Rene Laufer

Electrical conductivity of the thermal dusty plasma under the conditions of a hybrid plasma environment simulation facility

We discuss the inductively heated plasma generator (IPG) facility in application to the generation of the thermal dusty plasma formed by the positively charged dust particles and the electrons emitted by them. We develop a theoretical model for the calculation of plasma electrical conductivity under typical conditions of the IPG. We show that the electrical conductivity of dusty plasma is defined by collisions with the neutral gas molecules and by the electron number density. The latter is calculated in the approximations of an ideal and strongly coupled particle system and in the regime of weak and strong screening of the particle charge. The maximum attainable electron number density and corresponding maximum plasma electrical conductivity prove to be independent of the particle emissivity. Analysis of available experiments is performed, in particular, of our recent experiment with plasma formed by the combustion products of a propane–air mixture and the CeO2 particles injected into it. A good correlation between the theory and experimental data points to the adequacy of our approach. Our main conclusion is that a level of the electrical conductivity due to the thermal ionization of the dust particles is sufficiently high to compete with that of the potassium-doped plasmas.

A New Inductively Driven Plasma Generator (IPG6)—Setup and Initial Experiments

As part of the partnership between the Center for Astrophysics, Space Physics and Engineering Research (CASPER) at Baylor University and the Institute of Space Systems (IRS) at the University of Stuttgart, a new design for a modular inductively driven plasma generator (IPG) is being developed and tested within CASPER and the IRS. The current IPG design is built on a well-established heritage of modular IPGs designed and operated at IRS. This latest IPG source enables the electrodeless generation of high-enthalpy plasmas and will provide CASPER researchers with the ability to operate with various gases at plasma powers of approximately 15 kW. It will also provide minimized field losses and operation over a wide scope of parameters not possible using existing designs requiring flow-controlled stabilization.

An Executable Unied Product Model Based on UML to Support Satellite Design

central product model. The approach has been applied to the design phase of the Perseus satellite which is part of the Stuttgart Small Satellite Program. This paper presents the UML lightweight extensions necessary to represent geometric features authored in CATIA and control system features authored in Matlab/Simulink in a common UML model. Next to the unied description of product data, the use of UML to represent design processes was investigated. An iterative design sequence consisting of several CATIA- and Matlab/Simulink-specic evaluations was formulated as an executable UML activity diagram. This study shows that the UML, which is already widespread for sofware design, has the potential to become the future unifying product modeling language which can close the gap between the traditional distinct mechanical, electronic and software-related disciplines.

Small Satellites and the U. N. Sustainable Development Goals

“There can be no Plan B because there is no planet B.” – Former U. N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon. 2016

Introduction to the World of Small Satellites

Welcome to the strange, rapidly evolving, and highly innovative world of small satellites. Throughout this book we will either spell out this phrase in full or sometimes refer to the objects as “smallsats.” Other phrases we will use include “cubesats,” “nanosats,” “picosats,” and even “femtosats.” The meaning of these descriptions that refer to different sizes of smallsats will be provided later.

Conclusions and Top Ten Things to Know About Small Satellites

This book has sought to cover all of the key elements associated with the development and future use of small satellites around the world. There are various chapters that have addressed the rapidly evolving technology, the main applications in remote sensing and Earth observation, networking and telecommunications, and the key opportunities that this rapidly developing technology can afford to developing countries and the Global South. There is a detailed analysis of how this technology and small satellite systems might be effectively deployed to achieve the U. N. Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. There is also a detailed analysis of the policy and regulatory issues that small satellites pose to the effective and safe future utilization of space. Further there is a chapter that outlines some possible changes and improvement to standards related to small satellites as well as proposed modifications and improvement to current regulatory provisions concerning space activities in general and smallsats in particular. These suggested enhancements to current global space governance could possibly help to address some of the policy concerns and issues raised.

Future Prospects and Policy Concerns

The world of small satellites has now evolved into two different categories or types. One type is that of small satellites that are deployed in quite low Earth orbit so that they naturally decay and return to Earth and thus automatically meet the InterAgency space Debris Committee (IADC) Space Debris Mitigation guidelines that urge removal from orbit within 25 years from their end-of-mission life. These types of small satellites, typically nanosats or picosats, are usually only a few kilograms in mass and are also usually experimental projects.

Smallsats for Remote Sensing – The Swarm Is Here!

The advent of smallsats for remote sensing services is one of the most interesting and innovative developments in space in recent years. Remote sensing has long been a powerful and useful tool for a wide variety of applications, including land use mapping, agriculture, forestry, meteorology, climate studies, air, water, and ice studies, national security, and much more.

Innovative New Uses of Smallsats for Networking and Telecom

The advent of smallsats for remote sensing services as described in the preceding chapter has shaken the world of space applications in a major way – financially, technically, and operationally. Small satellite constellations carrying out remote sensing operations have led to new business models and totally new service requirements. However, applications of small satellites for communications and networking have followed a different course than was the case for remote sensing. This is because sensor technology associated with remote sensing has evolved to become much more miniaturized and thus more easily compatible with small satellites. Commercial communication satellites, especially those in GEO orbit, have evolved in a different direction. Communications satellites have trended toward the use of very large aperture antenna reflectors that in some cases have become as large as 18 to 22 m in diameter. This trend toward large antenna reflectors has led to highly concentrated spot beams that in turn allows the use of smaller and lower cost user antennas on the ground. This also allows intensive frequency reuse by isolating beams from each other to avoid interference between beams using the same portions of the radio frequency spectrum.

Potential Innovations in Space Regulatory Systems and Standards

The advent of small satellites has been a source of innovative technology, new entrepreneurial business initiatives, new economic models for space ventures, and many other changes. As noted in Chapter 6 this has not surprisingly given rise to a host of new issues and perceived needs for new standards of operations, codes of behavior, and perhaps new regulatory actions at the national and international level to keep space activities safe, harmonious, and operationally effective. Truly small satellites, of the cubesat and smaller category, have given rise to one set of concerns, while large-scale satellite constellations, sometimes called megaLEO systems, have given rise to other types of concerns.