This thesis is the result of a collaboration between Ericsson AB and Luleå University of Technology. A feasibility study has been conducted to investigate antenna options for the HIBS access link. The study contains two parts. Firstly, a link budget investigating the gain required from the antenna. The metric of concern in the link budget was SNR. Secondly, a wide area coverage investigation that explored coverage feasibility over an area with a radius of 100 km. The metrics of concern in this investigation were antenna gain and beamwidth. Two types of antennas have been included: parabolic reflector and phased array. Seven frequency bands have been studied: 0.7, 1.9, 2.7, 3.5, 6, 10, and 26 GHz. The first three bands shared a bandwidth of 20 MHz, the next three shared a bandwidth of 80 MHz, and the last band had a bandwidth of 100 MHz. This bandwidth difference was found to have a meaningful effect on SNR. The feasibility condition for the link budget was -6 dB SNR for uplink and 6 dB SNR for downlink. The link budget concluded that the first three bands (0.7, 1.9, and 2.7 GHz) are feasible with reasonably sized antennas. This meant a parabolic reflector dish diameter of 0.6 m for all three bands, or a phased array antenna with 4, 32, and 64 elements, respectively, that all resulted in a roughly equal physical size of the array. The 3.5 GHz frequency band was found to be feasible with a much larger antenna (512 element array). The bands above 3.5 GHz were not deemed feasible. The wide area investigation limited the antenna to a phased array antenna. Two cell layouts were considered for coverage: a 7 cell layout with one nadir cell surrounded by 6 cells and a 19 cell layout which encapsulates the former with another layer of 12 cells. The feasibility condition was that the half power beamwidth is equal to the angular size of a cell from the HIBS for each cell layer while maintaining gain. Beamwidth was controlled through array tapering and altering element configurations. This investigation concluded that coverage is feasible for two bands. In the 0.7 GHz band, the chosen option was a 7 cell layout using a single element antenna for the nadir cell and 3 by 1 arrays for the outer cells. In the 1.9 GHz band, the chosen option was a 19 cell layout with a single element antenna for the nadir cell, 5 by 1 arrays for the cells in the middle layer, and 8 by 5 arrays for the outer layer. Higher frequency bands required higher gain antennas which in turn did not provide adequate beamwidth for coverage.

This project evaluates the opportunity to convert a three-cylinder automobile piston engine (the Tiny Friendly Giant) to an aircraft engine from an environmental and practical point of view. The problem of increased emissions from aviation calls for technical and socioeconomic solutions, which is the reason why this report is written. The main goals are to choose the best fuel for the piston engine in aviation, as well as to study emissions, engine cooling and practical challenges with conversion. The structure resembles a feasibility study where the problem is solved using literature in a trade study, together with emission estimations using The Greenhouse gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Technologies Model framework and Boeing Fuel Flow Method 2. An estimation for engine cooling is done using a semiemprical method from Lycoming, showing air cooling can be sufficient for the Tiny Friendly Giant in aviation. The results furthermore show that none of the alternative automobile fuels are appropriate for use in aviation and that alternative pathways to jet fuel are more suited for high altitude. The conclusion is thus that the engine should be converted to jet fuel compatibility. To avoid large turning moment fluctuations, two-stroke can be applied. Conversion and use of the engine in aviation is not considered to be feasible because of practical limitations - instead the study concludes designing a new engine from scratch is easier and most likely quicker. The study shows that reducing carbon dioxide emissions also lead to reductions in water and sulfur- and nitrous oxides. However, the same mitigation strategy leads to increase in carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons. In general, the conclusion is that alternative fuels can significantly reduce aircraft emissions. / Detta examensarbete utvärderar möjligheten att konvertera en trecylindrig bilkolvmotor (Tiny Friendly Giant motorn) till en flygplansmotor från en miljömässig och praktisk synvinkel. Problemet med ökade utsläpp från flyget kräver tekniska och socioekonomiska lösningar, vilket är anledningen till att detta arbete är genomfört. De största målen går ut på välja det bästa bränslet för kolvmotorn inom flyget, samt att studera utsläpp, motorkylning och praktiska utmaningar med konvertering. Strukturen liknar en förstudie där problemet löses med hjälp av litteratur i en paramterstudie, tillsammans med utsläppsuppskattningar med hjälp av The Greenhouse gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Technologies Model ramverket och Boeing Fuel Flow Method 2. En uppskattning för motorkylning är beräknat med en semiemprisk metod från Lycoming, som visar att luftkylning vara tillräckligt för Tiny Friendly Giant motorn inom flyg. Resultaten visar vidare att inget av de alternativa bilbränslena är lämpliga för användning inom flyget och att alternativa vägar till flygbränsle är mer lämpat för hög höjd. Slutsatsen är att motorn bör konverteras till flygbränslekompatibilitet. För att undvika stora vridmomentfluktuationer kan tvåtakt användas. Konvertering och användning av motorn inom flyget anses inte vara genomförbart på grund av praktiska begränsningar - istället drar studien slutsatsen att design av en ny motor från grunden är enklare och med största sannolikhet snabbare. Studien visar att minskade koldioxidutsläpp också leder till minskningar av vatten och svavel- och dikväveoxider. Samma strategi leder dock till en ökning av kolmonoxid och kolväten. Generellt sett är slutsatsen att alternativa bränslen avsevärt kan minska flygplanens utsläpp.

Fatigue is a well-recognized issue in lightweight and high-performance aircraft structures. As fatigue failures have led to serious accidents and caused significant economic impact in the past, design against fatigue is crucial. Fatigue testing of full-scale aircraft as well as components is an important tool for the advance identification of potential fatigue issues in both new and operational aircraft. Furthermore, coupon testing is used extensively to obtain allowables for materials and structural details to be used in the design process. To obtain accurate results from fatigue testing, not only the test object but also the used load spectrum must accurately represent reality. If the aircraft is operational, an accurate load spectrum can be obtained by measuring the loads in-flight during a sufficiently long period of normal operation of the aircraft. However, the in-flight measured loads data contains an extraordinarily large number of cycles, resulting in long and uneconomical test durations. This thesis aims to propose a method for the selection of an optimal filtering level for fatigue test spectra developed from in-flight measured loads. The thesis also discusses and recommends methods for in-flight measurement of loads, cycle counting as well as damage evaluation using a crack-growth approach. Furthermore, ways to validate the proposed method and its practical application are discussed. An example filtering study is conducted using four different specimens chosen to represent typical structural details of aircraft. The study uses real in-flight measured loads of a light aircraft and also discusses temperature compensation of the loads data. The effect of filtering on fatigue damage is evaluated using crack-growth simulations conducted at a range of filtering and stress levels.  The results show that a remarkable reduction of testing time is possible and as many as 99 % of all cycles in the studied flight load history can be discarded without significantly reducing fatigue damage. The allowable filtering level is shown to differ between the specimens and the different stages of fatigue crack growth. In addition, the applied stress level is found to have a consistent effect on the allowable filtering level.

In astronomy, interferometry by ground-based telescopes offers the greatest angular resolution. However, the Earth´s atmosphere distorts the incident wavefront from a celestial object, leading to blurring and signal loss. It also restricts the transmission of specific wavelengths within the electromagnetic spectrum. Space-based interferometers would mitigate atmospheric obstruction and potentially enable even higher angular resolutions. The main challenge of implementing space-based interferometry is the necessity of matching the light´s optical path differences at the telescopes within the coherence length of the light utilizing physical delay lines. This thesis explores the potential realization of digital delay lines via heterodyne interferometry. The technique generates a heterodyne beat note at the frequency difference between the incident stellar light and a reference laser in the radio regime, permitting digitization of the delay line while preserving the phase information for image reconstruction. The primary objective of the thesis is to advance the field of astronomy by constructing a testbed environment for investigating future space-based heterodyne interferometry in the NIR light range. It requires the achievement of two main tasks. Firstly, a laboratory starlight simulator is developed to simulate a distant star´s wavefront appearance as it reaches telescopes on or around Earth. The consequent starlight simulator contains an optical assembly that manifests a point source in NIR light, aligned with a mirror collimator’s focal point, transforming the wavefront from spherical to planar. Secondly, a fiber optical circuit with interference capability is constructed, consisting of a free-space optical delay line and a polarization-controlled custom-sized fiber. The delay line matches the optical paths within the light's coherence length, while the polarization controller optimizes interference visibility. The completion of the tasks establishes the foundation to investigate space-based heterodyne interferometry in the NIR light with the potential implementation of delay line digitization.

This study investigates methods for assessing threats in space. Space services are crucial to both civilian and military capabilities, and a loss of such systems could have severe consequences. Space systems are exposed to various types of threats. To ensure the benefits of space-based applications, protect space assets, improve security, and maintain the space environment, it is crucial to assess threats in space. This thesis focuses on co-orbital antagonistic threats arising from satellites that are capable of performing precision manoeuvres. These satellites could either perform physical attacks or perform operations such as inspection, eavesdropping, or disruption on other satellites. Lambert's problem can be utilised for calculating orbital transfers. By solving the problem iteratively over a range of values of when the transfer is executed and the transfer time, it is possible to detect when a transfer is feasible. This can be used to assess when a satellite can pose a threat to a target. The calculations of orbital transfers are improved by the implementation of a genetic algorithm. The algorithm can solve for both direct transfers to the target and transfers using multiple impulses. Furthermore, a genetic algorithm, called NSGA-II, which can handle multiple objective functions is also analysed. The implemented methods show the potential of being employed to assess threats, especially for direct transfers where a single impulse is executed to transfer to a target. In this case, it is possible to identify threats based on the satellite's $\Delta v$ budget. However, when additional impulses are introduced it becomes more complicated. It is more difficult to estimate when an attack is more likely to commence. The implemented methods show potential, but further research is required in order to develop a robust method to assess co-orbital threats.  The conducted analysis has highlighted a few aspects that are crucial for assessing co-orbital threats. Information about the $\Delta v$ budget of the satellite that potentially could pose a threat must be available. Furthermore, space surveillance and tracking capabilities are essential to detect orbital changes, which can be vital to perform counter-operations in the event of an attack / Denna studie undersöker metoder för hotbedöming i rymden. Rymdtjänster är av avgörande betydelse för både civila och militära förmågor och förlusten av sådana system kan leda till allvarliga konsekvenser. Rymdsystem är utsatta för olika typer av hot. För att säkerställa fördelarna med rymdbaserade tillämpningar, skydda rymdresurser, förbättra säkerheten och bevara rymdmiljön är det viktigt att bedöma hot i rymden. Detta examensarbete fokuserar på hot från precisionsmanövrerande satelliter som antingen kan genomföra fysiska attacker eller utföra operationer såsom inspektion, avlyssning eller störning av en annan satellit. Lamberts problem kan användas för att beräkna banmanövrar. Genom att lösa problemet iterativt över olika värden för när manöverna utförs och flygtiden är det möjligt att fastställa när en manöver är genomförbar. Detta kan användas för att bedöma när en satellit kan utgöra ett hot mot en målsatellit. Beräkningarna av banmanövrar förbättras genom implementeringen av en genetisk algoritm. Algoritmen kan lösa både direkta manövrar till målet och manövrar med flera impulser. Dessutom analyseras en genetisk algoritm, kallad NSGA-II, som kan hantera flera målfunktioner. De implementerade metoderna visar potential för att kunna användas för hotbedömning, särskilt för direkta manövrar där en enda impuls används för att ändra banan till målet. I detta fall är det möjligt att identifiera hot baserat på satellitens $\Delta v$-budget. Däremot blir det mer komplicerat när ytterligare impulser introduceras. Det blir svårare att bedöma när en attack sannolikt inleds. De implementerade metoderna visar potential, men ytterligare forskning krävs för att utveckla en robust metod för att bedöma hot från precisionsmanövrerande satelliter. Den genomförda analysen har framhävt några aspekter som är av avgörande betydelse för att utföra en hotbedömning. Information om satellitens $\Delta v$-budget som potentiellt kan utgöra ett hot måste vara tillgänglig. Dessutom är inmätning och övervakningsförmåga av satelliter avgörande för att upptäcka banförändringar, vilket kan vara kritiskt vid genomförande av motåtgärder i händelse av en attack.

Space industry has been booming in the recent times, investments have not justbeen made on satellites and launch vehicles but also on space sustainability. Spaceindustry has its users in national agencies, private commercial agencies, academia andexperimental organisations. Smallsats and cubesats are one of the most interestingdomains in space industry today. This has led to pure research and astonishinginnovations in this domain to enable lower costs, lower mass, increased orbital period,better accessibility and global impact. Development of sustainable products requiresthe system to qualify a certain standard set up in the industry. This standard ensuresthat the system safely completes its mission up in space. The problem described byGomSpace Sweden concerns one of their ongoing products, a cold gas propulsionunit which is suitable for a typical 6U cubesat called ESA6DOF. In large, the productconsists of a structure, two propellant tanks, one plenum tank, piping, electronics andsix thrusters. Qualification of this propulsion system module involves the system toundergo a random vibration test according to ECSS standards. This thesis work shallbe focused on setting up the structure needed to perform random vibration simulationsin COMSOL. This step is done to primarily iterate the design to make it robust enoughto sustain loads during flight and also to avoid any physical damages during testingcampaign. Followed by performing the actual random vibration test at a facility usingthe assembled ESA6DOF propulsion module. Finally, this ends with validating thesimulation results with that of testing. / Rymdindustrin har blomstrat den senaste tiden. Investeringar har inte bara gjortspå satelliter och bärraketer utan också på hållbarhet i rymden. Rymdindustrinhar sina användare i nationella organisationer, privata kommersiella organisationer,universitetsvärlden och forsknings organisationer. Smallsats och cubesats är tvåav de mest intressanta domänerna inom rymdindustrin idag. Detta har letttill grundforskning och häpnadsväckande innovationer inom detta område för attmöjliggöra lägre kostnader, lägre massa, ökad omloppstid, bättre tillgänglighetoch global påverkan. Utveckling av hållbara produkter kräver att systemet möteren viss standard uppsatt i branschen. Denna standard säkerställer att systemetsäkert slutför sitt uppdrag uppe i rymden. Problemet som beskrivs av GomSpaceSweden gäller en av deras pågående produkter, en kallgasdrivenhet lämplig för entypisk 6U cubesat kallad ESA6DOF. I stort består produkten av en struktur, tvådrivmedelstankar, en plenumtank, rörledningar, elektronik och sex finjusterarraketer.Kvalificeringen av denna framdrivningssystemmodul innebär att systemet genomgåren slumpmässig vibration enligt ECSS-standarder. Detta examensarbete harfokuserat på att sätta upp den struktur som behövs för att utföra slumpmässigavibrationssimuleringar i COMSOL. Detta steg gjordes för att i första hand itereradesignen för att göra den robust nog att tåla belastningar under flygning och ävenför att undvika fysiska skador under testkampanjen. Efter detta utfördes det faktiskaslumpmässiga vibrationstestet på en anläggning med den sammansatta ESA6DOF-framdrivningsmodulen. Avslutningsvis utfördes validering av simuleringsresultatenmot testresultaten.

Rocket propulsion using the hybrid-propellant scheme is a technology that offers much promise in applications where high-performance liquid rocket engines are deemed too complex and solid rocket motors are considered to lack performance or safety. However, despite extensive research, there is still a lack of knowledge in the theoretical aspects of hybrid rocketry, especially in the area of fuel-oxidizer mixing and fuel regression rate. This lack of a good theoretical model makes the implementation of good, practical solutions and mature, well-functioning designs more diffcult. This disadvantages the hybrid rocket engine when compared to liquid rocket engines or solid rocket motors.In this study, a hybrid rocket engine burning polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) with compressed air has been designed to the point of a preliminary design defnition. PMMA is a transparent material, and this has been utilized to create a transparent-chamber rocket engine where engine processes can be studied with various optical methods withoutinterrupting or disturbing the operation of the engine. The function of hybrid rocket engines, the technological solutions involved in designing working hybrid rocket engines and the constituent parts of hybrid rocket engines have been studied. The nature of the trade-offs between performance and simplicity that occur when designing a rocket engine are also studied, with a focus on maximizing simplicity, safety and minimizing expenses, while still designing an engine that fulfills basic requirements. The results include a design defnition with a preliminary user’s guide, a feasibility study, and a summary of the results of the hybrid rocket performance model that was used to determine appropriate design parameters.

Air intakes are complex components that are critical for the propulsion of the aircraft. The design has to consider requirements from several different departments, often contradictory. Additionally, the air intakes need to cooperate with other critical components. This makes testing of the models crucial, hence time-demanding. Design automation is a growing field which aims at minimizing repetitive work during product concept development. To follow the increasing digitalization, further investigations of design automation applied on air intakes are significant.  The application Imagine and Shape in 3D Experience CATIA handles subdivided surfaces. These surfaces are both flexible and provide a high order of continuity, which is often desired. While design automation in CATIA is well investigated, design automation in Imagine and Shape is not.  Knowledge based engineering techniques are often used to implement design automation. The methodology MOKA is frequently used when developing knowledge based engineering applications. This master thesis has followed MOKA in combination with Scrum.  The master thesis has resulted in a method to allow automation in Imagine and Shape by linking mesh nodes on subdivided surfaces to reference points that are parameterized. Further, a method for generating air intake configurations as well as the integration with a fuselage has been developed. The method includes wireframe models in Generative Shape Design, subdivided surfaces in Imagine and Shape, scripts in EKL as well as UserForm and scripts in VBA. Additionally, the order of continuity for an integration between air intakes and fuselage has been analyzed using tools in 3D Experience CATIA.  A conclusion drawn is that the method for generating air intakes cannot be completely automated. Instantiation and dimension of components can be automated, but manual work is required when using tools in Imagine and Shape during the integration between the components and the fuselage.Two methods for linking mesh nodes to reference points have been identified, one manual and one semi-automatic. The automatic method saves time and mouse clicks by utilizing VBA scripts. Further, the achieved order of continuity of an integration between subdivided surfaces depends on the individual components.

Collisionless shocks are widespread phenomena in the universe, and understanding the mechanisms behind their energy dissipation, with a rare number of collisions between particles, remains a significant unresolved question. The Earth’s bow shock provides an excellent opportunity to study this phenomena in situ. For high Mach number shocks, the shock cannot be sustained without partial reflection of the incoming ions. At higher Mach numbers, the shock surface starts to exhibit non-stationary behaviours, meaning that the shock surface starts evolving. One such behaviour is known as shock reformation, where a new shock forms upstream of an existing one. This study aims to investigate shock reformation using data obtained from NASA’s MMS mission, which offers precise measurements with high spatial and temporal resolutions through its constellation of four spacecraft. Using the MMS shocks database (Lalti et al., 2022), the gradient of the magnetic field magnitude is computed to infer non-stationary behaviour and identify potential instances of shock reformation and other shock behaviours. Through the analysis of the MMS measurements, some insight into the non-stationary characteristics of shocks is obtained using the gradient of the magnetic field. However, further analysis is needed in order to refine the method of identifying non-stationary behaviour of shocks, for future applications. / Kollisionsfria chocker är ett vanligt fenomen som förekommer i universum, och att förstå hur energidissipation inträffar i chocker med ett fåtal kollisioner mellan partikar är ett olöst problem. Jordens bogchock utger en bra möjlighet att studera detta på plats med mätningar från rymdfarkoster. Detta projekt försöker studera delar av jordens bogchock och undersöka dess dynamic. För chocker med högt machtal, måste en del av jonerna från solvinden reflekteras för att chocken ska skunna upprätthållas. Vid högre machtal kan chockytan visa icke-stationära beteenden, vilket innebär att den börjar förändras. Ett exempel på sådant beteende är chockreformation, där en ny chock formas framför en befintlig chock. Denna studie har som mål att undersöka chockreformation med hjälp av data som erhållits från NASA:s MMS-uppdrag, vilket erbjuder precisa mätningar med hög rumslig och tidsmässig upplösning genom sin konstellation av fyra rymdfarkoster. Genom användning av MMS-shockdatabasen (Lalti et al., 2022) beräknades gradienten av magnetfältets magnitud för att härleda icke-stationärt beteende och identifierade potentiella fall av chockreformation och andra beteenden. Genom analys av MMS-mätningarna erhölls viss insikt i de icke-stationära egenskaperna hos chocker med hjälp av gradienten av magnetfältet, men ytterligare analys krävs för att förbättra metoden för framtida tillämpningar.

The interaction between the solar wind and Earth’s magnetic field creates the Earth’s bow shock. It is an ideal region for space probes like MMS, THEMIS or Clusters to study the collisionless shock phenomenon in space plasma. More specifically the project focuses on the topic of wave-particle interactions in the space plasma environment, which allows irreversible energy dissipation and entropy production at the event of a shock when there are a lack of collisions between particles. Research is still ongoing regarding the topic of wave-particle interactions in plasma and this project aims to contribute to our understanding of this topic. To do this, measurement data of a total of 249 shock crossing events from NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission are used to conduct a statistical study. The study aims to analyse the correlation between the electric- and magnetic field measured close to shock-crossing events, and their respective macroscopic shock parameters in different shock regions, and at three different frequency bands for the attempt of further our understanding of the dynamics of collisionless shocks. Through scatter plots, negative correlations are found between both the electric- and magnetic field power, and the different macroscopic shock parameters at various shock regions and at various frequency ranges. This leads to the suggestion of potential dependencies between the occurrence of electrostatic and electromagnetic waves and those shock parameters. However, there is still room for improvement of the statistical method used for the correlation studies. / Interaktionen mellan solvinden och jordens magnetfält skapar jordens bogchock. Det är en idealisk region för rymdfarkoster som MMS, THEMIS eller Clusters att studera kollisionsfria chocker i rymdplasma. Mer specifikt fokuserar detta projekt på vågpartikelinteraktioner i rymdplasma, vilket möjliggör irreversibel energidissipation och entropiproduktion vid en chock när det råder brist på kollisioner mellan partiklar. Forskning pågår fortfarande inom området vågpartikelinteraktioner i plasma och detta projekt syftar till att bidra till vår förståelse av ämnet. För att göra detta används mätdata från totalt 249 chocker från NASA:s Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS)-uppdrag för att genomföra en statistisk studie. Studien syftar till att analysera korrelationen mellan de elektriska och magnetiska fälten som mäts nära chocker och deras respektive makroskopiska chockparametrar i olika chockregioner och vid tre olika frekvensband, i ett försök att vidare förstå dynamiken hos kollisionslösa chocker. Genom spridningsdiagram hittas negativa korrelationer både mellan de elektriska och magnetiska fältstyrkan och de olika makroskopiska chockparametrarna vid olika chockregioner och frekvensband. Detta leder till förslaget om potentiella samband mellan förekomsten av elektrostatiska och elektromagnetiska vågor och dessa chockparametrarna. Det finns dock fortfarande utrymme för förbättring av den statistiska metoden som används för korrelationsstudierna.