• Advances in aircraft and spacecraft science
• /
• v.5 no.2
• /
• pp.165-175
• /
• 2018

Jet Propulsion Laboratory has traditionally performed system level vibration testing of flight spacecraft. There have been many discussions in the aerospace community for more than a decade about spacecraft vibration testing benefits or lack thereof. The benefits and potential issues of fully assembled flight spacecraft vibration testing are discussed herein. The following specific topics are discussed: spacecraft screening test to uncover workmanship problems for launch dynamics environments, force- and moment-limited vibration testing, potential issues with structural frequency identification using base shake test data, and failures related to vibration shaker testing and ways to prevent them.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers Conference
• /
• 2008.03a
• /
• pp.407-412
• /
• 2008

"KAGUYA"(SELENE) is a Japanese Lunar Explorer launched by H-IIA rocket from Tanegashima Space Center on 14 September 2007. The dual-mode bipropellant propulsion subsystem of KAGUYA includes two fuel tanks, an oxidizer tank, propellant and pressurant control components, twelve monopropellant 20N thrusters, eight monopropellant 1N thrusters, and a bipropellant 500N Orbit Maneuver Engine(OME). Once the KAGUYA separated from the rocket, it circled the Earth twice and traveled to the Moon, where it entered lunar orbit. All maneuvers were performed through multiple 500N OME/20N thruster firings. This paper describes the in-space performance of KAGUYA Lunar Explorer bipropellant propulsion subsystem.

• Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology
• /
• v.18 no.5
• /
• pp.847-856
• /
• 2004

Heaters for the spacecraft propulsion system are sized to prevent propellant from catastrophic freezing. For this purpose, thermal mathematical model (TMM) of the propulsion system is developed. Calculation output is compared with the results obtained from thermal vacuum test in order to check the validity of TMM. Despite a little discrepancy between the two types of results, both of them are qualitatively compatible. It is concluded that the propulsion system heaters are correctly sized and TMM can be used as a thermal design tool for the spacecraft propulsion system.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers Conference
• /
• 1999.10a
• /
• pp.7-7
• /
• 1999

Thermal behavior of spacecraft propulsion system utilizing monopropellant hydrazine ($N_2$H$_4$) is addressed in this paper. The thermal-control performance to prevent propellant freezing in spacecraft-operational orbit was test-verified under simulated on-orbit environment. The on-orbit environment was thermally achieved in space-simulation chamber and by the absorbed-heat flux method that implements an artificial heating through to the spacecraft bus panels enclosing the propulsion system.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
• /
• v.44 no.8
• /
• pp.695-701
• /
• 2016

Spacecraft propulsion system is a kind of rocket engine that has been developed from the end of 1950s for attitude control and orbit maintenance of satellite. Since the spacecraft propulsion system has to be used for a relatively long time, therefore, stability of propellant and life of thruster could be very important factor for propulsion system design. Recently, green propellant propulsion and all electrical propulsion system have became very important issue, and we also need a development according to well organized plan. In this paper, we will introduce the development status, key technologies and development prospect of spacecraft propulsion system.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers
• /
• v.3 no.4
• /
• pp.1-11
• /
• 1999

Thermal behavior of spacecraft propulsion system utilizing monopropellant hydrazine ($N_2$$H_4$) is addressed in this paper. Thermal control performance to prevent propellant freezing in spacecraft-operational orbit was test-verified under simulated on-orbit environment. The on-orbit environment was thermally achieved in space-simulation chamber and by the absorbed-heat flux method that implements an artificial heating through to the spacecraft bus panels enclosing the propulsion system. Test results obtained in terms of temperature history of propulsion components are presented and reduced into duty cycles of the avionics heaters which are dedicated to thermal control of those components. The duty cycles are subsequently converted into the electrical power required in the operational orbit. Additionally, cyclic temperature of each component, which was made under thermal-balanced condition of spacecraft, is compared to the acceptable design range and justified from the viewpoint of system verification.

• International Journal of Aeronautical and Space Sciences
• /
• v.13 no.4
• /
• pp.421-427
• /
• 2012

Solar Sail propulsion has been validated in space (IKAROS, 2010) and soon several more solar-sail propelled spacecraft will be flown. Using sunlight for spacecraft propulsion is not a new idea. First proposed by Frederick Tsander and Konstantin Tsiolkovsky in the 1920's, NASA's Echo 1 balloon, launched in 1960, was the first spacecraft for which the effects of solar photon pressure were measured. Solar sails reflect sunlight to achieve thrust, thus eliminating the need for costly and often very-heavy fuel. Such "propellantless" propulsion will enable whole new classes of space science and exploration missions previously not considered possible due to the propulsive-intense maneuvers and operations required.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers
• /
• v.19 no.1
• /
• pp.98-110
• /
• 2015

Recently, a validation research of maneuvering and attitude control logics of a spacecraft under a ground condition is getting increase by using operating simulators with compact and precise components. For that, a cold gas propulsion system is generally used for maneuvering and attitude control of spacecraft ground simulators for its simplicity and a high reliability. In the present study, major design parameters of a cold gas propulsion system are derived to meet mission requirements based on conceptual design results of a simulator. And additionally, commercial components with proper specifications are selected for system assembly.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers Conference
• /
• 2004.03a
• /
• pp.278-281
• /
• 2004

To realize magnetic sails, momentum of the solar wind should be efficiently transferred to a spacecraft via magnetic field, which is produced around a spacecraft. In this paper, two important physical processes are addressed: 1) diffusive processes caused by plasma turbulence at the magnetospheric boundary around the spacecraft; and 2) field aligned current loops that will electrically connect the magnetospheric boundary and the spacecraft. The idea of the magnetic sails will be demonstrated by an experimental simulator, in which a fast plasma beam will penetrate into a dipole magnetic field. For that purpose, the two important physical processes should be scaled down to a small laboratory experiment in a space chamber. From the scaling considerations, the interaction can be scaled down if high-speed and high-density $(10^{19}m^{-3})$ plasma jet is used with 1-T-class magnetic field.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers
• /
• v.19 no.1
• /
• pp.87-97
• /
• 2015

In general, such ground based methods are utilized to validate maneuvering and attitude control logics of a spacecraft by a simulation with a flight software at a design phase and a integrated function test with actual hardwares at a system level. Recently, varification researches using operating simulators are getting increase using compact and precise components under a ground condition. The present paper investigates and summarized the development trend of cold gas propulsion systems for the spacecraft simulators and their major performance characteristics to derive fundamental data which are necessary for a conceptual design of the simulator.