Aerotecnica Missili & Spazio最新文献

The reduction of components and the development of more powerful satellites with smaller dimensions have allowed an increasing number of users, including universities, research centers, and space agencies in developing countries, to have access to technologies and/or equipment that would have been impossible a few decades ago, paving the way for the development of low-cost space missions. However, the space drive in developing countries includes not only the acquisition of small satellite components, or the construction of CubeSats, but also the creation of spaceports, from which agencies could launch their own delivery vehicles. The rapid worldwide increase of CubeSats, and the long waiting periods between launches of the main payloads, prompted the present investigation, where the main factors to consider in the selection of a spaceport location were stipulated. Therefore, to meet the objective of studying the various factors, a series of points to be analyzed were established: low latitudes, azimuth limitations, natural factors, political and social considerations, airspace, accessibility, and political stability. After analyzing the factors, we proceeded to the analysis of various locations in Venezuela for small space vector missions, where starting from three possible locations and after analyzing each one, we obtained as a result “El Pao”, a location in the Venezuelan plains, far from urban centers, with good communication routes, latitude of only 9° and few azimuth limitations. However, the factors analyzed in this research are not exclusively framed in the Venezuelan space effort as they are common to any country wishing to establish a spaceport in its territory.

In the current global context, where the issue of climate change has gained significant prominence, the ATEMO (Aerospace Technologies for Earth Monitoring and Observation) project introduces an innovative and scalable platform capable of measuring multiple environmental factors, including air pollution, light pollution, and vegetation analysis. This versatile platform can be seamlessly integrated onto various aerial vehicles, such as drones, stratospheric balloons, and tethered balloons. Its primary goal is to establish a comprehensive framework for environmental analysis on multiple fronts, while also contributing valuable data to the scientific literature. Furthermore, it offers a cost-effective alternative with enhanced spatial and temporal resolution for ground-based comparisons. During the initial year of research, ATEMO project focused on amalgamating the technological expertise of the research group into a single device. This device facilitated ground-based light source observations, multi-spectral vegetation analysis, and air quality assessments. The first test campaign, carried out during the summer of 2023, was aimed at estimating vegetation indices and comparing them over time with satellite-derived data. This article provides insights into the current configuration of ATEMO, outlines the testing procedures, and presents the preliminary findings.

In the last few years, the number of orbiting satellites has increased exponentially, in particular due to the development of the New Space Economy. Even if this phenomenon makes the space more accessible, bringing a great contribution to the scientific, economic and technological fields, on the other hand it contributes to the overpopulation of the space background. Therefore, it is necessary to develop new techniques to manage the space environment, such as in orbit servicing, which is a procedure that aims to refuel and repair satellites to extend their operational life. A first step to reach this goal is to inspect closely the object of interest to study its features. In this framework, the Space Rider Observer Cube (SROC) mission is being developed. SROC is a payload that will be deployed by Space Rider (SR), an uncrewed and reusable robotic spacecraft designed by ESA (European Space Agency). SROC is a 12U CubeSat, whose goal is to carry out inspection manoeuvres around SR, then re-enter on board using a safe docking system to come back to Earth. The feasibility of a mission similar to SROC has been simulated during a university class, starting from the definition of the system requirements with particular focus on the analysis of the payloads and subsystems, to ensure the achievement of the mission goals. In particular, the CubeSat is equipped with an imaging payload to capture high resolution images of Space Rider surface and a docking mechanism. Then, the design of the orbit and the simulation of the effects of the space environment on the CubeSat have been studied using GMAT, SYSTEMA, MATLAB and other numerical tools. The results of the study are useful for future missions, aiming to inspect orbiting objects, such as operative satellites for in orbit servicing, space debris and dead satellites to study their geometries and plan their removal.

Ferrofluid-based systems provide an opportunity for increasing the durability and reliability of systems, where mechanical parts are prone to wear and tear. Conventional reaction control systems are based on mechanically mounted rotating disks. Due to inherent friction, they suffer from degradation, which may eventually lead to failure. This problem is further intensified due to the limited possibility for repair and maintenance. Ferrofluid-based systems aim to replace mechanical components by exploiting ferrofluidic suspended motion. Ferrofluids consist of magnetic nanoparticles suspended in a carrier fluid and can be manipulated by external magnetic fields. This paper describes the working principle, design, and integration of a working prototype of a ferrofluid-based attitude control system (ACS), called Ferrowheel. It is based on a stator of a brushless DC motor in combination with a rotor on a ferrofluidic bearing. The prototype will be verified in a microgravity environment on the International Space Station, as part of the Überflieger 2 student competition of the German Aerospace Center. First ground tests deliver positive results and confirm the practicability of such a system.

This paper presents the evaluation of various model reduction techniques as possible candidates for building a virtual testing simulation environment of the ESA’s Micro Vibrations Measurement System (MVMS). The resulting tool would represent a key enabling technology for optimization of the tests to be carried out by the facility for the characterization of potential microvibration sources and environments. The present investigation involves both component mode synthesis and state-space based methods. In particular, an enhanced version of the Craig–Bampton (CB) method with substructuring and a hybrid two-stage approach involving a preliminary CB reduction step followed by a balanced truncation are presented and discussed. The number of dominant vibration modes to be retained in each substructure is determined according to the effective interface mass criterion. The different model reduction methods are compared in terms of performance and computational effort. It is shown that some preferable techniques can be identified for the specific purposes of the virtual testing environment of the MVMS.