Mars- plus Europa-INPPS Flagship Missions with High Power Electric Thrusters and Heavy Science Payload

2020/2021 orbit calculations (DLR Bremen + MAI Moscow): 3 Orbits for one non-human MARS/EUROPA-INPPS flagship 1. Orbit Earth (11 Oct 2026) => Mars (28 Jan 2028); 2. Orbit Mars (22 Sept 2028) => Earth (29 Jul 2029); 3. Orbit Earth (12 Oct 2031) => Jupiter / Europa (6 Dec 2035) 22 ETs (for the INPPS flagship CET): example - gridded CET plate with combined ET

Non-Human + Human Deep Space Exploration: By The NEP INPPS Flagship

INPPS Flagship Structure & Subsystems, Ground Based Tests, Pure NEP, International Electric Thrusters, Humans Internationally To Mar

Humans to Mars: by MARS- plus EUROPA-INPPS Flagship Mission

The first non-human INPPS (International Nuclear Power and Propulsion System) flagship flight with orbits Earth-Mars-Earth-Jupiter/Europa (after 2025) is the most maximal space qualification test of INPPS flagship to carry out the second INPPS flagship flight to Mars with humans (in the 2030th). This high power space transportation tug is realistic because of A) the successful finalization of the European-Russian DEMOCRITOS and MEGAHIT projects with their three concepts of space, ground and nuclear demonstrators for INPPS realization (reached in 2017), B) the successful ground based test of the Russian nuclear reactor with 1MWel plus important heat dissipation solution via droplet radiators (confirmed in 2018), C) the space qualification of the Russian reactor by 2025 and D) the perfect celestial constellation for a Earth-Mars/Phobos-Earth-Jupiter/Europa trajectory between 2026 and 2035. Therefore the talk sketches the preparation status of INPPS flagship with its subsystems. Critical performance will be studied by parallel realizations of the ground and nuclear demonstrators of DEMOCRITOS (until 2025). The space qualification of INPPS with all subsystems including the nuclear reactor in the middle of the 2020th plus the INPPS tests for about one to two years - first in high Earth orbit robotic assembly phase of INPPS and later extended in nearby Earth space environment flight - means a complete concepts driven approval for all applied INPPS space subsystem technologies. It is also important to consider wider aspects for the overall mission implementation phase. Component like the nuclear reactor as the power source for the propulsion system will have to agree with the 1992 UN principles relevant to the use of nuclear power sources (NPS) in outer space. Therefore this talk will look into the legal and policy issues of nuclear space systems related to the international realization of mission design, requirements of associated safety regulations (including AI applications in the subsystems) and new aspects for INPPS flagship commercialization and new media communication on board

Application of Automated Design Tools for Satellite Missions with the Design Platform DCEP

Within the project IRAS (Integrated Research Platform for Affordable Satellites), digital tools for the fast and semi-automated early design of space missions are being developed. The constellation design tool TOCASTA (Tool for Constellation and Satellite Trade-off Analysis) identifies possible satellite constellation solutions based on coverage requirements using a semi-analytical method. It uses the commercial simulation software ASTOS to refine solutions for optimized constellation design, and performs an automated mission analysis for each solution, aided by the ESA-DRAMA software. The satellite design tool ESDC (Evolutionary System Design Converger) accelerates spacecraft design using heuristic scaling laws and evolutionary algorithms. These laws, in combination with user-defined requirements, generate estimates for subsystems, while parametric models and component-based dimensioning further predict detailed spacecraft designs. Evolutionary algorithms optimize each configuration to minimize the overall system mass. The Digital Concurrent Engineering Platform DCEP offers a web-based service for cooperative model-based systems engineering, and acts as platform for the software-aided design process by providing an intuitive user interface. It contains a parametric representation of the satellite and manages data transfer and integration of other IRAS- and third-party tools. The tools are coupled to the DCEP via an SSH-based method that allows data linking and management of the tools as well as accessing their results via the DCEP user interface, with minimal effort for the tool providers. As a first test of the coupled system of tools and DCEP, an exemplary satellite mission design has been conducted. The tools were utilized successfully via the DCEP to design several satellite constellations with different coverage requirements and altitudes. Mass and power budgets as well as thruster recommendations for the individual satellites were established for the different constellation solutions. The coupling of DCEP and tools allowed a seamless transfer of TOCASTA output data to the ESDC, enabling the rapid computation and evaluation of a large number of designs. Potential improvements in user experience and beneficial additional features were identified

Experiment Results and post-flight Analysis of the ISS Student Experiment PAPELL

Pump Application using Pulsed Electromagnets for Liquid reLocation (PAPELL) was a fast-paced student experiment conducted on the International Space Station (ISS). The 1.5 U flight hardware was integrated internally in an experiment rack of the educational company DreamUp and was executed for over 60 days in total during a half-year stay on the ISS. A multidisciplinary team of more than 30 students of the University of Stuttgart has developed PAPELL within less than a year to flight readiness status. The students have organised themselves within the Small Satellite Student Society of the University of Stuttgart (KSat e.V.) and were supported by the Institute of Space Systems. The technology demonstration experiment aimed to show that a mechanic-free actuation method can be proven by utilising a magnetisable liquid, a ferrofluid, and localised magnetic fields. Such a mechanic-free device is likely to be highly reliable and to have long lifetime. The absence of mechanical moving parts corresponds to minimal wear and tear and generation of vibrations. Lessened qualification requirements reduce development time and overall costs. The PAPELL experiment demonstrated successfully that ferrofluid manipulation by the utilisation of localised magnetic fields generated by electromagnets is possible in a repeatable and reliable way in the microgravity environment of the ISS. The functions of a digital microfluidic circuit, i.e. droplet generation, movement, splitting and merging have been shown during the operation phase. These results allow for a wide variety of application developments based on different transportation modes observed when operating PAPELL. The experiment has been equipped with a sensor suite to ascertain the secondary effects of the experiment. The produced data shows promising results, as disadvantageous effects are minimal. Further, it can be determined that ferrofluid actuation in microgravity requires less power compared to Earth-based tests, while viscosity, surface tension and magnetic field shape effects become significant. Sensor data and analysis of ferrofluid dynamic influenced by magnetic fields in a micro-gravity environment and corresponding behaviour in a ground test environment yields critical information for modelling the corresponding physics and informing future designs. As PAPELL was returned to Earth after mission conclusion, subsequent hardware analysis is conducted for in-depth assessment and respective reproduction experiments are planned

Modification of the saturation magnetization of exchange bias thin film systems upon light-ion bombardment

Huckfeldt H, Gaul A, Müglich ND, et al. Modification of the saturation magnetization of exchange bias thin film systems upon light-ion bombardment. JOURNAL OF PHYSICS-CONDENSED MATTER. 2017;29(12): 125801.The magnetic modification of exchange bias materials by 'ion bombardment induced magnetic patterning' has been established more than a decade ago. To understand these experimental findings several theoretical models were introduced. Few investigations, however, did focus on magnetic property modifications caused by effects of ion bombardment in the ferromagnetic layer. In the present study, the structural changes occurring under ion bombardment were investigated by Monte-Carlo simulations and in experiments. A strong reduction of the saturation magnetization scaling linearly with increasing ion doses is observed and our findings suggest that it is correlated to the swelling of the layer material based on helium implantation and vacancy creation

IRAS: Low-cost Constellation Satellite Design, Electric Propulsion and Concurrent Engineering

The Integrated Research Platform for affordable Satellites (IRAS) is a joint research project by DLR, Fraunhofer, IRS and industry partners aimed at developing cost-reducing technologies for satellites. This paper describes the various contributions of the IRS to IRAS, such as development of a reference satellite constellation for implementation and demonstration of new technologies. The digital concurrent engineering platform as an IRAS subproject is being described with regards to the envisioned aim and future application for unifying engineering tools from multiply stakeholders. It allows to create an efficient design toolchain to reduce development time and costs. The evolutionary system design converger is a contribution on the level of electric propulsion systems to the platform. It is given as a subsystem example of the capabilities of the digital concurrent engineering platform. Additional examples of analysis and outputs are given for the IRAS use case. Grid ion thrusters with xenon are likely to be able to provide an electric propulsion system with the lowest total system mass, while an ammonia based arcjet system will allow for the fastest regeneration of the constellation at a reasonable mass fraction. Additive manufacturing with its significant potential for space hardware cost reduction, while maintaining or increasing system performances due to function integration, is explained. An arcjet nozzle with integrated regenerative cooling channels has been identified as promising component. It is being manufactured from tungsten powder through selective laser melting