The motivation of the thesis is to decrease the time waste that is caused by repetitive processes during the first phase analyses of new launcher projects. Currently, the feasibility check of a launcher project consumes time and effort due to the communication traffic between many disciplines. The thesis provides a tool that performs the first analyses of custom launchers without the need of CAD modelling of the components. 3D Launcher Architecture Tool is developed to be able to analyze many different launcher architectures for advanced projects within a short time. To achieve that, a graphical user interface is developed that performs mass, center of gravity, and moments of inertia calculations; visualizes the launcher components with respect to the user’s input; and exports the data as text file that can be used in CATIA to autonomously model parts according to the output parameters from the tool. Even though there are comparable existing tools, none of them found 100% suitable for the ArianeGroup’s usage; thus, 3D Future Launcher Architecture Tool is created. It is capable of performing the fundamentally specified features, yet highly open for improvements.

This thesis investigates what design of a large UAV performing VTOL using only electrical motors is the most viable in terms of extending its range. Because it uses batteries for power, its powered time is limited, posing the need for a way of extending its flight time. By using a tiltwing design, its vertical flight time is cut at the same time as it will be able to perform as a glider, increasing its range drastically. To achieve the best lift-to-drag ratio, the high-lift F3B RG15-airfoil was chosen, giving the UAV a lift-to-drag ratio of 36,48, and a maximum range per descend glide of approximately 25,5 kilometers. The fuselage will be a simple, aerodynamic body just big enough to hold the batteries and the load while giving the wing the ability to tilt without interfering with the rotors. The material used in this thesis comes from a company which produces high-strength carbon fiber tubes and rods as well as a 3k twill weave carbon fiber prepreg for the skin, making the structure as light and strong as possible. The result is an aircraft with a structural weight of 56,6 kilograms that is strong enough to lift with a combined weight of 495 kilograms and at the same time perform a safe glide flight.

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No description available.

Abstract Aircraft maintenance within the aviation industry is an essential part as the purpose is to maintain the aircrafts built-in security and reliability levels. Aircraft require approved and straightforward maintenance to ensure safe operation and airworthiness. The maintenance program's intention is to ensure that a function operates properly despite an uncertain environment. During flights, aircraft are exposed to a large number of loads, which causes components and parts to be affected negatively. Because of this, a maintenance program is presented, the program tries to constantly detect and correct any potential errors before a functional error occurs. This degree project is about finding out about the pros and cons of extending or shortening the maintenance interval within the aircraft maintenance program. In addition, the purpose is to draw conclusions about how airline, aircraft turbine performance and age are related to extension or shortening of this maintenance interval. The dissertation was written at the Academy of Innovation, Design and Technology at Mälardalens högskola, Västerås. The work process was carried out in several steps. The first step was to deepen the knowledge within the field and understand the maintenance program. This was done through literature studies and information gathering on the subject. The second step was to analyze and process the general information and answers from the interview questions. The work included the advantages and disadvantages caused by extension or shortening of maintenance intervals without affecting the reliability that maintenance requirements ensure. / Sammanfattning Underhåll av flygplan inom en flygverksamhet är en väsentlig del då avsikten är att bevara planets inbyggda säkerhets- och tillförlitlighetsnivåer. Flygplan kräver ett godkänt och rätthanterligt underhåll för att det ska kunna opereras på ett säkert samt luftvärdigt sätt. Underhållsprogrammets avsikt är att garantera att en funktion opererar korrekt trots en osäker miljö. Under flygningar utsätts flygplan för ett stort antal belastningar vilket leder till att komponenter och delar påverkas negativt. Ett underhållprogram försöker ständigt hitta och uträtta potentiella fel innan det uppstår ett funktionellt fel. Detta examensarbete handlar om att ta reda på vilka för- och nackdelar det finns med att förlänga eller förkorta underhållsintervall inom flygets underhållsprogram. Syftet är dessutom att dra slutsatser angående om hur flygbolag, flygplanets motorprestanda och ålder har ett samband vid förlängning eller förkortning av detta underhållsintervall. Examensarbetet skrevs på akademin för Innovation, Design och Teknik vid Mälardalens högskola, Västerås. Arbetsprocessen utfördes i flera olika steg. Första steget i arbetet var att fördjupa sig inom området och förstå sig på flygets underhållsprogram. Detta gjordes med hjälp av litteraturstudie och informationsinsamling inom ämnet. Därefter bearbetades den insamlade informationen och svaren från intervjufrågorna till arbetets resultat. Arbetet resulterade bland annat till vilka för- och nackdelar som medförs genom att förlänga eller förkorta underhållsintervallen utan att det påverkar driftsäkerheten som underhållskraven säkerställer.

In this Master Thesis, numerical models of ADCS components are performed. The models will be used in the design of the first 3U CubeSat of the CSU Montpellier, the ROBUSTA 3-A. The goal of the thesis is to develop numerical models of angular rate sensors and reaction wheels and to obtain relevant information of these components in the context of the R-3A mission. Firstly, the state-of-the-art of models are outlined, and the most suitable are chosen. Secondly, assumptions are made, and the models are implemented. Next, the models are parametrized for specific elements to be used on R-3A. Lastly, the models are validated and simulated. The results of simulations confirm a choice of the CoTS components for the R3A mission. Besides, the results provide information about system performance parameters such as RW acceleration time, maximum satellite speed, and attitude knowledge accuracy in eclipse.

The main purpose of this research is to understand various aspects of the solar wind plasma interaction with the Earth's Moon by the means of kinetic computer simulations. The Moon is essentially a non-conducting object, that has a tenuous atmosphere and no global magnetic field. Then the solar wind plasma impacts the lunar surface, where it is absorbed or neutralized for the most part. On average about 10% of the solar wind protons reflect in charge form from lunar crustal magnetization and up to 20% reflect from the lunar surface as neutral atoms.First we consider the Moon to be a perfect plasma absorber and we study the global effects of the solar wind plasma interaction with the Moon using a three-dimensional self-consistent hybrid model. We show that due to the plasma absorption in the lunar dayside, a void region forms behind the Moon and a plasma wake forms downstream. Then we study different parameters that control the lunar wake, discuss various mechanisms that fill in the wake, and compare our simulations with observations. We also discuss the effects of lunar surface plasma absorption on the solar wind proton velocity space distribution at close distances to the Moon in the lunar wake. Moreover, we show that three current systems form in the wake that enhance the magnetic fields in the central wake, depress the fields in the surrounding areas, and confine the fields and plasma perturbations within a Mach cone. Finally we study the effects of protons reflected from lunar crustal magnetic fields on the global lunar plasma environment. We show that the reflected protons interact with the solar wind plasma, compress the fields and plasma upstream in the lunar dayside and downstream outside the Mach cone. The conclusion of this thesis work is that the solar wind plasma interaction with the Moon is dynamic and complex. This is, however, due to the kinetic nature of this interaction because of the scales of the interaction regions where the Magnetohydrodynamics (fluid) approach cannot address the detailed physics. This reveals the importance of kinetic modeling to understand this interaction. The results of this study will feed forward to human space exploration, kinetic theories of plasma interaction with airless bodies, and fundamental plasma physics processes. / Godkänd; 2014; 20140325 (shafat); Nedanstående person kommer att disputera för avläggande av teknologie doktorsexamen. Namn: Shahab Fatemi Ämne: Rymdteknik/Space Technology Avhandling: Kinetic Modeling of the Solar Wind Plasma Interaction with the Moon Opponent: Lektor Geraint Jones, Mullard Space Science Laboratory, Department of Space & Climate Physics, University College London, Dorking, Surrey Ordförande: Docent Mats Holmström, Avd för rymdteknik, Institutionen för system- och rymdteknik, Luleå tekniska universitet/Institutet för rymdfysik, Kiruna Tid: Torsdag den 22 maj 2014, kl 10.00 Plats: Aula, Institutet för rymdfysik, campus Kiruna, Luleå tekniska universitet

How an aircraft performs its approach and descent towards an airport today has got big potential for improvements. It's mainly the environmental impact and safety that can, and must, be improved for a sustainable future in aviation. "Green Approaches" is a small, yet relatively well-known, optimized approach system mainly used by Scandinavian Airlines on Arlanda airport. Unfortunately "Green Approaches" aren't used often enough, due to the simple reason that it doesn't work very well during heavy traffic. Luckily further research is being done in this field to further optimize an aircraft’s approach. As of today, the most forward going research is being done by the FAA and NASA, and their new system is called NextGen OPD. The system is not fully developed yet but their goals are, as previously mentioned, to optimize today's aircraft approach. In this report the focus will also be set on improving aircraft approaches, although not by optimizing today’s system like the FAA and NASA. Instead, a whole new concept of how aircraft approach airports will be developed. The reason that a brand new concept will be developed is simple, optimizing today's aging system will not be sustainable for the future. Also, optimizing an aging system has its limits. By designing a whole new concept, a steady ground will be laid and it shall be sustainable for the coming century's technology. The new concept will be called ”C.C.D.D.”, Computer Controlled Direct Descent, and will have a lot of goals and expectations to fulfill. As hinted in the name, the new concept is built on the idea that a computer will be controlling the whole approach, and therefore the "Human factor" will more or less be eliminated. Although the main purpose of a new approach system is to decrease the negative environmental impact, by decreasing the fuel consumption during the approach. The new concept will also decrease the noise an aircraft makes during the descent and increase the possibility for a greater traffic flow in the airport’s airspace. The end result will be a "win-win" for everyone involved. An environmentally friendly aircraft approach is necessary for a sustainable future in aviation. C.C.D.D. is a system that will pay for itself with time, because of the decreased fuel consumption for airliners. The system also has the ability to be expanded to computer control departing aircrafts, due to the systems highly computerized structure and integration with airplanes autopilot.

The main objective of this thesis was to improve the simulation model of a subscale fighter demonstratorthat had been developed previously. In order to give a reliable result, the simulation model should be modeled correctly and employ accurate input. To fulfill this objective two approaches was performed, the first was by providing the aerodynamic derivatives database in order to be implemented  in the simulation model, and the second process is to improve the propulsion module of the  simulation model. The aerodynamic database was generated by several VLM and panel  method software, namely Tornado, VSPAero and XFLR5, which uses subscale fighter  demonstrator called Generic Future Fighter  (GFF) as the aircraft model. The results from  different methods and software were then compared first before it was implemented to the  simulation model. The second process includesenhancing the propulsion model and implementation of the aerodynamic database.The propulsion model enhancement covers the improvement of thrust modeling and development of fuel consumption model. Additionally, the aerodynamic database implementation was executed by connecting the  external sets of the database into the simulation  model automatically. The verification process  was performed by comparing the result of the simulation model against recorded flight data, also by comparing the improved and the  previous simulation model result to see the effect of improvement that was carried out. Using the improved model of engine thrust and fuel consumption model, the propulsion module can produce a reliable outcome of forces and   moments computation. Moreover, theimplementation of the aerodynamic database  also gives a significant improvement in the simulation model result.

The use of advanced small-satellite platforms has become increasingly more popular in the recent years. Several private companies are investing enormous capital into constellations of small satellites that are designed to provide highly data-intensive global services, such as rapid Earth imaging or fast worldwide Internet access. The scientific community is also interested in the development of miniature and high throughput platforms, for instance in the area of microwave radiometry or hyperspectral imaging. The current state of the art nanosatellite radio frequency (RF) communications systems struggle to keep up with the increasing downlink demand and satellite data processing capabilities. Laser communications (lasercom) offers various advantages: increased bandwidth, smaller size, weight, power consumption, and a license-free spectrum. While the narrow beamwidths allow lasercom to achieve higher data rates than RF, they, however, also result in higher pointing requirements for the spacecraft. Precision laser pointing systems have been successfully demonstrated on bigger satellites, but not on a nanosatellite scale, where the size and weight constraints are so severe. The Nanosatellite Optical Downlink Experiment (NODE) developed at MIT is a lasercom terminal designed to demonstrate the technologies required for a high-speed optical downlink using commercial off-the-shelf components within the constraints of a typical 3U CubeSat. NODE augments the bus attitude control system with a compact fine laser pointing stage to compensate for the spacecraft body pointing error. This thesis focuses on the development and laboratory verification of the laser pointing system for NODE. A control scheme utilizing a miniature fast steering mirror (FSM) used to track a beacon uplink signal from the ground station is presented. An on-orbit FSM calibration algorithm is developed to improve the control robustness and precision. A novel sampling approach that enables closed-loop FSM control is proposed and implemented. The method focuses on simultaneous sampling of the beacon and an internal feedback signal on a single detector. Finally, a hardware-in-the-loop testbed is built in the laboratory with components that were selected for NODE, and the system is functionally verified and analyzed with regards to pointing accuracy. Experimental results show that the pointing requirements given by the mission link budget are met, and that the system performs reliably under various laboratory-simulated conditions.