A Study on the Enhancement of Detection Performance of Space

Radar sensors are used for space situational awareness (SSA) to determine collision risk and detect re-entry of space objects. The capability of SSA radar system includes radar sensitivity such as the detectable radar cross-section as a function of range and tracking capability to indicate tracking time and measurement errors. The time duration of the target staying in a range cell is short; therefore, the signal-to-noise ratio cannot be improved through the pulse integration method used in pulse-Doppler signal processing. In this study, a method of improving the signal-to-noise ratio during range migration is presented. The improved detection performance from signal processing gains realized in this study can be used as a basis for comprehensively designing an SSA radar system

Analysis of the Motion of a Tether-Perturbed Satellite

The motion of each satellite in a tethered satellite system is non-Keplerian in the Earth's gravitational field. In this paper, the tether perturbation force is formulated and compared with the perturbation force due to the Earth's oblateness. Also, the center of mass motion of the tethered satellite system is analyzed. The tether perturbing force on the one of satellites in a tethered satellite system is much bigger than the Earth's oblateness perturbation. The two-body motion approximation of the center of mass is acceptable to describe the motion of the system, when the libration is small

3D Display of Spacecraft Dynamics Using Real Telemetry

3D display of spacecraft motion by using telemetry data received from satellite in real-time is described. Telemetry data are converted to the appropriate form for 3-D display by the real-time preprocessor. Stored playback telemetry data also can be processed for the display. 3D display of spacecraft motion by using real telemetry data provides intuitive comprehension of spacecraft dynamics

Attitude and Configuration Control of Flexible Multi-Body Spacecraft

Multi-body spacecraft attitude and configuration control formulations based on the use of collaborative control theory are considered. The control formulations are based on two-player, nonzero-sum, differential game theory applied using a Nash strategy. It is desired that the control laws allow different components of the multi-body system to perform different tasks. For example, it may be desired that one body points toward a fixed star while another body in the system slews to track another satellite. Although similar to the linear quadratic regulator formulation, the collaborative control formulation contains a number of additional design parameters because the problem is formulated as two control problems coupled together. The use of the freedom of the partitioning of the total problem into two coupled control problems and the selection of the elements of the cross-coupling matrices are specific problems addressed in this paper. Examples are used to show that significant improvement in performance, as measured by realistic criteria, of collaborative control over conventional linear quadratic regulator control can be achieved by using proposed design guidelines

Design and Flight Software Embedding of KOMPSAT-2 Simulator

The design feature of KOMPSAT-2 simulator based on object oriented design methodology in terms of unified modeling language (UML) has been discussed in this paper. Also, we present how to embed flight software into the simulator. Flight software embedding for KOMPSAT-2 simulator is compared to that of the KOMPSAT-1 simulator

Benefit and Cost Ratio Analysis of Direct Disposal and Pyro-SFR Fuel Cycle Alternatives Using the Results of Multi-Criteria Decision-Making in Korea

This paper presents the results of various benefit–cost ratio (BCR) analyses of back-end nuclear fuel cycle alternatives. Korea is currently considering two alternatives for the disposal of spent nuclear fuel: direct disposal and pyroprocessing. Each of these two alternatives has advantages and disadvantages. To select one alternative, various evaluation criteria must be considered, since the superior alternative cannot be intuitively selected. A multi-criteria decision-making model can be a good methodology in this case. The analyses of benefit–cost ratios showed that the pyroprocessing alternative was more advantageous than direct disposal when using the results of the AHP and TOPSIS multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) method. However, when using the results of the PROMETHEE method, the rank was reversed, and direct disposal was more advantageous than the Pyro-SFR fuel cycle. The results of BCR and MCDM can greatly contribute to establishing a nuclear policy for the back-end nuclear fuel cycle

Characteristics of Perturbations in Recent Length of Day and Polar Motion

Various features of the existing perturbations in the Earth’s spin rotation are investigated for the recent and most reliable data by spectral analysis, filtering, and comparison with idealized model. First, theory of Earth’s spin rotational perturbation is briefly re-derived in the Earth-fixed coordinate frame. By spectral windowings, different periodic components of the length of day perturbation are separated, and their characters and excitations are discussed. Different periodic components of polar motion are acquired similarly and described with further discussion of their excitations. Causes of the long time trends of both the length of day and polar motion are discussed. Three possible causes are considered for the newly discovered 490-day period component in the polar motion

An Analysis of the Effect on the Data Processing of Korea GPS Network by the Absolute Phase Center Variations of GPS Antenna

The International GNSS Service (IGS) has prepared for a transition from the relative phase center variation (PCV) to the absolute PCV, because the terrestrial scale problem of the absolute PCV was resolved by estimating the PCV of the GPS satellites. Thus, the GPS data will be processed by using the absolute PCV which will be an IGS standard model in the near future. It is necessary to compare and analyze the results between the relative PCV and the absolute PCV for the establishment of the reliable processing strategy. This research analyzes the effect caused by the absolute PCV via the GPS network data processing. First, the four IGS stations, Daejeon, Suwon, Beijing and Wuhan, are selected to make longer baselines than 1000 km, and processed by using the relative PCV and the absolute PCV to examine the effect of the antenna raydome. Beijing and Wuhan stations of which the length of baselines are longer than 1000 km show the average difference of 1.33 cm in the vertical component, and 2.97 cm when the antenna raydomes are considered. Second, the 7 permanent GPS stations among the total 9 stations, operated by Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, are processed by applying the relative PCV and the absolute PCV, and their results are compared and analyzed. An insignificant effect of the absolute PCV is shown in Korea regional network with the average difference of 0.12 cm in the vertical component

Operation of the Radio Occultation Mission in KOMPSAT-5

Korea multi-purpose satellite-5 (KOMPSAT-5) is a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite scheduled to be launched in 2010. To satisfy the precision orbit determination (POD) requirement for a high resolution synthetic aperture radar image of KOMPSAT-5, KOMPSAT-5 has atmosphere occultation POD (AOPOD) system which consists of a space-borne dual frequency global positioning system (GPS) receiver and a laser retro reflector array. A space-borne dual frequency GPS receiver on a LEO satellite provides position data for the POD and radio occultation data for scientific applications. This paper describes an overview of AOPOD system and operation concepts of the radio occultation mission in KOMPSAT-5. We showed AOPOD system satisfies the requirements of KOMPSAT-5 in performance and stability

A Study on Re-entry Predictions of Uncontrolled Space Objects for Space Situational Awareness

The key risk analysis technologies for the re-entry of space objects into Earth`s atmosphere are divided into four categories: cataloguing and databases of the re-entry of space objects, lifetime and re-entry trajectory predictions, break-up models after re-entry and multiple debris distribution predictions, and ground impact probability models. In this study, we focused on reentry prediction, including orbital lifetime assessments, for space situational awareness systems. Re-entry predictions are very difficult and are affected by various sources of uncertainty. In particular, during uncontrolled re-entry, large spacecraft may break into several pieces of debris, and the surviving fragments can be a significant hazard for persons and properties on the ground. In recent years, specific methods and procedures have been developed to provide clear information for predicting and analyzing the re-entry of space objects and for ground-risk assessments. Representative tools include object reentry survival analysis tool (ORSAT) and debris assessment software (DAS) developed by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), spacecraft atmospheric re-entry and aerothermal break-up (SCARAB) and debris risk assessment and mitigation analysis (DRAMA) developed by European Space Agency (ESA), and semi-analytic tool for end of life analysis (STELA) developed by Centre National d`Etudes Spatiales (CNES). In this study, various surveys of existing re-entry space objects are reviewed, and an efficient re-entry prediction technique is suggested based on STELA, the life-cycle analysis tool for satellites, and DRAMA, a re-entry analysis tool. To verify the proposed method, the re-entry of the Tiangong-1 Space Lab, which is expected to re-enter Earth`s atmosphere shortly, was simulated. Eventually, these results will provide a basis for space situational awareness risk analyses of the re-entry of space objects