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High-Propellant Throughput Sub-kW Electric Propulsion System for Deep Space Science and Exploration
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Clementine, Deep Space Program Science Experiment
Clementine, also called the Deep Space Program Science Experiment, is a joint Department of Defense (DoD)/National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) mission with the dual goal of testing small spacecraft, subsystems, and sensors in the deep space environment and also providing a nominal science return. The Clementine mission will provide technical demonstrations of innovative lightweight spacecraft components and sensors, will be launced on a spacecraft developed within 2 years of program start, and will point a way for new planetary mission options under consideration by NASA. This booklet gives the background of the Clementine mission (including the agencies involved), the mission objectives, the mission scenario, the instruments that the mission will carry, and how the data will be analyzed and made accessible.
Trajectory design for the Deep Space Program Science Experiment (DSPSE) mission
In 1994, the Deep Space Program Science Experiment (DSPSE) spacecraft will become the first spacecraft to perform, in succession, both a lunar orbiting mission and a deep-space asteroid encounter mission. The primary mission objective is to perform a long-duration flight-test of various new-technology lightweight components, such as sensors, in a deep-space environment. The mission has two secondary science objectives: to provide high-resolution imaging of the entire lunar surface for mapping purposes and flyby imaging of the asteroid 1620 Geographos. The DSPSE mission is sponsored by the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization (SDIO). As prime contractor, the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) is building the spacecraft and will conduct mission operations. The Goddard Space Flight Center's (GSFC) Flight Dynamics Division is supporting NRL in the areas of The Deep Space Network (DSN) will provide tracking support. The DSPSE mission will begin with a launch from the Western Test Range in late January 1994. Following a minimum 1.5-day stay in a low-Earth parking orbit, a solid kick motor burn will boost DSPSE into an 18-day, 2.5-revolution phasing orbit transfer trajectory to the Moon. Two burns to insert DSPSE into a lunar polar orbit suitable for the mapping mission will be followed by mapping orbit maintenance and adjustment operations over a period of 2 sidereal months. In May 1994, a lunar orbit departure maneuver, in conjunction with a lunar swingby 26 days later, will propel DSPSE onto a heliocentric transfer that will intercept Geographos on September 1, 1994. This paper presents the characteristics, deterministic delta-Vs, and design details of each trajectory phase of this unique mission, together with the requirements, constraints, and design considerations to which each phase is subject. Numerous trajectory plots and tables of significant trajectory events are included. Following a discussion of the results of a preliminary launch window analysis, a summary of the deterministic impulsive delta-V budget required to establish the baseline mission trajectory design is presented.
Secondary Payload Opportunities on NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) Enable Science and Deep Space Exploration
For the first time in almost 40 years, a NASA human-rated launch vehicle has completed its Critical Design Review (CDR). With this milestone, NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion spacecraft are on the path to launch a new era of deep space exploration. This first launch of SLS and the Orion Spacecraft is planned no later than November 2018 and will fly along a trans-lunar trajectory, testing the performance of the SLS and Orion systems for future missions. NASA is making investments to expand the science and exploration capability of the SLS by developing the capability to deploy small satellites during the trans-lunar phase of the mission trajectory. Exploration Mission 1 (EM-1) will include thirteen 6U Cubesat small satellites to be deployed beyond low earth orbit. By providing an earth-escape trajectory, opportunities are created for the advancement of small satellite subsystems, including deep space communications and in-space propulsion. This SLS capability also creates low-cost options for addressing existing Agency strategic knowledge gaps and affordable science missions. A new approach to payload integration and mission assurance is needed to ensure safety of the vehicle, while also maintaining reasonable costs for the small payload developer teams. SLS EM-1 will provide the framework and serve as a test flight, not only for vehicle systems, but also payload accommodations, ground processing, and on-orbit operations. Through developing the requirements and integration processes for EM-1, NASA is outlining the framework for the evolved configuration of secondary payloads on SLS Block upgrades. The lessons learned from the EM-1 mission will be applied to processes and products developed for future block upgrades. In the heavy-lift configuration of SLS, payload accommodations will increase for secondary opportunities including small satellites larger than the traditional Cubesat class payload. The payload mission concept of operations, proposed payload capacity of SLS, and the payload requirements for launch and deployment will be described to provide potential payload users an understanding of this unique exploration capability.
Trends in Performance and Characteristics of Ultra-Stable Oscillators for Deep Space Radio Science Experiments
Telecommunication systems of spacecraft on deep space missions also function as instruments for Radio Science experiments. Radio scientists utilize the telecommunication links between spacecraft and Earth to examine very small changes in the phase/frequency, amplitude, and/or polarization of radio signals to investigate a host of physical phenomena in the solar system. Several missions augmented the radio communication system with an Ultra-Stable Oscillator (USO) in order to provide a highly stable reference signal for oneway downlink. This configuration is used in order to enable better investigations of the atmospheres of the planets occulting the line-of-sight to the spacecraft; one-way communication was required and the transponders' built-in auxiliary oscillators were neither sufficiently stable nor spectrally pure for the occultation experiments. Since Radio Science instrumentation is distributed between the spacecraft and the ground stations, the Deep Space Network (DSN) is also equipped to function as a world-class instrument for Radio Science research. For a detailed account of Radio Science experiments, methodology, key discoveries, and the DSN's historical contribution to the field, see Asmar and Renzetti (1993). The tools of Radio Science can be and have also been utilized in addressing several mission engineering challenges; e.g., characterization of spacecraft nutation and anomalous motion, antenna calibrations, and communications during surface landing phases. Since the first quartz USO was flown on Voyager, the technology has advanced significantly, affording future missions higher sensitivity in reconstructing the temperature pressure profiles of the atmospheres under study as well as other physical phenomena of interest to Radio Science. This paper surveys the trends in stability and spectral purity performance, design characteristics including size and mass, as well as cost and history of these clocks in space.
Low Cost Electric Propulsion Thruster for Deep Space Robotic Science Missions
Electric Propulsion (EP) has found widespread acceptance by commercial satellite providers for on-orbit station keeping due to the total life cycle cost advantages these systems offer. NASA has also sought to benefit from the use of EP for primary propulsion onboard the Deep Space-1 and DAWN spacecraft. These applications utilized EP systems based on gridded ion thrusters, which offer performance unequaled by other electric propulsion thrusters. Through the In-Space Propulsion Project, a lower cost thruster technology is currently under development designed to make electric propulsion intended for primary propulsion applications cost competitive with chemical propulsion systems. The basis for this new technology is a very reliable electric propulsion thruster called the Hall thruster. Hall thrusters, which have been flown by the Russians dating back to the 1970s, have been used by the Europeans on the SMART-1 lunar orbiter and currently employed by 15 other geostationary spacecraft. Since the inception of the Hall thruster, over 100 of these devices have been used with no known failures. This paper describes the latest accomplishments of a development task that seeks to improve Hall thruster technology by increasing its specific impulse, throttle-ability, and lifetime to make this type of electric propulsion thruster applicable to NASA deep space science missions. In addition to discussing recent progress on this task, this paper describes the performance and cost benefits projected to result from the use of advanced Hall thrusters for deep space science missions.
Science and Deep Space Missions
Have you ever wondered about the science goals of various deep space missions? Or why scientists want such seemingly complicated spacecraft and operations scenarios? With a focus on outer planets) this talk will cover the scientific goals and results of several recent and future missions) how scientists approach a requirements flow down) and how the disparate needs of mission engineers and scientists can come together for mission success. It will also touch on several up and coming technologies and how they will change mission architectures in the future.
Ka-Band Transponder for Deep-Space Radio Science
A one-page document describes a Ka-band transponder being developed for use in deep-space radio science. The transponder receives in the Deep Space Network (DSN) uplink frequency band of 34.2 to 34.7 GHz, transmits in the 31.8- to 32.3 GHz DSN downlink band, and performs regenerative ranging on a DSN standard 4-MHz ranging tone subcarrier phase-modulated onto the uplink carrier signal. A primary consideration in this development is reduction in size, relative to other such transponders. The transponder design is all-analog, chosen to minimize not only the size but also the number of parts and the design time and, thus, the cost. The receiver features two stages of frequency down-conversion. The receiver locks onto the uplink carrier signal. The exciter signal for the transmitter is derived from the same source as that used to generate the first-stage local-oscillator signal. The ranging-tone subcarrier is down-converted along with the carrier to the second intermediate frequency, where the 4-MHz tone is demodulated from the composite signal and fed into a ranging-tone-tracking loop, which regenerates the tone. The regenerated tone is linearly phase-modulated onto the downlink carrier.
Deep Space Gateway Science Opportunities
The NASA Life Sciences Research Capabilities Team (LSRCT) has been discussing deep space research needs for the last two years. NASA's programs conducting life sciences studies - the Human Research Program, Space Biology, Astrobiology, and Planetary Protection - see the Deep Space Gateway (DSG) as affording enormous opportunities to investigate biological organisms in a unique environment that cannot be replicated in Earth-based laboratories or on Low Earth Orbit science platforms. These investigations may provide in many cases the definitive answers to risks associated with exploration and living outside Earth's protective magnetic field. Unlike Low Earth Orbit or terrestrial locations, the Gateway location will be subjected to the true deep space spectrum and influence of both galactic cosmic and solar particle radiation and thus presents an opportunity to investigate their long-term exposure effects. The question of how a community of biological organisms change over time within the harsh environment of space flight outside of the magnetic field protection can be investigated. The biological response to the absence of Earth's geomagnetic field can be studied for the first time. Will organisms change in new and unique ways under these new conditions? This may be specifically true on investigations of microbial communities. The Gateway provides a platform for microbiology experiments both inside, to improve understanding of interactions between microbes and human habitats, and outside, to improve understanding of microbe-hardware interactions exposed to the space environment.
Enabling Science and Deep Space Exploration through Space Launch System (LSL) Secondary Payload Opportunities
For the first time in almost 40 years, a NASA human-rated launch vehicle has completed its Critical Design Review (CDR). By reaching this milestone, NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion spacecraft are on the path to launch a new era of deep space exploration. NASA is making investments to expand science and exploration capability of the SLS by developing the capability to deploy small satellites during the trans-lunar phase of the mission trajectory. Exploration Mission 1 (EM-1), currently planned for launch no earlier than July 2018, will be the first mission to carry such payloads on the SLS. The EM-1 launch will include thirteen 6U Cubesat small satellites that will be deployed beyond low earth orbit. By providing an earth-escape trajectory, opportunities are created for advancement of small satellite subsystems, including deep space communications and in-space propulsion. This SLS capability also creates low-cost options for addressing existing Agency strategic knowledge gaps and affordable science missions. A new approach to payload integration and mission assurance is needed to ensure safety of the vehicle, while also maintaining reasonable costs for the small payload developer teams. SLS EM-1 will provide the framework and serve as a test flight, not only for vehicle systems, but also payload accommodations, ground processing, and on-orbit operations. Through developing the requirements and integration processes for EM-1, NASA is outlining the framework for the evolved configuration of secondary payloads on SLS Block upgrades. The lessons learned from the EM-1 mission will be applied to processes and products developed for future block upgrades. In the heavy-lift configuration of SLS, payload accommodations will increase for secondary opportunities including small satellites larger than the traditional Cubesat class payload. The payload mission concept of operations, proposed payload capacity of SLS, and the payload requirements for launch and deployment will be described to provide potential payload users an understanding of this unique exploration capability.
Deployable CubeSat Antennas for Deep Space and Earth Science Missions
New antenna technologies have unlocked a new class of missions using CubeSats for Earth Science or Deep Space operations. This class of small satellites have historically been mostly used as teaching tools allowing students to design and test small satellites and develop space experiments. With the rise of new game-changing antenna technologies, overcoming their small size and need for high gain, they can now be used beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO). Over the past 5 years, technologists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory have designed, tested and successfully flown these innovative Smallsat antennas, enabling new telecommunication and science achievements.
Advanced thermal control technologies for space science missions at JPL
A wide range of deep space science missions are planned by NASA for the future. Many of these missions are being planned under strict cost caps and advanced technologies are needed in order to enable these challenging mssions. Because of the wide range of thermal environments the spacecraft experience during the mission, advanced thermal control technologies are the key to enabling many of these missions.
Trends in Performance and Characteristics of Ultra-Stable Oscillators for Deep Space Radio Science Experiments
This paper surveys the trends in stability and spectral purity performance, design characteristics including size and mass, as well as cost and history of these clocks in space.
Low-Power Operation and Plasma Characterization of a Qualification Model SPT-140 Hall Thruster for NASA Science Missions
Hall thruster systems based on commercial product lines can potentially lead to lower cost electric propulsion (EP) systems for deep space science missions. A 4.5-kW SPT-140 Hall thruster presently under qualification testing by SSL leverages the substantial heritage of the SPT-100 being flown on Russian and US commercial satellites. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory is exploring the use of commercial EP systems, including the SPT-140, for deep space science missions, and initiated a program to evaluate the SPT-140 in the areas of low power operation and thruster operating life. A qualification model SPT-140 designated QM002 was evaluated for operation and plasma properties along channel centerline, from 4.5 kW to 0.8 kW. Additional testing was performed on a development model SPT-140 designated DM4 to evaluate operation with a Moog proportional flow control valve (PFCV). The PFCV was commanded by an SSL engineering model PPU-140 Power Processing Unit (PPU). Performance measurements on QM002 at 0.8 kW discharge power were 50 mN of thrust at a total specific impulse of 1250 s, a total thruster efficiency of 0.38, and discharge current oscillations of under 3% of the mean current. Steady-state operation at 0.8 kW was demonstrated during a 27 h firing. The SPT-140 DM4 was operated in closed-loop control of the discharge current with the PFCV and PPU over discharge power levels of 0.8-4.5 kW. QM002 and DM4 test data indicate that the SPT-140 design is a viable candidate for NASA missions requiring power throttling down to low thruster input power.
Orbit determination covariance analysis for the Deep Space Program Science Experiment mission
To define an appropriate orbit support procedure for the DSPSE mission, detailed permission orbit determination covariance analyses have been performed for the translunar and trans-Geographos mission phases. Preliminary analyses were also performed for the lunar mapping mission phase. These analyses are designed to assess the tracking patterns and the amount of tracking data needed to obtain orbit solutions of required accuracy for each mission phase and before and after each major orbit perturbation, such as orbit maneuvers and flybys of the Earth and Moon. In addition to operational orbit determination procedures, these analyses identify major error sources, estimate their contribution to orbital errors, and address possible strategies to reduce orbit determination error. For the lunar orbit phase, several lunar gravity error modeling approaches have been investigated. The covariance analysis results presented in this paper will serve as a guide for providing orbit determination support for the DSPSE mission.
Digital Filter ASIC for NASA Deep Space Radio Science
This paper is about the implementation of an 80 MHz, 16-bit, multi-stage digital filter to decimate by 1600, providing a 50 kHz output with bandpass ripple of less than +/-0.1 dB. The chip uses two decimation by five units and six decimations by two executed by a single decimation by two units. The six decimations by two consist of six halfband filters, five having 30-taps and one having 51-taps. Use of a 16x16 register file for the digital delay lines enables implementation in the Vitesse 350K gate array.
BioSentinel - A 6U Nanosatellite for Deep Space Biological Science
No abstract available