This thesis focuses on the design and implementation of a software system enabling out-of-core rendering of multiple map datasets mapped on virtual globes around our solar system. Challenges such as precision, accuracy, curvature and massive datasets were considered. The result is a globe visualization software using a chunked level of detail approach for rendering. The software can render texture layers of various sorts to aid in scientific visualization on top of height mapped geometry, yielding accurate visualizations rendered at interactive frame rates. The project was conducted at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), New York and serves the goal of implementing a planetary visualization software to aid in public presentations and bringing space science to the public. The work is part of the development of the software OpenSpace, which is the result of a collaboration between Linköping University, AMNH and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) among others.

Aufgrund des Mißerfolges der Mars Observer Mission 1992 und allgemeiner sinkender Raumfahrtetats, entwickelte NASA 1995 die „Faster Better Cheaper“ (FBC) Philosophie. Diese sah vor, daß planetare Missionen innerhalb eines kurzen Zeitraumes und mit begrenzten Budgets geplant, gebaut, getestet und gestartet werden sollten. Dabei sollten neue Technologien und neue Betriebsmethoden zum Einsatz kommen. Mögliche Fehlschläge durch unerprobte Instrumente oder Prozesse wurden dabei nicht ausgeschlossen. Der Mißerfolg der Mars-Missionen im Jahr 1999 und weiterer Projekte zwangen jedoch zu einem Umdenken der „Faster Better Cheaper“ Philosophie. Eine Vielzahl von Abhandlungen und Untersuchungen wurden daraufhin veröffentlicht, die Fehler der FBC Philosophie aufzeigten, ohne dabei jedoch auf mögliche Verbesserungen einzugehen. Das Ziel dieser Arbeit besteht in der Ermittlung effektiver Maßnahmen, so daß Ressourcen während des Lebenszyklus eines Projektes optimal eingesetzt werden können. Aus der Analyse der fehlgeschlagenen Missionen und einer Erläuterung der Funktionen verschiedener planetarer Missionskonzepte, werden mögliche Maßnahmen zur Verringerung der Kosten ermittelt. Die Effektivität dieser Maßnahmen wird anhand eines Bewertungskataloges im Rahmen einer Simulation zu verschiedenen Zeitpunkten einer Mission bestimmt. Es wird dabei eine Handlungshilfe erstellt, mit der ein Projektmanager die Verteilung von Ressourcen optimieren kann. Die Systemtechnik bietet hierzu eine Vielzahl von Analyse- und Simulationsmethoden, mit der die hier gemachten Angaben bewertet und überprüft werden können. / Due to the failure of the Mars Observer Mission in 1992 and decreasing budgets, NASA developed a new philosophy for the development, design and operations called „Faster Better Cheaper“ (FBC). New technologies and new management methods were deployed to reduce lift cycle costs. Possible mission failures were expected. After the losses of the Mars Missions in 1999 and other missions, NASA was forced to rethink its FBC approach. Numerous papers have been published in the meantime which identified the mistakes of the missions and of FBC, but none have identified potential improvements. The objective of this paper is the development of potential measurements for the design of the operations of unmanned space missions that should be applied during its life cycles. A new tool in form of an EXCEL spreadsheet will be developed based on historical missions, which can be used a program manager who can allocate resources in optimal way. Systems Engineering Techniques will be used in various ways to identify problems and to measure potential improvements.

Throughout the world, there is a great demand to map out the increasing environmental changes and life habitats on Earth. The vast majority of Earth Observations today, are collected using satellites. The Global Watch Center (GWC) initiative was started with the purpose of producing a global situational awareness of the premises for all life on Earth. By collecting, studying and analyzing vast amounts of data in an automatic, scalable and transparent way, the GWC aims are to work towards reaching the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). The GWC vision is to make use of qualified accessible data together with leading organizations in order to lay the foundation of the important decisions that have the biggest potential to make an actual difference for the common awaited future. As a show-case for the initiative, the UN strategic department has recommended a specific use-case, involving mapping large accumulation of waste in areas greatly affected, which they believe will profit the initiative very much. This Master Thesis aim is, in an automatic and scalable way, to detect and classify dumpsites in Kampala, the capital of Uganda, by using available satellite imagery. The hopes are that showing technical feasibility and presenting interesting remarks will aid in spurring further interest in coming closer to a realization of the initiative. The technical approach is to use a lightweight version of Automatic Target Recognition. This is conventionally used in military applications but is here used, to detect and classify features of large accumulations of solid-waste by using techniques from the field of Image Analysis and Data Mining. Choice of data source, this study's area of interest as well as choice of methodology for Feature Extraction and choice of the Machine Learning algorithm Support Vector Machine will all be described and implemented. With a classification precision of 95 percent will technical results be presented, with the ambition to promote further work and contribute to the GWC initiative with valuable information for later realization.

<p>This essay is about the origin, planning and establishment of the European Space Research Organisation's (ESRO) sounding rocket base Esrange outside Kiruna in Northern Sweden. Three main questions are examined. First I show there were not just scientific and technical but also political, economical as well as military reasons to build a European rocket base. Second, I scrutinize the reasons to choose Northern Sweden as the location for the rocket base. As it turns out, the main reasons were the favourable location of Northern Sweden within the aurora oval zone, the proximity of the Kiruna Geophysical Observatory, and the possibility to use a large, although not quite uninhabited, area where the launched rockets could crash. Finally, I examine the difficulty of talking about boundaries of various kinds, such as temporal, spatial and functional. The essay also provides a discussion on possible ways to continue research on this topic.</p>

This essay is about the origin, planning and establishment of the European Space Research Organisation's (ESRO) sounding rocket base Esrange outside Kiruna in Northern Sweden. Three main questions are examined. First I show there were not just scientific and technical but also political, economical as well as military reasons to build a European rocket base. Second, I scrutinize the reasons to choose Northern Sweden as the location for the rocket base. As it turns out, the main reasons were the favourable location of Northern Sweden within the aurora oval zone, the proximity of the Kiruna Geophysical Observatory, and the possibility to use a large, although not quite uninhabited, area where the launched rockets could crash. Finally, I examine the difficulty of talking about boundaries of various kinds, such as temporal, spatial and functional. The essay also provides a discussion on possible ways to continue research on this topic.

Genom styrning av finansiella medel har gröna obligationer fått en viktig roll i utvecklingen mot ett miljömässigt hållbart samhälle. Extern granskning av gröna obligationer styrs idag genom frivilliga marknadsstandarder, varav GBP är den vanligaste. Dessutom har EU nyligen presenterat en egen frivillig standard med särskild tillsyn. Bättre tillgång till klimatrelaterad information samt tydliga och gemensamma definitioner av gröna aktiviteter är förutsättningar för att investerare mer effektivt ska flytta kapital till miljömässigt hållbara verksamheter för att stötta omställningen till en mindre fossilbaserad ekonomi. I den här uppsatsen visas att dagens betygsättning, olika bedömningsmetoder till trots, torde vara relativt pålitlig, men att det finns utrymme att önska högre jämförbarhet och därmed ökad investerartillit. Tydligare marknadsstandarder kan vara en viktig aspekt för att öka betygens pålitlighet allt eftersom marknaden för gröna obligationer expanderar. Analysen visar att lagstiftning som leder till ökad mängd publicerad granskning genom gröna betyg torde gynna transparensen samtidigt som ryktesrisken vid intressekonflikter bör innebära motvillighet gentemot felaktig bedömning. Samtidigt kan överdriven reglering begränsa möjligheterna för innovation, utveckling och expansion av marknaden som helhet. Det torde därmed vara i lagstiftarens intresse att inte införa alltför sträng reglering, eftersom risk att inte kunna uppnå den finansiering av klimatmålen som önskas då uppstår. Eftersom gröna obligationer är ett internationellt fenomen behöver världens länder arbeta tillsammans mot gemensamma standarder i syfte att nå klimatmålen.  I det fall tvingande reglering ska införas bör den vara på som lägst EU-nivå. För marknadsbalans mellan aktörerna och jämförbarhet mellan obligationerna är det viktigt att regleringen inte upplevs otydlig. Regleringen måste dessutom vara generell och så pass flexibel att den kan möta teknologisk utveckling och förändrade förhållanden på marknaderna utan att processen blir för långdragen. Så länge målet är att ha en europeisk kapitalmarknad där aktörerna kan tillhandahålla finansiella tjänster nationsövergripande krävs finansiell tillsyn som inte stannar vid nationsgränserna. På sikt torde Esma vara lämpligast att överse samtliga granskare av gröna obligationer verksamma på den europeiska marknaden. För detta krävs utökad reglering som ger Esma ökad behörighet såväl som ökade resurser för att effektivt kunna utföra tillsynsarbetet. / Through the management of financial resources, green bonds have received an important role in the development towards an environmentally sustainable society. External review of green bonds is today subject to voluntary market standards, of which GBP is the most common. In addition, the EU has recently presented its own voluntary standard, which includes supervision. Better access to climate-related information and clear and harmonised definitions of green activities are prerequisites for investors to move capital more efficiently to environmentally sustainable businesses to support the transition to a less fossil-based economy. With this paper it is shown that the current rating, despite different assessment methods, should be relatively reliable, but that there is room to wish for higher comparability and thus increased investor confidence. Clearer market standards can be an important aspect in increasing the reliability of ratings as the market for green bonds expands. The analysis shows that legislation that leads to an increased number of published reviews through green ratings should promote transparency, while the risk of rumors in the event of conflicts of interest should imply reluctance to make incorrect assessments. At the same time, excessive regulation may limit the opportunities for innovation, development and expansion of the market as a whole. Thus, it should be in the interest of the legislator not to introduce a regulation which is too strict, as the risk of not being able to achieve the desired financing of the climate goals then arises. As green bonds are an international phenomenon, all countries need to work together towards common standards in order to achieve the purpose of the climate goals. In the event that mandatory regulation is to be introduced, it should at least be at EU level. For market balance between the market participants as well as comparability between the bonds, it is important that the regulation is not perceived as unclear. In addition, regulation must be general and flexible enough to meet technological developments and new market conditions without the process becoming too lengthy. As long as the goal is to have a European capital market where market participants can provide financial services nationwide, financial supervision that does not stop at national borders is required. In the long run, ESMA should be the most appropriate authority to oversee all examiners of green bonds operating in the European market. This requires increased regulation that gives ESMA increased authority, as well as increased resources in order to be able to carry out the supervisory work effectively.

在政府財政困難之際，究竟引進民間資金挹注政府公共建設，為一政策良方，抑或民間融資創建 (Private Finance Initiative，簡稱 PFI) 已成為執政者窗飾公共債務數據的途徑，此一議題，近年來在英國廣為爭議，因此，「PFI之未來給付是否應認列為負債？」成為本文探討之重點。 臺灣PFI制度尚在萌芽階段，相關研究多以政策之運用為主，較少著墨於PFI可能帶來的缺失。本文藉由參考英國官方及民間出版品及訪談我國政府官員，進一步分析比較目前國際財務報導準則 (International Financial Reporting Standards，簡稱IFRS) 和1995版歐洲帳戶體系 (European System of Accounts 1995，簡稱ESA 95) 規範的差異。 經本文分析後得到，第一個結論是兩者對資產分類基礎的差異。英國政府活動有兩種不同類型的會計方法：第一種為財務報導，即現在的IFRS；另一種為國民帳戶，以ESA 95為指導規則。依財務報導的目的，係根據何者對使用基礎設施，服務規則和基礎設施於協議期間屆滿的重大剩餘權益有控制權，由於政府對PFI資產大多具有控制權，故大多數的PFI資產及相關負債將表達在公共部門的資產負債表上。若依國民帳戶，為統計的目的，則根據風險和報酬可否移轉判斷，因為政府已把風險移轉予民間，所以PFI資產及相關負債將不會在公共部門的資產負債表上表達。 本文第二個結論是英國提出政府整體帳戶 (Whole Government Accounts，簡稱WGA) 補充國民帳戶的不足。WGA根據歐盟採取IFRS，將民間部門國際通用的帳戶制度，應用或詮釋於公共部門，並補充了國民帳戶的數據。 站在財政部的立場，債限問題仍像是緊箍咒，PFI債務以不計入公共部門淨債務 (Public Sector Net Debt，簡稱PSND) 為佳。然而，為了提升財務的透明度，另外編製報表揭露PFI債務，不失為兩全之方法。反之，站在政府預算機關監督的立場，PFI債務遵循IFRS的處理規範，認列於公共部門資產負債表，乃是大勢所趨，也可替納稅人的荷包把關。

This thesis presents a solution for mission operation automation in European Space Agency’s (ESA) OPS-SAT mission. To achieve this, the ESA internal mission automation system (MATIS) in combination with the mission control software (SCOS) are used. They control the satellite and all ground peripherals and programmes to enable fully automated and unsupervised satellite passes. The goal of this work is the transition from the existing manual operation, with a human operator watching over and controlling all systems, to an automated system. This system supports the operation engineer and replaces the operator himself. A large section of this thesis consists of the setup, configuration, integration of all programmes and virtual machines and testing of the MATIS software, as well as the Service Management Framework (SMF) which connects MATIS to non-MATIS applications like SCOS. During testing, many problems could be identified, not only OPS-SAT specific ones, but also general problems applying to all missions that consider using MATIS for future operation automation. These findings and bugs discovered during testing are reported to the responsible authorities and presented in this work. Further features of this thesis are the elaborations of the mission operation automation concept and the satellite pass concept, providing an in-depth view of the automation and passes of OPS-SAT as well as the general concepts and thoughts, which can be used by other missions to accelerate integration. An additional key feature of this thesis is the newly developed standard for operation notation in Excel, which has been achieved in close cooperation with the operation engineer. Furthermore, to accelerate the process of switching from manual to automated procedures, several converters have been developed iteratively with the new standard. These converters allow fast transformation from Excel to the procedure programming language called PLUTO used by MATIS. Not only do the results and converters of this work accelerate the procedure integration by 80%, they also deliver a more stable mission automation system that can be used by other missions as well. Operation automation reduces the operational costs for satellites and space missions significantly, as well as reducing the human error to a minimum. Therefore, this thesis is the first step towards a future with complete automation in the area of satellite operations. Without this automation, future satellite cluster configurations, like Starlink from SpaceX, will not be possible to put into practice, due to their high complexity, exceeding the comprehensibility and reaction time of humans.

Diplomová práce se zabývá teoretickými výpočty a návrhem struktury pro přenos tepla, která je součástí Miniaturizovaného tepelného spínače podle zadaných požadavků Evropské Kosmické Agentury. Základními parametry jsou nízká hmotnost a vysoká tepelná vodivost. Práce navazuje na spínač navržený firmou Arescosmo, který nesplňoval požadované limity zejména v oblasti hmotnosti a tepelné vodivosti. Pomocí teoretických výpočtů hmotnosti a tepelné vodivosti bylo ověřeno 49 variant ve třech základních konceptech – Mechanická struktura, flexibilní struktura složená z drátků a foliová struktura. Z hlediska tepelné vodivosti jako nejlepší struktury vycházejí ty, které jsou založené na použití ochranných kovových opletů. Z dostupných zdrojů byly rovněž navrženy technologie, které by bylo možné využít pro výrobu těchto struktur. Pro splnění požadavků, bude v další fázi projektu nutné vyrobit experimentální vzorky na kterých budou teoretické výpočty a vybrané technologie ověřeny.

As outer space becomes more commercialized, humans have invested more time and efforts into the use and exploration of the outer space domain. Captured by the display of opportunities, space is becoming increasingly overcrowded. Currently, the only framework fully embracing the exploration and use of outer space is the Outer Space Treaty (OST), put forward by the United Nations in 1967. While the OST is detailing how space faring nations ought to peacefully use outer space as a joint arena for technological development, the discourse on outer space governance still experience some serious definitional limitations. This paper examines two interconnected deficiencies in the literature on outer space; first, the insufficient research and development of a space power theory and; second, the absence of, and the challenges in constructing and all- encompassing definition and/or delimitation of outer space. To support the discussion and to reach some definitive conclusions of the current status of these issues, a selection of historical theories and contemporary cases have been applied to enrich the debate. By identifying gaps in the literature, this paper strives to highlight some of the controversies in the outer space discourse.