Thesis (M.M.A.S.)--School of Advanced Airpower Studies, 1995. / Subject: Cheap access to space. Cover page date: [1995]. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

A Astrobiologia é uma área de pesquisa crescente no Brasil, na qual se estuda o fenômeno da vida no Universo. Um de seus subtemas estuda as bioassinaturas: substâncias que evidenciam da presença de vida, passada ou presente. Foram investigadas em laboratório a detectabilidade de biomoléculas, que são potenciais bioassinaturas moleculares, e a fotoestabilidade de suas assinaturas espectroscópicas em ambientes extraterrestres simulados. Os experimentos foram baseados em irradiações no ultravioleta, que é a principal faixa da radiação solar responsável pela evolução e degradação de moléculas orgânicas em ambientes espaciais. Um maior foco foi dado aos pigmentos biológicos β-caroteno e clorofila a, os quais foram irradiados puros e/ou misturados a diferentes substratos inorgânicos, mimetizando superfícies de planetas rochosos, satélites e asteroides. Foram utilizadas as instalações do Laboratório Nacional de Luz Síncrotron (LNLS), em especial a linha de luz TGM, na faixa do UV, VUV e EUV, e também lâmpadas de baixa pressão que emitem na faixa do UVC. Na Câmara de Simulação Espacial e Planetária (AstroCam), do Núcleo de Pesquisa em Astrobiologia da USP (NAP/Astrobio), diversos parâmetros ambientais foram controlados para simular as condições da superfície de Marte. E balões de alta-altitude foram utilizados para testar a resposta de biomoléculas na estratosfera, cujas condições são similares às da superfície marciana, além de validar experimentos que podem ser enviados em missões espaciais. As mudanças nas respostas espectroscópicas das biomoléculas foram medidas por absorbância no UV-Vis e no IR e por espalhamento Raman, algumas in situ e em tempo real e outras ex situ. As técnicas provaram ser adequadas para esses estudos pois forneceram informações sobre as fotoestabilidades das respostas espectroscópicas das biomoléculas, permitindo testar seus potenciais como bioassinaturas em diferentes superfícies do Sistema Solar. Os resultados também podem contribuir para missões espaciais, dando suporte ao desenvolvimento e otimização de técnicas e procedimentos para estudar os efeitos da exposição de biomoléculas a ambientes espaciais reais – em missões de pequeno porte e baixo custo, como CubeSats –, e até mesmo para a detecção de bioassinaturas em superfícies planetárias extraterrestres. / Astrobiology is a growing research area Brazil, which studies the phenomenon of life in the Universe. One of its sub-themes studies biosignatures: substances which evidence the presence of life, past or present. The detectability of biomolecules, which are potential molecular biosignatures, and the photostability of their spectroscopic signatures in simulated extraterrestrial environments were investigated in laboratory. The experiments were based on irradiations in the ultraviolet, which is the main range of solar radiation responsible for the evolution and degradation of organic molecules in space environments. The research was focused in the biological pigments β-carotene and chlorophyll a, which were irradiated in both pure form and/or mixed with different inorganic substrates, mimicking the surfaces of rocky planets, satellites and asteroids. The facilities of the Brazilian Synchrotron Light Laboratory (LNLS) were used, especially the TGM beamline in the UV, VUV and EUV range, as well as low pressure lamps emitting in the UVC range. In the Space and Planetary Simulation Chamber (AstroCam) of the Astrobiology Research Unit of USP, several environmental parameters were controlled to simulate the surface conditions of Mars. And high-altitude balloons were used to test the response of biomolecules in the stratosphere, where the conditions are similar to those of the Martian surface, in addition to validate experiments which can be sent in space missions. Changes in the biomolecules spectroscopic responses were measured by UV-Vis and IR absorbance and by Raman scattering, either in situ and in real time or ex situ. The techniques proved to be adequate for these studies, since they provided information on the photostability of the biomolecules spectroscopic responses, allowing the testing of their potential as biosignatures on different surfaces of the Solar System. The results can also contribute to space missions, supporting the development and optimization of techniques and procedures, both for the exposure of biomolecules to real space environments – in small and low-cost missions, such as CubeSats –, as well as for the actual detection of biosignatures on extraterrestrial planetary surfaces.

Thesis (M.M.A.S.)--School of Advanced Airpower Studies, 1995. / Subject: Whether spacepower's limitations are predominantly inherent to the space environment or are self-imposed by the current US approach to space. Cover page date: [1995]. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Les débris spatiaux constituent une menace pour l'exploration et l'exploitation de l'espace. Leur nombre ne cesse d'augmenter et continuera à grandir même si on arrête toute activité spatiale, augmentant ainsi la probabilité d'entrer en collision avec un satellite actif. Le retrait des débris s'avère le seul moyen de protéger ces satellites. Le nombre des débris spatiaux étant très élevé, il convient préalablement de repérer les plus dangereux.Dans la première partie de la thèse, nous avons élaboré une approche multicritère afin de classer les débris selon leur degré de priorité d'enlèvement. Les débris de la classe la plus prioritaire, feront l'objet d'une mission spatiale de retrait de débris.La planification d'une telle mission est étudiée dans la deuxième partie de la thèse. Elle doit être réalisée en minimisant deux critères : le coût de la mission ainsi que la durée nécessaire pour traiter tous les débris. / Space debris are a threat for the space exploitation and exploration. Their number will continue to increase even if we stop all space activities, making collisions between debris and operational satellites more likely to happen. Debris removal proves necessary to protect active satellites. Since the number of space debris is very high, we should first deal with the most dangerous ones.In the first part of this thesis, we have developed a multicriteria approach to categorize debris depending on their removal priority degree. Debris belonging to the most urgent category will be dealt with during a space mission. The planning of such a space mission is studied in the second part of this thesis.The planning should be designed while optimizing two criteria: mission cost and mission duration.

A Astrobiologia é uma área de pesquisa crescente no Brasil, na qual se estuda o fenômeno da vida no Universo. Um de seus subtemas estuda as bioassinaturas: substâncias que evidenciam da presença de vida, passada ou presente. Foram investigadas em laboratório a detectabilidade de biomoléculas, que são potenciais bioassinaturas moleculares, e a fotoestabilidade de suas assinaturas espectroscópicas em ambientes extraterrestres simulados. Os experimentos foram baseados em irradiações no ultravioleta, que é a principal faixa da radiação solar responsável pela evolução e degradação de moléculas orgânicas em ambientes espaciais. Um maior foco foi dado aos pigmentos biológicos β-caroteno e clorofila a, os quais foram irradiados puros e/ou misturados a diferentes substratos inorgânicos, mimetizando superfícies de planetas rochosos, satélites e asteroides. Foram utilizadas as instalações do Laboratório Nacional de Luz Síncrotron (LNLS), em especial a linha de luz TGM, na faixa do UV, VUV e EUV, e também lâmpadas de baixa pressão que emitem na faixa do UVC. Na Câmara de Simulação Espacial e Planetária (AstroCam), do Núcleo de Pesquisa em Astrobiologia da USP (NAP/Astrobio), diversos parâmetros ambientais foram controlados para simular as condições da superfície de Marte. E balões de alta-altitude foram utilizados para testar a resposta de biomoléculas na estratosfera, cujas condições são similares às da superfície marciana, além de validar experimentos que podem ser enviados em missões espaciais. As mudanças nas respostas espectroscópicas das biomoléculas foram medidas por absorbância no UV-Vis e no IR e por espalhamento Raman, algumas in situ e em tempo real e outras ex situ. As técnicas provaram ser adequadas para esses estudos pois forneceram informações sobre as fotoestabilidades das respostas espectroscópicas das biomoléculas, permitindo testar seus potenciais como bioassinaturas em diferentes superfícies do Sistema Solar. Os resultados também podem contribuir para missões espaciais, dando suporte ao desenvolvimento e otimização de técnicas e procedimentos para estudar os efeitos da exposição de biomoléculas a ambientes espaciais reais – em missões de pequeno porte e baixo custo, como CubeSats –, e até mesmo para a detecção de bioassinaturas em superfícies planetárias extraterrestres. / Astrobiology is a growing research area Brazil, which studies the phenomenon of life in the Universe. One of its sub-themes studies biosignatures: substances which evidence the presence of life, past or present. The detectability of biomolecules, which are potential molecular biosignatures, and the photostability of their spectroscopic signatures in simulated extraterrestrial environments were investigated in laboratory. The experiments were based on irradiations in the ultraviolet, which is the main range of solar radiation responsible for the evolution and degradation of organic molecules in space environments. The research was focused in the biological pigments β-carotene and chlorophyll a, which were irradiated in both pure form and/or mixed with different inorganic substrates, mimicking the surfaces of rocky planets, satellites and asteroids. The facilities of the Brazilian Synchrotron Light Laboratory (LNLS) were used, especially the TGM beamline in the UV, VUV and EUV range, as well as low pressure lamps emitting in the UVC range. In the Space and Planetary Simulation Chamber (AstroCam) of the Astrobiology Research Unit of USP, several environmental parameters were controlled to simulate the surface conditions of Mars. And high-altitude balloons were used to test the response of biomolecules in the stratosphere, where the conditions are similar to those of the Martian surface, in addition to validate experiments which can be sent in space missions. Changes in the biomolecules spectroscopic responses were measured by UV-Vis and IR absorbance and by Raman scattering, either in situ and in real time or ex situ. The techniques proved to be adequate for these studies, since they provided information on the photostability of the biomolecules spectroscopic responses, allowing the testing of their potential as biosignatures on different surfaces of the Solar System. The results can also contribute to space missions, supporting the development and optimization of techniques and procedures, both for the exposure of biomolecules to real space environments – in small and low-cost missions, such as CubeSats –, as well as for the actual detection of biosignatures on extraterrestrial planetary surfaces.

Le contexte général des travaux de recherche de cette thèse concerne les problématiques liées à l’optimisation glob-ale liée à la conception des futurs satellites d’observation terrestre et de missions scientifiques, nécessitantune très haute stabilité en pointage (capacité du satellite à garder son point de visée). Plus particulièrement,les travaux concernent le contrôle actif des modes micro-vibratoires.Dans une mission satellitaire d’observation terrestre, la qualité des images dépend bien évidemmentdes instruments de mesure optique (diamètre du miroir, aberrations optiques et qualité du polissage)mais également des performances de la stabilité de la ligne de visée du satellite qui peut s’avérer dégradéepour cause de micro-vibrations. La présence de ces micro-vibrations est liée aux divers éléments tournantdu satellite tels que les mécanismes de rotation des panneaux solaires ou de contrôle d’orientation dusatellite (on parle de contrôle d’attitude réalisé au moyen de roues inertielles).Le contrôle des micro-vibrations représentent ainsi un défit technologique, conduisant l’ESA et les ac-teurs industriels du monde spatial, a considéré cette problématique comme hautement prioritaire pour ledéveloppement des satellites d’observation terrestre nouvelle génération.Il existe à l’heure actuelle deux principes fondamentaux de contrôle des micro-vibrations :• le contrôle dit passif: la stratégie consiste à introduire des dispositions constructives et des matériauxparticuliers permettant de minimiser la transmission des vibrations à l’environnement.• le contrôle dit actif : le concept de contrôle actif des vibrations est tout autre : l’idée est cette fois-ci,de bloquer la micro-vibration en exerçant une vibration antagoniste créée artificiellement avec despropriétés en opposition, à tout instant, relativement à la vibration indésirable, pour rendre nulleleur somme.L’industrie spatiale aborde cette problématique en plaçant des isolateurs en élastomère au voisinage dechaque source de micro-vibrations. Cette solution, qui a fait ses preuves puisqu’elle équipe actuelle-ment nombre de satellites en orbite, permet de rejeter nombre de micro-vibrations. Malheureusement,la demande de plus en plus importante de grande stabilité de la ligne de visée pour les futures missionsd’observation terrestres telles que les missions GAIA rend l’approche passive insuffisante.L’ESA et Airbus Defence and Space, ont donc collaborer conjointement avec l’équipe ARIA au travers decette thèse, dans des travaux de recherche dans le domaine du contrôle actif pour palier ces problèmes.L’objectif visé est de coupler les approches passives et actives afin de rejeter à la fois les micro-vibrations enhautes fréquences (approche passive existant) et en basses fréquences (approche active objet des travauxde la thèse) / Next generation satellite missions will have to meet extremely challenging pointing stability requirements. Even low levels of vibration can introduce enough jitter in the optical elements to cause a significant reduction in image quality. The success of these projects is therefore constrained by the ability of on-board vibration isolation and optical control techniques to keep stable the structural elements of the spacecraft in the presence of external and internal disturbances.In this context, the research work presented in this thesis combines the expertise of the European Space Agency (ESA), the industry (Airbus Defence and Space) and the IMS laboratory (laboratoire de l’Intégration du Matériau au Système) with the aim of developing new generation of robust microvibration isolation systems for future space observation missions. More precisely, the thesis presents the development of an Integrated Modeling, Control and Analysis framework in which to conduct advanced studies related to reaction wheel microvibration mitigation.The thesis builds upon the previous research conducted by Airbus Defence and Space and ESA on the use of mixed active/passive microvibration mitigation techniques and provides a complete methodology for the uncertainty modeling, robust control system design and worst-case analysis of such systems for a typical satellite observation mission. It is shown how disturbances produced by mechanical spinning devices such as reaction wheels can be significantly attenuated in order to improve the pointing stability of the spacecraft even in the presence of model uncertainty and other nonlinear phenomenon.Finally, the work introduces a new disturbance model for the multi harmonic perturbation spectrum produced by spinning reaction wheels that is suitable for both controller synthesis and worst-case analysis using modern robust control tools. This model is exploited to provide new ways of simulating the image distortions induced by such disturbances.

Dans un contexte bipolaire Est-Ouest, l’accord de coopération spatiale franco-soviétique conclu lors de la détente demande la réalisation de programmes spatiaux engageant l’action des scientifiques. Cette recherche étudie les interactions entre les politiques publiques et la capacité d’agir des organismes délégués et des réseaux scientifiques en France et en URSS entre 1966 et 1988. L’analyse vise à appréhender la capacité des acteurs à répondre aux objectifs assignés à cette politique de coopération. L’objectif diplomatique vise à « dépasser l’affrontement entre les deux blocs » lancé en 1966 sur le long terme, faisant de la coopération bilatérale un instrument de diplomatie scientifique, et l’objectif visant à matérialiser la relation sous forme de projets spatiaux automatiques et de missions de vols habités. Des réseaux de scientifiques russes et français contribuent à l’internationalisation des sciences, comme le montrent en 1986 le projet VEGA et les missions de vols habités PVH et Aragatz. La manière dont ces objectifs interfèrent avec des facteurs structurels externes met en lumière la capacité des acteurs à établir une gouvernance au moyen d’une communication innovante, formelle et informelle. Dans un contexte de relations internationales parfois tendues, la démonstration de cette aptitude renforce le champ de la diplomatie spatiale. Il s’agira de contribuer à une histoire croisée de la coopération spatiale en France et en URSS. L’ambition est de rendre compte, par l’analyse des interactions des réseaux scientifiques du spatial avec le politique et dans le contexte des relations internationales des Etats, de leur capacité à coopérer en situation concurrentielle. Cette démarche entend contribuer à la relecture d’une séquence de la guerre froide que l’historiographie récente revisite par les circulations Est-Ouest. / In the East-West bipolar context, a Franco-Soviet space cooperation agreement demanding the implementation of space programs involving the work of scientists was concluded in 1966. This thesis examines the interactions between the public politics applied in centralised institutions between 1966 and 1988, and the capacity of delegated bodies and scientific networks in France and the USSR to act in a situation characterized by periods of retraction and détente.The analysis draws on the role of politics of cooperation having two distinct objectives: the superior and long-term political goal of "overcoming the confrontation of the two blocs" launched in 1966, for which bilateral cooperation becomes the instrument of scientific diplomacy, and the objective to materialise the relationship in the form of joint robotic space and human spaceflight projects. The way in which these objectives are influenced by external factors highlights the capability of actors to establish a system of governance through innovative formal and informal communication. In a context of sometimes tense international relations, the demonstration of this aptitude reinforces the field of a space diplomacy. This work will contribute to an intertwined history of space cooperation between France and the USSR. The ambition is to account for their ability to collaborate in a competitive situation by analysing the interactions between scientific networks in space and politics intertwined with international relations between the states.This approach aims to contribute to the re-reading of a sequence of the Cold War that recent historiography revisits through East-West circulations.

The thesis focuses on psychosocial dynamics of teams in isolation and its development over time. Literature review summarises various psychosocial and psychological aspects of human coexistence in extreme environments. It includes the risks and psychological countermeasures, description of stressors and other challenges, the intragroup issues and their development over time. It puts emphasis on defining the most challenging parts of missions and tries to identify patterns. Additionally, the relationship between the crew and MCC is addressed. The literature review is followed by a study focused on the development of intragroup relations and the crew-MCC relations in two analogue missions, Lunar Expedition-0 and Lunar Expedition-1. The research design consisted of a questionnaire, an interview with the whole crew, and the individual interviews with all respective astronauts. Additionally, a new visualization method, Dotty Overview of Team Interactions (DOTI), has been created as a part of this research. DOTI was described and used to visualize the data relating mutual interactions among the crewmembers. All of the results are presented, described and discussed. Keywords: team dynamics, crew, analogue space missions, interactions, relationship between crew and mission control

As reconfigurable devices' capacities and the complexity of applications that use them increase, the need for self-reliance of deployed systems becomes increasingly prominent. A Sustainable Modular Adaptive Redundancy Technique (SMART) composed of a dual-layered organic system is proposed, analyzed, implemented, and experimentally evaluated. SMART relies upon a variety of self-regulating properties to control availability, energy consumption, and area used, in dynamically-changing environments that require high degree of adaptation. The hardware layer is implemented on a Xilinx Virtex-4 Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) to provide self-repair using a novel approach called a Reconfigurable Adaptive Redundancy System (RARS). The software layer supervises the organic activities within the FPGA and extends the self-healing capabilities through application-independent, intrinsic, evolutionary repair techniques to leverage the benefits of dynamic Partial Reconfiguration (PR). A SMART prototype is evaluated using a Sobel edge detection application. This prototype is shown to provide sustainability for stressful occurrences of transient and permanent fault injection procedures while still reducing energy consumption and area requirements. An Organic Genetic Algorithm (OGA) technique is shown capable of consistently repairing hard faults while maintaining correct edge detector outputs, by exploiting spatial redundancy in the reconfigurable hardware. A Monte Carlo driven Continuous Markov Time Chains (CTMC) simulation is conducted to compare SMART's availability to industry-standard Triple Modular Technique (TMR) techniques. Based on nine use cases, parameterized with realistic fault and repair rates acquired from publically available sources, the results indicate that availability is significantly enhanced by the adoption of fast repair techniques targeting aging-related hard-faults. Under harsh environments, SMART is shown to improve system availability from 36.02% with lengthy repair techniques to 98.84% with fast ones. This value increases to "five nines" (99.9998%) under relatively more favorable conditions. Lastly, SMART is compared to twenty eight standard TMR benchmarks that are generated by the widely-accepted BL-TMR tools. Results show that in seven out of nine use cases, SMART is the recommended technique, with power savings ranging from 22% to 29%, and area savings ranging from 17% to 24%, while still maintaining the same level of availability.

<p dir="ltr">Deep-space extraterrestrial missions require operating, supporting, and maintaining complex habitat systems at light minutes from Earth.</p><p dir="ltr">These habitation systems operate in harsh, unforgiving environments, will be sparsely crewed, and must be more autonomous than current space habitats, as communication delays will severely constrain Earth-based support.</p><p dir="ltr">Long-duration missions, limited knowledge of the extraterrestrial environment, and the need for self-sufficiency make these habitats vulnerable to a wide range of risks and failures, many of which are impossible to premeditate.</p><p dir="ltr">Therefore, it is necessary to design these systems to be resilient to faults and failures, thoughtfully designed to be situationally aware of their operational state and engage control mechanisms that maintain safe operations when migrating towards unsafe regions of operation.</p><p dir="ltr">Resilience-oriented design of such systems requires a holistic systems approach that represents the system's dynamic behavior, its control-oriented behaviors, and the interactions between them as it navigates through regions of safe and unsafe operations.</p><p dir="ltr">Only through this integrated approach can we fully understand how the system will behave under various conditions and design controls to prevent performance loss and ensure resilient operations.</p><p dir="ltr">Systems health management (SHM) is a key component for the resilience-oriented design of extraterrestrial habitats.</p><p dir="ltr">SHM capabilities enable intelligent autonomous control capabilities that can:</p><p dir="ltr">a) sense, diagnose, and isolate the root causes of anomalies,</p><p dir="ltr">b) predict how the system's behavior may evolve, and</p><p dir="ltr">c) select and execute recovery actions to restore system performance when appropriate.</p><p dir="ltr">Modern SHM technologies increasingly rely on intelligent autonomous control capabilities to manage system health and adapt behavior to maintain system performance.</p><p dir="ltr">This is achieved through complex nonlinear informational dependencies and control feedback loops that are difficult to design and verify using traditional risk assessment and resilience engineering methods.</p><p dir="ltr">This research contributes to enhancing the conceptual and preliminary design phases for developing resilient complex systems with embedded intelligent control-oriented behaviors.</p><p dir="ltr">It presents the required systems engineering tools and frameworks, enabling us to study the dynamic behavior of systems as they approach and recover from unsafe operations.</p><p dir="ltr">Further, it demonstrates how these tools and frameworks can quantify and gain insights into system resilience and support engineering decisions.</p><p dir="ltr">The work is contextualized within the broader systems engineering approach for designing complex, resilient extraterrestrial habitation systems.</p>