Journal of Space Safety Engineering最新文献

To prevent or assess launch risk, evaluation of launchers impact zones is a key element. Several methods are currently used to predict impact zones at the French space agency (CNES), but the highest-fidelity method uses a series of computationally costly Monte Carlo simulations. This process can be very time consuming and the computation time can become prohibitive. A machine learning method called Kriging or Gaussian Process Regression is studied as a potential avenue to speed up the impact zones evaluation. This Kriging-based method, is tested in this paper in different flight phases and its potential for estimating debris impact zones is evaluated in terms of processing time, accuracy and genericity.

A new Launch Collision Avoidance (LCOLA) analysis capability is presented. The method represents the combination of the patented algorithm developed by Analytical Graphics Inc. and implemented in its Launch Window Analysis (LWA) tool, together with a new LCOLA collision probability algorithm developed by COMSPOC Corporation to maximize launch window using responsive, comprehensive, and efficient LCOLA closure windows. The new tool works by assessing the underlying topography of the launch closure problem to identify and characterize all launch holds within the user-specified launch window rapidly and accurately without confining the launch operator to “top-of-the-minute” or other such constructs.

This new LCOLA capability avoids the pitfalls of the typical “digitized” or “snapshot” launch window screening approach, where launch objects are compared against the on-orbit catalogue at a small launch “T-zero” step size.

The new capability can detect launch closure holds based upon miss distance, collision probability or both. Prior to the probability calculation, each covariance is tested for positive definiteness and remediated if necessary. The tool's support for parallel processing, combined with its algorithmic efficiency, allow it to process all deployed objects. The tool aggregates all resulting launch holds into a concise report for the launch director and team.

Our “tale of three failure-oriented-accelerated-test (FOAT) types” includes (chronologically) 1) some product development tests (such as, e.g., shear-off or temperature cycling tests), 2) FOATs at the design stage (that should be applied, when a new technology, a new design or a new application of an existing aerospace electronic or a photonic product is considered, and suitable HALTs are not developed yet) and 3) Burn-in-tests (BITs). Their roles, significance and attributes are indicated and briefly discussed.

The CSG, Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana was granted major financing from ESA and CNES at the ESA's Council Ministerial in 2019 in order to implement crucial largescale renovations and modernization of the launch base. With the arrival of ARIANE-6 & VEGA but also new launchers such as CALLISTO & SPACERIDER, the core launch range must be renewed to be capable of offering game-changing flexible and attractive services. The program is called the "Core Launch Range Renewal" (CLRR).

The CLRR has 6 components, including the new Launcher Tracking & Flight Safety Operations Control Centre (known as the CDO). The CDO will group all of the CNES operators involved in the ground operations, within a dedicated state of the art 3 story building, including 7 operations centres and two dedicated data centers. The ground segment system has been completely redesigned, allowing flexibility within operations, by introducing automation of configuration and validation operator tasks.

The CDO-BLA (ground software segment) aims to improve human factors aspects for the flight tracking operators at the European Spaceport. The CDO-BLA brings with it a state of the art ground system architecture and an innovative Simulator called STONES (Simulator Training Operational Numerical Environment System).

The ground system architecture of the CDO-BLA introduces technical solutions providing high-scale flexibility for campaign operations & intrinsic resilience of the ground segment. The simulator digitally emulates complex external equipment such as the launcher, radars & telemetry antennas, providing operators with a life-like launch environment. For each campaign, operators will be able to perform training but more importantly qualify the CDO configuration ready for a launch, carry out maintenance all of which in parallel to different operations, without having to connect to external interfaces. The aim is to be able to reconfigure le CDO, between 2 launches, within 2 working days whilst aiming for operational excellence!

Investigation of the cardiorespiratory system status in the conditions of yearlong wintering at Vostok station provided new data on the development of long-term adaptation of the human body under the influence of combined factors of the extreme environment of Central Antarctica, where this climatic zone was considered as a model of the extreme environment of the lunar base. During the 64th Russian Antarctic Expedition (2019), extended studies, including a dynamic assessment of the state of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems of polar expeditioners were carried out at Vostok station. New information was obtained regarding the peculiarities of the functioning of the cardiorespiratory system under the conditions of hypobaric hypoxia depending on age during the annual adaptation to the extreme climatic conditions of Central Antarctica.

The proposed analysis consists of identifying systemic aspects that can influence safety and mission fulfillment in the Evaluation and Acceptance Processes of Space Systems and Operations for Launch through the application of System-Theoretic Process Analysis, a technique capable of identifying potential hazardous design and operational flaws, including system design errors and unsafe interactions among multiple procedures and system components. This research identifies losses, hazards, system-level safety constraints, the control structure of the general system, unsafe control actions, loss scenarios that could occur and related causal factors, detecting improvement possibilities for future verifications, evaluations, approvals, and acceptances of space systems and launch operations. These findings can promote safety in space system designs and operations, supporting the activities conducted by launch vehicle and payload developers, certification authorities, and launch centers management, enabling means to proactively act in order to mitigate risks, avoiding unsafe actions and undesired system behaviors, or even to mitigating their consequences. The practical applications of this work can result in safety and mission fulfillment improvements for safety management systems, launch approval regulations and standards; launch operation procedures; space systems design; vehicle, payload, and ground support equipment productions; systems testing; and launch authorization processes.

On November 15, 2021, Russian dead satellite Cosmos 1408 broke up, which attracted widespread attention from media and researchers both domestic and foreign. This paper analyzed this event. According to TLEs released by US Space Surveillance Network, the orbit change of the parent body was analyzed. By using the orbital elements of breakup debris, the information such as breakup time and intensity was preliminarily determined. Finally, two spacecraft on LEO were selected to carry out the collision risk assessment. The impact of Cosmos 1408 breakup debris (CBD) on the international space station (ISS), and the China space station (CSS) was analyzed. The results show that the impact risk of the CBD on the ISS and CSS could not be ignored.

Space and air traffic increase yearly, prompting concerns about their coexistence. Fallback and splashdown of rocket stages to earth into predefined areas is a usual scenario, explosions of rockets and fallback into unprecedented areas is a probable scenario. These events represent a threat to world air traffic. In the present study, a probabilistic risk assessment on the launcher's stages fallback onto world air traffic has been carried out. A novel method and software, ADIONA, were developed to assess risks of rocket explosions and debris impact on air traffic. This pioneering software, a venture of the Flight Safety Department of the French Space Agency (CNES), supervising European Space Agency (ESA) launches, calculates at every possible time instant, defined by the user, the estimated positions of airplanes with along their own trajectories, trajectories and positions of rockets and the corresponding areas where debris falls back on earth after an explosion or a deviation. It further assesses the risks of fall down of debris on air traffic in case of a launch mishap and the probability of fatality to an airplane regarding the risk boundaries set by the French Space Operations Act. The software has been implemented in a general way for broad future application in operations and continued studies and use. Real-world air traffic and rocket launch data were incorporated, particularly focusing on launches from the French Guiana Space Center (CSG) and air traffic over the North Atlantic Ocean. These real-world analyses represent realistic scenarios. The obtained results show a considerable high possible risk onto world air traffic in case of a rocket explosion after launch. It is concluded that the cohabitation of space and air traffic and the probabilistic risk assessment thereof is important to be monitored in order to eventually be diminished to reduce the risk. It is recommended to invest further resources into this observation type of analysis. Further investigations should take place on this probabilistic risk analysis, taking into account more details and fine-tuning in the risk calculation and assessment method. The study's findings and software lay the groundwork for future risk analysis and development, facilitating ongoing and future investigations.

This paper describes the current research and development efforts currently underway within the United States on Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP), with a particular focus on the Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations (DRACO) project, a joint effort of the United States Defense Advanced Projects Agency and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. However, to put the DRACO project into context, the prior United States’ prior efforts on NTR are described and the foundation those efforts provided to enable DRACO. The impact of NTP propulsion on both human and scientific exploration of the Solar System will also be discussed. And finally, the topic of advanced NTP propulsion will be addressed, including liquid fuel NTP engines.