Stephen Gabriel

On space weather consequences and predictions

This paper focuses on the question of what needs to be predicted and what processes need to be understood to predict and forecast space weather conditions that are hazardous to current technology. The papers aim is to see if we are working on the correct space parameters to permit prediction of those quantities that actually present hazards to current space technology. The paper is not intended to be encyclopedic. We conclude that although the sunspot number is a general proxy for many space hazards, there is surprisingly little direct need for its accurate prediction or for the prediction of solar flares as such. We also find that knowledge of Kp and other geomagnetic indices are rarely directly required. Important gaps in our knowledge exist concerning the variations of storm time electron, proton, and ion populations within the magnetosphere. Work is also required in predicting fast coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and in understanding the processes of CME initiation and acceleration within the corona and high energy solar particle acceleration and propagation.

Universal adaptive control of satellite formation flying

In this paper, a new universal adaptive control scheme for satellite formation flying is developed. The underlying idea of our design is to combine the domination design and the monotone adaptive gain. This scheme is guaranteed to have the properties of position tracking and full adaptivity against all parameters. Simulation studies are given which establish that implementation of this scheme would not require unachievable actuator signals.

High-energy charged particles in space at one astronomical unit

Single-event effects and many other spacecraft anomalies are caused by positively charged high-energy particles impinging on the vehicle and its component parts. Here, we review the current knowledge of the interplanetary particle environment in the energy ranges that are most important for these effects. State-of-the-art engineering models are described briefly along with comments on the future work required in this field.

A modeling technique for active control design studies with application to spacecraft microvibrations

Microvibrations, at frequencies between 1 and 1000 Hz, generated by on board equipment, can propagate throughout a spacecraft structure and affect the performance of sensitive payloads. To investigate strategies to reduce these dynamic disturbances by means of active control systems, realistic yet simple structural models are necessary to represent the dynamics of the electromechanical system. In this paper a modeling technique which meets this requirement is presented, and the resulting mathematical model is used to develop some initial results on active control strategies. Attention is focused on a mass loaded panel subjected to point excitation sources, the objective being to minimize the displacement at an arbitrary output location. Piezoelectric patches acting as sensors and actuators are employed. The equations of motion are derived by using Lagranges equation with vibration mode shapes as the Ritz functions. The number of sensors/actuators and their location is variable. The set of equations obtained is then transformed into state variables and some initial controller design studies are undertaken. These are based on standard linear systems optimal control theory where the resulting controller is implemented by a state observer. It is demonstrated that the proposed modeling technique is a feasible realistic basis for in-depth controller design/evaluation studies.

SEPEM: A tool for statistical modeling the solar energetic particle environment

Solar energetic particle (SEP) events are a serious radiation hazard for spacecraft as well as a severe health risk to humans traveling in space. Indeed, accurate modeling of the SEP environment constitutes a priority requirement for astrophysics and solar system missions and for human exploration in space. The European Space Agencys Solar Energetic Particle Environment Modelling (SEPEM) application server is a World Wide Web interface to a complete set of cross-calibrated data ranging from 1973 to 2013 as well as new SEP engineering models and tools. Both statistical and physical modeling techniques have been included, in order to cover the environment not only at 1 AU but also in the inner heliosphere ranging from 0.2 AU to 1.6 AU using a newly developed physics-based shock-and-particle model to simulate particle flux profiles of gradual SEP events. With SEPEM, SEP peak flux and integrated fluence statistics can be studied, as well as durations of high SEP flux periods. Furthermore, effects tools are also included to allow calculation of single event upset rate and radiation doses for a variety of engineering scenarios.

Variable Structure Model for Flow-Induced Tonal Noise Control with Plasma Actuators

tones from a control point of view by employing techniques from classical control. A modification of the existing physics-based linear model produced a new variable structure model in which a plasma actuator was regarded as a linear gain. The parameters of the overall model working at two operating voltages were identified using experimentaldata.Theeffectsoftheplasmaactuatorcontrolatothervariousoperatingvoltageswerethusabletobe predicted using linear interpolation. The good agreement between the predicted and the measured data supported the proposed variable structure model, inside of which plasma actuators affected the damping of cavity pressure oscillations proportionally to the applied voltage to reduce flow-induced tonal noise. With the proposed variable structuremodelthesystemstabilitycontrolledbyplasmaactuatorsatvariousoperatingvoltageswasensured,thusa closed-loop controlmethod could beapplied without leadingto instability. Asimple proportional integral derivative controller was implemented. Results show the potential of a closed-loop method by increasing system power efficiency.

Explicit Model Predictive Control Approach for Low-Thrust Spacecraft Proximity Operations

The key role of autonomous systems in future space missions has made model predictive control a very attractive guidance and control technique. However, the capability of low-power spacecraft processors to handle the real-time computational load of this technique still needs to be fully established, especially for complex control problems. This paper introduces a method to improve the computational efficiency of model predictive control when applied to the problem of autonomous rendezvous and proximity maneuvering using low-thrust propulsion. To ensure safe trajectories in this scenario, a long control horizon is required and the control problem must be solved at a relatively fast sampling rate. The proposed design addresses such requirements by parameterizing the thrust profile with a set of Laguerre functions. In this setting, the number of control variables can be made significantly smaller than the length of the control horizon, as opposed to standard design methods. By exploiting this property, in co...

Model building and verification for active control of microvibrations with probabilistic assessment of the effects of uncertainties

Abstract Microvibrations, generally defined as low-amplitude vibrations at frequencies up to 1 kHz, are of critical importance in a number of areas. It is now well known that, in general, the suppression of such microvibrations to acceptable levels requires the use of active control techniques which, in turn, require sufficiently accurate and tractable models of the underlying dynamics on which to base controller design and initial performance evaluation. Previous work has developed a systematic procedure for obtaining a finite-dimensional state-space model approximation of the underlying dynamics from the defining equations of motion, which has then been shown to be a suitable basis for robust controller design. In this paper, the experimental validation of this model prior to experimental studies is described in order to determine the effectiveness of the designed controllers. This includes details of the experimental rig and also the use of methods for assessing the safety of the resulting structure against uncertain parameters.

Development of an indirect counterbalanced pendulum optical-lever thrust balance for micro- to millinewton thrust measurement

This paper describes the design and testing of an indirect hanging pendulum thrust balance using a laser-optical-lever principle to provide micro- to millinewton thrust measurement for the development of electric propulsion systems. The design philosophy allows the selection of the total thrust range in order to maximize resolution through a counterbalanced pendulum principle, as well as passive magnetic damping in order to allow relatively rapid transient thrust measurement. The balance was designed for the purpose of hollow cathode microthruster characterization, but could be applied to other electric propulsion devices in the thrust range of micro- to millinewtons. An initial thrust characterization of the T5 hollow cathode is presented.

Solar Energetic Particle Events: Phenomenology and Prediction

Solar energetic particle events can cause major disruptions to the operation of spacecraft in earth orbit and outside the earths magnetosphere and have to be considered for EVA and other manned activities. They may also have an effect on radiation doses received by the crew flying in high altitude aircraft over the polar regions. The occurrence of these events has been assumed to be random, but there would appear to be some solar cycle dependency with a higher annual fluence occuring during a 7 year period, 2 years before and 4 years after the year of solar maximum. Little has been done to try to predict these events in real-time with nearly all of the work concentrating on statistical modelling. Currently our understanding of the causes of these events is not good. But what are the prospects for prediction? Can artificial intelligence techniques be used to predict them in the absence of a more complete understanding of the physics involved? The paper examines the phenomenology of the events, briefly reviews the results of neural network prediction techniques and discusses the conjecture that the underlying physical processes might be related to self-organised criticality and turblent MHD flows.