЗІ

Introduction. China has long been a member of the prestigious Space Club and is now the most powerful space power in some respects, having managed not only to develop a strategic plan for the conquest of space but also to strictly follow it step by step. According to official documents adopted by the State Council of China, the space program is an extremely important area of national development. This is especially true of China's ambitious goal of becoming a leader in the world's science-intensive industry. The more specific goals of the space program are defined by the country's five-year development plans, as well as the national development strategy. Many scientific publications are devoted to the problems of economic cooperation between Ukraine and China. However, most issues concern the intensification of Ukrainian-Chinese cooperation in trade, economic, scientific, technical, investment and industrial spheres. At the same time, researchers are ignoring issues related to cooperation in such a science-intensive field as space, which objectively actualizes this area of research and requires additional study. Accordingly, the purpose of the study is to analyze and evaluate the Ukrainian-Chinese cooperation in space in order to determine the prospects for their further development. Particular attention will be paid to the capabilities of Ukraine's space industry and China's interests. Materials and methods. Theoretical and methodological base of research consists of scientific works, methodological research of leading Ukrainian and foreign scientists. Research on scientific issues related to the intensification of Ukrainian-Chinese cooperation in space was conducted using critical and scientific analysis, methods of scientific generalization and systematization, induction and deduction in determining the causal relationship between internal and external factors affecting bilateral cooperation in the space industry. The results of the research, conclusions and recommendations are substantiated on the basis of an integrated approach. Results and discussion. Ukraine is one of the few countries in the world that has a closed technological cycle of rocketry, starting with rocket fuel and ending with launch vehicles and spacecraft, there are problems in the industry that need to be solved. This is, first of all, a significant disproportion between the level of space potential and its impact on the solution of urgent national and social problems. The main reasons for the problems are related to the long-term lack of effective state support in the field of space activities, as well as the need to reform it. One of the directions of deepening international cooperation in the field of space activities was the Agreement between the Government of Ukraine and the Government of the People's Republic of China on cooperation in the study and use of outer space for peaceful purposes, signed in 1995. Among the main areas of such cooperation are: research, manufacture, production and testing of spacecraft; research, manufacture, production and testing of media (delivery); ground-based control and measuring devices, control and measuring complexes and objects of the experimental base for modelling and testing of space technology in ground conditions; environmental research, space materials science, remote sensing of the Earth and other areas of mutual interest. It is proved that the deepening of international cooperation in the field of space activities with China is promising for both Ukraine and China. This is due to the fact that today Ukraine has all the components in the space sphere – scientific, technological, production and human resources – for the implementation of full-scale space projects. Conclusions. In order to deepen Ukrainian-Chinese cooperation in space, it is proposed to be actively involved in supporting Chinese companies by increasing the number of commercial orders for space activities; creating preferential taxation for space companies and those who invest in the development of science; creating conditions for reducing the payback period of investment projects in the space industry by introducing project financing; to increase the efficiency of using the space potential of Ukraine to solve urgent problems of socio-economic, environmental, cultural, informational and scientific-educational development of society; to introduce a transparent system of information openness of space activities, on the distribution of investment funds, to inform investors about the prospects and expected results of activities, to publicly set the financial performance of science-intensive enterprises.

Development of mobile aircraft control system model with additive technologies

The article describes the parameter evaluation of mobile spacecraft control systems and identifies their main advantages in comparison with stationary assets. The model and the mobile spacecraft control system mock-up using additive technologies were developed with existing methods for prototyping complex technical systems. This model performs experimental operations of the prototype of the mobile control system, accompanies the spacecraft in the area of its radio visibility, simulates the implementation of technological cycles of spacecraft control, evaluates the parameters of the target equipment, analyzes the characteristics of the antenna system and the layout, conducts experiments and eliminates abnormal situations. It also optimizes the spacecraft testing based on the use of artificial intelligence techniques.

Problems of robotic systems testing for moving on space objects

The article discusses the issues of providing full-scale testing of machines and spacecraft. The authors consider the surface of a cosmic body and propose the creation of an analogue of the regolith of the Moon and Mars. It is noted that it is necessary to observe not only the physicochemical and granulometric composition of the analogue, but also its electromagnetic charge, which will allow testing robotic systems more fully. Conclusions and description of the process of regolith creation and its properties are given. Key words Robotic system, space, regolith, electromagnetic properties, physical modeling.

Hybrid Automatic Test Technology for Spacecraft

A new hybrid test case design and execution technology based on component and script is proposed, which combines test component with test script to form test case and realize automatic test of spacecraft. The common test logic is described by dragging components and editing component parameters; for the special and complex logic test requirements, the method of writing script is used to describe. Components and scripts can be mixed in the same test case to describe complex and changeable test cases, and can be executed automatically.

Micro-vibration Test of High Resolution Spacecraft

The accuracy of the high resolution earth observation spacecraft has remarkably increased in recent years. The micro-vibration induced by moving machine, such as moment wheels, may cause severe disturbance to the sensitive payload onboard the spacecraft. It is crucial to perform ground micro-vibration test to verify the observation performance of the spacecraft on orbit. This paper focuses on the system level micro-vibration test method of high resolution spacecraft. The key requirements of the micro-vibration test are firstly presented, and then the test system development is introduced. Finally, the micro-vibration application technique is given to demonstrate the whole process of the micro-vibration test. It is concluded that the test method and the test system are effective for the verification of the high resolution spacecraft.

Аналіз галузі дистанційного зондування Землі високої просторової розрізненості для вирішення завдань у сфері безпеки і оборони

The article analyzes the field of remote sensing of the Earth of high spatial resolution from space and presents the main trends in this field. It is shown that the main consumers of remote sensing materials are government and law enforcement agencies (the share of the latter is about 60%).The main companies of commercial space systems for remote sensing of the Earth of high spatial resolution and companies-distributors (operators) of these systems representing their interests in the Ukrainian market are given. These companies provide information for security and defense tasks and provide pricing policies for remote sensing services. The materials of optoelectronic and radar surveying are considered and the possibilities of the State Space Agency of Ukraine of the National Center for Control and Testing of Spacecraft to obtain space survey materials of high spatial resolution are reviewed.Described projects for the reception of special information of high spatial diversity, namely: with the Israeli company Image Sat International N.V. (spacecraft “EROS-B”) (panchromatic images with a spatial resolution of 0.7 m); with the Chinese company China Great Wall Industry Corporation four spacecraft series “SuperView-1” (multispectral images with a spatial resolution of 0.5 m).The possibilities of receiving and processing materials of remote sensing of the Earth from the specified spacecraft resulted.

Review of Deployable Mechanism Test Technologies Oriented Towards Deep Space Exploration

Space deployable mechanisms refer to the mechanisms that can be folded into a compact configuration and be deployed into a large predetermined shape. With the development of deep-space exploration, deployable mechanisms become one of the best choices for the deep- space probes. Large-scale, large folding ratio, high stiffness and lightweight have become the development trend of deployable mechanisms, leading to the high demands for validation of the field test. During the design and production stage, many special tests for the mission goals and the space environment need to be carried out besides the traditional spacecraft tests. In this paper, some typical tests of deployable mechanism for deep space exploration are analysed, the scheme and the performance of the special test program are summarized, such as the low gravity simulation and the vibration test. In addition, some suggestion is also made for future test methods and technology development.

Qualification and validation test methodology of the open-source CubeSat FloripaSat-I

The FloripaSat-I project consists of an initiative from the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), in Brazil, to train students to design, test and integrate innovative space systems. The group just developed its first open-source CubeSat, the FloripaSat-I, which aims to empower students to develop space systems through a practical approach, where they have full control of the design and test of a real spacecraft. The project has already gone through all the stages of a CubeSat mission prior to the launching and operation stages. A prototype of the satellite, as well the engineering models 1 and 2 (EM-I and EM-II) were built. The expertise provided by the engineering models allows the development of a functional flight model (FM). This paper presents the validation and qualification tests that pass various FloripaSat-I models, from the engineering model to the flight model. All stages of the project are described, the tests performed in each phase, as well as the lessons learned. Thus, this paper serves as a guidance for other university teams that want to test their own CubeSats, as well as teams that want to use the open-source hardware and software left as heritage by this project.

Laser local heating system for thermal vacuum testing of spacecraft

Laser local heating system for thermal vacuum testing of spacecraft