JPH05278698A - Floating fly body - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a floating fly body for reducing the danger of collision against a space debris adversely influencing the flight in the universe space. CONSTITUTION:A radar 6 for observing a space debris is provided to a man- made satellite 1 which is a floating fly body. The observation results of this radar 6 are sent to a control apparatus 5 to drive a thruster 3 and a momentum wheel 4 and orientate a recovering block 7 for recovering a debris in a specified direction. The recovering block 7 has a multi-layer structure composed of members 8, 9 and 10 and absorbs a kinetic energy of the space debris. The use of this floating fly body enables effective recovery of a space debris which is floating in the universe space.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a floating vehicle such as an artificial satellite or a space shuttle, and more particularly to a floating vehicle having a function of collecting space debris.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As is well known, artificial satellites that fly in outer space are currently used for communication and observation while orbiting the earth, and space shuttles are used for emitting and collecting artificial satellites and for experimentation. There is.

As the usefulness of the space environment is recognized, the number of artificial satellites launched tends to increase year by year.

Along with this, so-called space dust (space debris) such as alumina particles ejected from a solid motor, paint particles separated from a satellite, parts released at the time of launch, and satellites that have finished operating have increased considerably. is doing. The size of space debris varies from a few μm to a few m, and there is a growing concern about collisions with satellites in operation and adverse effects on the solar array paddle.

In such space debris, when its existing orbit is a transition orbit to a low altitude orbit or a geosynchronous orbit, due to disturbances such as gravity of the sun and moon, asphericity of the earth, and solar radiation pressure. Perigee altitude drops and falls to the ground,
It will never burn out in outer space, such as burning out due to atmospheric resistance. On the other hand, in the case of space debris orbiting in the vicinity of a geostationary orbit, it is possible that it floats almost semipermanently.

Further, even if the space debris has a size of several mm, it moves at a very high relative speed, so that the kinetic energy is large and the impact at the time of collision becomes very large. For example, it has been reported that the windows of the cockpit of the Space Shuttle were damaged by the collision of fragments of several mm.

As a current countermeasure against such space debris, the following method is considered. First, in the observation of space debris, the observation from the ground by radar is the main subject. The most sensitive Haystack radar among them is used to collect observation data of objects in relatively low orbits.

Further, a liquid mirror telescope is being newly developed as an optical observation, and it is considered to utilize it for space debris observation. The liquid mirror telescope forms a parabolic surface of mercury on a rotary table to serve as a reflecting mirror, and is advantageous in that a large diameter can be obtained at low cost. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has begun designing a liquid mirror telescope with a diameter of 3 m for observing debris, and its limit performance is 1 at an altitude of 500 km.
It is said to be cm. There is also a plan to carry a telescope with a large diameter up to 1 m on the shuttle.

On the other hand, as a defense measure against space debris, if the orbit can be predicted by the above-mentioned observation method,
The method is to change the trajectory beforehand when the possibility of collision occurs. However, small space debris (1c
(For m or less), basically there is no way but to defend with a bumper. For example, in the Japanese experiment module of the Space Station Freedom, two bumpers mainly made of aluminum alloy are used.

[0010]

As described above, the main countermeasures against the space debris floating in outer space are prediction avoidance by observation and impact mitigation by bumpers. However, even with these methods, the risk of collision with space debris is not eliminated.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide floating navigation for reducing the risk of collision with space debris, which adversely affects navigation in outer space. To provide the body.

[0012]

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a sensor for observing space debris in a floating vehicle equipped with a propulsion device for moving on orbit, and a sensor for this sensor. The floating navigation body has space debris collection means whose positioning is controlled in a predetermined direction according to the observation result, and a coupling means capable of separating and connecting the space debris collection means.

[0013]

By adopting such a structure, the space debris floating in outer space can be effectively collected, so that the amount of space debris can be reduced. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the risk of collision with space debris in outer space.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a floating navigation body according to a first embodiment of the present invention, showing a state in which the present invention is applied to an artificial satellite. The artificial satellite 1, which is a floating body,
A thruster 3 for changing the orbit, a momentum wheel 4 for attitude control, and a controller 5 for these are mounted. Further, a solar cell paddle 2 is attached to supply electric power.

The artificial satellite 1 having such a structure starts from a space station (not shown) and moves to an orbit for collecting space debris by using the thruster 3. Then, when the target orbit is reached, the position and speed of the space debris to be collected are observed using the radar 6 which is a mounted space debris observation sensor.

The space debris targeted in this embodiment has a size of about several mm to several tens of cm, and a size smaller than this cannot be observed by the radar 6. However, even the defense by the bumper described above can minimize the damage and does not affect the mission of the artificial satellite 1. For space debris larger than that, the collision is avoided by observing the radar 6 to control the thruster 3 and changing the orbit of the artificial satellite 1 itself in advance.

When recoverable space debris is observed by the radar 6, an observation signal is sent to the control device 5. The control device 5 performs a control calculation based on the observation result, and uses the thruster 3 and the momentum wheel 4 to control the position / orientation so that the recovery block 7 faces the direction in which the debris is flying.

The inside of the recovery block 7 has a multi-layered structure of different materials. In this embodiment, the members 8, 9,
It has a three-layer structure of 10. The material of the member 8 is the softest of the three layers, and a material other than metal such as rubber is selected. The material of the member 9 has a medium hardness, and is made of, for example, an aluminum alloy. Member 10
The material is made of the hardest material such as iron so that space debris does not penetrate.

When the space debris collides with the recovery block 7 having such a structure, the kinetic energy of the space debris is so large that it tries to reach the member 9 through the member 8. If the member 8 can sufficiently absorb the kinetic energy, the space debris is stopped in the state of being embedded in the member 9, and the collection is successful. Further, even if the member 8 is peeled off from the member 9 on the way, it is unlikely that the member 8 acts as a lid and the space debris repels and escapes to the orbit again. On the other hand, if the space debris also penetrates the member 9, the space debris reaches the member 10. However, since the member 10 is made of an extremely hard material, most of it repels on its surface. After the repulsion, since the members 8 and 9 also serve as the lids, there is little possibility of escaping to the track again. Due to such an action, the space debris is reliably collected by the collection block 7.

When a certain amount of space debris is collected in this way, the artificial satellite 1 returns to the space station. In the space station, the recovery block 7 is separated at the separation / coupling mechanism 11, the recovery block 7 is replaced with another recovery block, and the recovery operation is started again.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a floating navigation body according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, instead of the separating and coupling mechanism 11 shown in FIG. 1, the recovery block 7 is held by an articulated manipulator 12.

As described above, if the floating navigation body has a structure in which the recovery block 7 is held by the multi-joint manipulator 12, the recovery block 7 can be accurately positioned with respect to the trajectory of the space debris.

Further, by providing the space 13 between the above-mentioned members 8, 9 and 10 as the internal structure of the recovery block 7, the effect of the lid of the members 8 and 9 can be further enhanced.

Although the respective embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the shape and size of the recovery block, the number and materials of the layers inside the recovery block, the structure, and the like can be appropriately changed and implemented without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is a thing.

[0026]

As described above, according to the present invention, the space debris floating in outer space can be effectively collected, so that the amount of space debris can be reduced. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the risk of collision with space debris in outer space.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a floating navigation body according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a floating navigation body according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 ... Artificial satellite (floating navigation body) 2 ... Solar cell paddle 3 ... Thruster 4 ... Momentum wheel 5 ... Control device 6 ... Radar (space debris observation sensor) 7 ... Recovery block (space debris recovery means) 8, 9, 10 ... Member 11 ... Separation / joining mechanism (joining means) 12 ... Multi-joint manipulator (joining means)

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. In a floating vehicle equipped with a propulsion device for moving on orbit, a sensor for observing space debris, and space debris collecting means for positioning control in a predetermined direction according to the observation result of this sensor. And a connecting means capable of separating and connecting the space debris collecting means, and a floating navigation body. 2. The floating navigation vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the recovery means has a multi-layered structure composed of a plurality of members having different hardnesses.