Technology’s role in space innovation
Satellite servicing is one emerging space application that relies on
technology development, but also needs a strong business case.
The space industry is often extremely focused on technology, with many
believing it is the solution to all the problems facing spaceflight today. If
only there was a higher performance rocket engine, a higher efficiency solar
cell, a more robust life support system, and so on, they argue, we have a
bright future in store for us in space.
It’s true that technology development is an essential aspect of spaceflight,
including new commercial applications in space. However, technology alone is
usually not sufficient to enable those new markets or new missions. A
technology that is unaffordable, or doesn’t help close a business case, does
little to advance a market or a mission. As several panelists at the recent
NewSpace 2013 conference, held last month by the Space Frontier Foundation in
San Jose, California, discussed, those technological advances must be viewed
with an eye towards practical applications, and that sometimes the key is not a
new technology, but an innovative way of making use of existing technologies.
A new, yet familiar, name in satellite servicing
One emerging market closely tied to advances in space technology is
satellite servicing. The ability to extend the life of existing satellites
running low on stationkeeping propellant, or repair satellites that have
suffered malfunctions, requires technologies that can perform such servicing
with a level of maturity that can assure the owners of those satellites—who are
often relatively risk-averse—that such work can be carried out without further
damaging or disabling their spacecraft.
Many of those technical challenges are being addressed by NASA’s Robotic
Refueling Mission (RRM), a series of technology demonstrations being performed
on the International Space Station. A Japanese HTV cargo spacecraft launched
earlier this month brought to the station a new set of experiments for the RRM
to carry out, demonstrating the ability of a robotic servicer to refuel and
repair a satellite that was not designed for on-orbit servicing. “We realize
that there are still hurdles to be overcome,” said Ben Reed, deputy project
manager of NASA’s Satellite Servicing Capabilities Office, during a panel
session at NewSpace 2013. “Our job is to continue to chip away at them to make
this viable for a commercial partner.”
Those hurdles, he acknowledged, are not just technical: satellite servicing
brings with it other challenges as well, from the policy implications of being
able to service satellites to whether there’s a business case for satellite servicing.
The business case in particular has yet to be demonstrated: while Intelsat and
Canadian company MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates (MDA) signed an agreement
in 2011 where Intelsat would be a customer of an MDA-developed satellite
servicer, the companies dissolved the agreement a year later when they couldn’t
find additional customers for the proposed system.
That difficulty may be linked to the lack of demonstration of those
technologies. “For commercial business, I’m not after ‘wicked cool’ technology.
For commercial business, you need sweet, simple, low-risk, easy to control,
reliable technology to do wicked cool missions,” said Jim Armor, vice president
of strategy and business development at ATK, which is a partner in satellite
servicing company Vivisat. That venture has focused on the less technically
challenging business of providing stationkeeping and propulsion for satellites,
rather than full-fledged repair services, but with a long-term vision of
providing infrastructure and logistics to support commercial space ventures
beyond Earth orbit as well. More
Propulsion without propellants for satellite positioning, space exploration
Propulsion without propellants for satellite positioning, space
exploration New electromagnetic propulsion technology is being tested by the
University of Maryland's Space Power and Propulsion Laboratory (SPPL) on the
International Space Station. It could reduce spacecraft's reliance on
propellants and extending the lifecycle of satellites through the use of a
renewable power source.
Because a finite propellant payload is often the limiting factor on the
number of times a satellite can be moved or repositioned in space, a new
propulsion method that uses a renewable, onboard electromagnetic power source
and does not rely on propellants could exponentially extend a satellite's
useful life span and provide greater scientific return on investment.
Associate Professor of Aerospace Engineering Ray Sedwick and his research
team have been developing technology that could enable electromagnetic
formation flight (EMFF), which uses locally generated electromagnetic forces to
position satellites or spacecraft without relying on propellants. Their
research project is titled Resonant Inductive Near-field Generation System, or
RINGS.
RINGS was sent to the International Space Station on 3 August as part of a
payload launched on Japan's HTV-4 Cargo Ship from the Tanegashima Space Center.
The project is scheduled for four test sessions on the research station.
Astronauts will unpack the equipment, integrate it into the test environment
and run diagnostics. From there, RINGS will undergo three science research
sessions where data will be collected and transmitted back to the ground for
analysis.
RINGS is composed of two units, each of which contains a specially
fabricated coil of aluminium wire that supports an oscillating current of up to
18 A and is housed within a protective polycarbonate shell. Microcontrollers
ensure that the currents oscillate either in-phase or out-of-phase to produce
attracting, repelling and even shearing forces. While aluminium wire was chosen
for its low density in this research prototype, eventual systems would employ
superconducting wires to significantly increase range and performance.
In addition to EMFF, the RINGS project is also being used to test a second
technology demonstrating wireless power transfer (WPT). WPT may offer a means
to wirelessly transfer power between spacecraft and in turn power a fleet of
smaller vessels or satellites. Having the power to support multiple satellites,
and using EMFF as a propellant-less means to reposition those same satellites,
provides the flexibility to perform formation control manoeuvres such as
on-orbit assembly or creating synthetic aperture arrays. A synthetic aperture
array uses a network of smaller antennas to function collectively as one large
antenna. Larger antennas are capable of producing higher resolution images and
better quality data.
SPPL began work on RINGS in 2011, and the project is funded under a joint
DARPA/NASA programme that aims to demonstrate and develop new technologies that
could enable future space missions by using a network of smaller spacecraft.
For
more information on SPPL, visit www.sppl.umd.edu
Also
see UMD Propulsion
Technology
University of Stuttgart developed ultra-fast satellite computer
University of Stuttgart developed ultra-fast satellite computer , one of the fastest and most compact satellite computers in the work was
introduced recently by the University of Stuttgart, Germany. The computer is
the centrepiece of the small satellite platform "Flying Laptop,"
which was developed by students at the Institute of Space Systems at the
University of Stuttgart with the support of the Baden-Württemberg space
industry.
At the beginning of 2014, the Stuttgart small satellite with three camera
systems is to record, among other things, shipping movements and vegetation
measurements, as well as testing various technologies under space conditions.
The new computer integrates the function of an on-board computer with that
of a power supply unit. It belongs to the fastest available satellite computers
worldwide, however it is considerably more compact and therefore suitable for
small technology satellites, for example at the European Space Agency ESA or
the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) and in particular also for the other
satellites in the Stuttgart small satellite programme.
In contrast to the computers of many small university satellites, it is
based on radiation hardened microchips and thus guarantees a corresponding
lifespan in orbit. The development and manufacture of the small satellite
Flying Laptop according to industrial standards was predominantly realised from
funds from the university and the state of Baden-Württemberg as well as
provisions from various partners, including Astrium GmbH. The DLR aerospace
management pledged appropriate support of €800,000 for the start of the small
satellite as a piggy-back satellite.
Source:
University of Stuttgart PR
Chandrayaan 2 without Russian
participation
Chandrayaan
2 without Russian participation.
ISRO has
decided to build and launch its second lunar mission, Chandrayaan 2, without
Russian help. Originally, Roskosmos was to provide a lander that would ferry an
Indian rover to explore the moon's surface.
It had already
become obvious that the mission wouldn't be launched this year as initially
planned. According to Indian news reports, Russia reviewed its inter-planetary
missions after the failure of the Fobos-Grunt mission. Roskosmos suggested a
heavier lander and a launch aboard a Soyuz in 2015 or 2017, instead of India's
GSLV as originally planned. The 2015 opportunity could also involve a stricter
mass limitation for the rover and entitle a higher risk.
However, part
of the problem is that Chandrayaan 2 was designed to be lofted by a GSLV
Mk-III, which however isn't available yet. Launch aboard the available GSLV
basic version would have required shaving off mass from the project.
ISRO then
decided to conduct a high level review of the Chandrayaan 2 programme under the
chairmanship of Prof. U. R. Rao. The study recommended that the India could
itself realise a lander module in a few years and that it could go in for the
mission on its own.
Details of
changes in the configuration and the mission profile are under finalisation.
The Hindu quoted a senior ISRO official as saying the work on the programme was
progressing apace and the mission is likely to take place in three years.
Source: PTI, The Hindu
Proton Launch Failure Findings
Released To ILS
A summary of
the findings on the root cause and corrective action plan following the failure
of the July 2 Proton M Block DM mission, which carried three GLONASS
navigational satellites for the Russian Federal Government, has been released
to International Launch Services (ILS) upon being cleared by Russian security.
The summary indicates that the most probable root cause of the failure was due
to the improper installation of the three yaw angular rate sensors located on
the Proton launch vehicle, which caused the vehicle to deviate from its flight
path shortly after lift-off.
The ILS Failure Review Oversight Board (FROB), which consists of ILS customers,
industry subject experts, and insurance industry representatives, will begin on
August 9. The FROB will provide an independent review of the investigation,
probable root cause and corrective actions required prior to return to
commercial flight, in accordance with U.S. and Russian government export
control regulations. After the conclusion of the FROB, tentatively set for
August 16, the board’s report will be briefed to ILS customers and the launch
insurance industry. Source
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