Thesis (MEng (Mechanical Engineering))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2019 / The accumulating space debris has been a developing problem for many years. Technological advances led to the creation of nanosatellites, which allows more affordable access to space. As a result, the number of satellite launches is rapidly increasing, which, translates into an increase in debris in the low earth orbit (LEO) and geostationary orbit (GEO). To comply with the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (IADC) requirement of a 25-year maximum orbital lifetime, nanosatellites must have an end of life strategy. Failure to meet these guidelines may not only cause catastrophic collisions but may make future space travel even more challenging. Consequently, orbital lifetime predictions must be completed for nanosatellites. Considering this, the aim of this thesis is to investigate the orbital lifetime predictions for the nanosatellite ZACube-2, and the effects on the orbital lifetime if ZACube-2 is fitted with deorbiting technology, specifically a drag argumentation device. An in-depth literature review regarding the current state of technology pertaining to nanosatellite de-orbiting was conducted. This was followed by studies regarding orbital dynamics and perturbation forces. Four case studies were simulated in NASA’s Debris assessment software (DAS 2.0) using orbital parameters extracted from the two-line element (TLE) file. General information such as launch date and final mass was provided by F’SATI. The Baseline case study presented the orbital lifetime of ZACube-2, without any drag enhancement device. This was followed by case study 1,2 and 3 which represented ZACube-2 when fitted with three different drag enhancement devices. A comparison study indicated a reduction in all three cases. A new inflatable cube de-orbiting device (ICDD) concept was also presented, and the effects it has on the orbital lifetime predictions are showcased in case study three. Two deployment concepts were considered and evaluated against design requirements. Solidworks software was used to model the most suitable concept as well as perform finite element analysis on the structure. Static analysis was followed by natural frequency analysis in which the natural frequencies of the components and assembled structure were extracted. The Soyuz launch vehicle’s sinusoidal testing requirements were used to evaluate the structures survivability under dynamic loading. Based on the finite element , and harmonic analysis it was concluded that the structures will survive the launch conditions of the Soyuz launch vehicle. Furthermore, individual parameters affecting orbital lifetime predictions are also identified, in the form of a mass and cross-sectional sensitivity study and a ballistic coefficient versus orbital time study.

Thesis. 1976. M.S.--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Earth and Planetary Sciences. / Microfiche copy available in Archives and Science. / Bibliography: leaves 60-62. / M.S.

Thesis. 1976. B.S.--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering. / Microfiche copy available in Archives and Engineering. / Includes bibliographical references. / by Joseph B. Hamilton. / B.S.

<p>Large space-based communication networks have been growing in numbers of satellites, with plans to launch more than 10,000 satellites into Low Earth Orbit (LEO). While these constellations offer many advantages over ground-based communication systems, they pose a significant threat when they fail and generate space debris. Given the reliability of current satellites, engineers can use failure modeling to design satellite constellations that are more resilient to satellite failures. Several authors have analyzed the reliability of geostationary satellites, but few have expanded the work to multiple-satellite systems. </p> <p>To address this gap, we constructed a simulation model to show the performance of satellite constellations with different satellite reliability functions over time. The simulation model is broken down into four key parts: a satellite constellation model, a network model, a failure model, and a performance metric. We use a Walker star constellation, which is the most common constellation for LEO broadband satellite constellations. The network consists of satellite-to-satellite connections and satellite-to-groundstation connections, which routes data using a shortest-path algorithm. The failure model views satellites as either operational or failed (no partial failures) and considers the groundstation operator’s knowledge or lack thereof of the satellites’ operational status and uses satellite reliability to estimate the expected data throughput of the system. We also created a performance metric that measures how well the entire network is operating and helps us compare candidate constellations.</p> <p>We used the model to estimate performance for a range of satellite reliabilities, and for groundstations with different numbers of communication dishes (effectively, satellite-ground links). Satellite reliability is a significant contributing factor to the long-term constellation performance. Using the reliability of small-LEO satellites, we found that a constellation of 1,200 small-LEO satellites completely fails after less than 30 days, given that we do not consider partial failures. Satellite constellations with higher satellite reliability, such as large geostationary satellites, last less than 50 days. We expect the constellations in our model to perform worse than real satellite systems, since we are only modeling complete failures, however these findings provide a useful worst-case baseline for designing sustainable satellite constellations. We also found that the number of groundstation-to-satellite communication links at each groundstation is not a significant factor for more than five communication links, meaning that adding more communication antennas to existing satellite groundstations would not improve constellation performance significantly.</p>

No description available.

The design of the flexure mount recently submitted to NASA Ames for the structural support of the primary mirror of the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF) is presented. The flexure system must passively accommodate the differential thermal contraction between the glass mirror and the aluminum structure of the telescope during cryogenic cooldown. Further, it must support the one meter diameter, 116 kilogram (258 pound) primary mirror during a severe launch to orbit. Procedures used to establish the required radial compliance using computer programs NASTRAN and FRINGE are discussed. The parametric design program developed to study early concepts is presented. Methods of combining modal responses resulting from a displacement response spectrum analysis are discussed, and a combination scheme called MRSS, Modified Root of Sum of Squares, is presented. Modal combination schemes using MRSS, SRSS, and ABS are compared to the results of a Modal Frequency Response analysis.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 30-November 02, 1989 / Town & Country Hotel & Convention Center, San Diego, California / During the current decade, international cooperation in space projects has become more and more popular and this trend is increasing. Initially, this involved only single missions with agencies flying payloads on other agencies' spacecraft. Later, this trend continued with international ventures, involving different agencies. In the immediate future, even more challenging scenarios are foreseen. The best known example and prime driver for such sophisticated missions will be the Space Station Freedom and its participating partners' spacecraft. Some of the international missions (ESA missions) are described briefly in this paper, in order to set the scene for a better understanding of the complex needs for standards within advanced orbiting systems. These ventures call for efficient means for cooperation and interoperability. Part of these requirements can be met by following international standards for space communications and space data systems. The Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS) undertook the task of integrating the space data systems requirements and developing appropriate recommendations for data systems standards for these Advanced Orbiting Systems (AOS). All international partners in the Space Station Freedom Program participated in the definition, development, and review of the AOS recommendations. The need for better cooperation in space communications via data relay satellite prompted the formation of a three party international panel called the Space Network Interoperability Panel (SNIP). An important aspect is the need for verification and validation of the concept and of the detailed technical recommendations. For the immediate future, special compatibility campaigns, involving the international agencies are planned in order to ensure the smooth application and functioning of the AOS recommendations.

No description available.

Medidas das seções de choque de fusão, de processos fortemente amortecidos e de espalhamento elástico foram realizadas para os sistemas 16,17,18O + 10,11B e 19F + 9Be no intervalo de energia de bombardeio compreendido entre 22 ELAB64 Mev. São apresentadas evidências de que processos binários fortemente amortecidos observados nestes sistemas originam-se preferencialmente de um processo de fusão-fissão e não de um mecanismo de orbiting dinuclear. A importância relativa do processo de fusão-fissão nestes sistemas muito leves é comprovada pelos resultados experimentais, que indicam a ocorrência de um processo de fissão de um núcleo composto estatisticamente equilibrado, assim como por cálculos de modelos teóricos. Os números atômicos e os de massa dos produtos de reação e dos resíduos de evaporação foram identificados usando-se duas câmaras de ionização e um sistema de tempo de voo. / Cross sections for fusion, strongly energy-damped processes and elastic scattering were measured for the 16 ,17, 18O + 10 11B and 19F + 9Be systems in the energy range 22 ELAB 64 HeV. Evidence that the fully energy-damped binary products observed in these reactions originate from a fusion-fission process, rather than through a deep-inelastic orbiting mechanism, is presented. The relative importance of the fusion-fission process in these very light systems is supported by experimental results which points towards the fission of a statistically equilibrated compound nucleus and also by model calculations. Charges and masses of the reaction products and evaporation residues were indentified using two ionization chamber and a time-of-flight system.

Medidas das seções de choque de fusão, de processos fortemente amortecidos e de espalhamento elástico foram realizadas para os sistemas 16,17,18O + 10,11B e 19F + 9Be no intervalo de energia de bombardeio compreendido entre 22 ELAB64 Mev. São apresentadas evidências de que processos binários fortemente amortecidos observados nestes sistemas originam-se preferencialmente de um processo de fusão-fissão e não de um mecanismo de orbiting dinuclear. A importância relativa do processo de fusão-fissão nestes sistemas muito leves é comprovada pelos resultados experimentais, que indicam a ocorrência de um processo de fissão de um núcleo composto estatisticamente equilibrado, assim como por cálculos de modelos teóricos. Os números atômicos e os de massa dos produtos de reação e dos resíduos de evaporação foram identificados usando-se duas câmaras de ionização e um sistema de tempo de voo. / Cross sections for fusion, strongly energy-damped processes and elastic scattering were measured for the 16 ,17, 18O + 10 11B and 19F + 9Be systems in the energy range 22 ELAB 64 HeV. Evidence that the fully energy-damped binary products observed in these reactions originate from a fusion-fission process, rather than through a deep-inelastic orbiting mechanism, is presented. The relative importance of the fusion-fission process in these very light systems is supported by experimental results which points towards the fission of a statistically equilibrated compound nucleus and also by model calculations. Charges and masses of the reaction products and evaporation residues were indentified using two ionization chamber and a time-of-flight system.