JPS6397498A - Artificial gravity spacecraft - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to the structure of large space structures such as manned spacecraft.

[Conventional technology]

Figures 3, 4 and 5 are, for example, JP-A-61-5
The conventional artificial gravity spacecraft shown in Publication No. 7497 is shown as an underwater front view, a top view, and a sectional view taken along the line V-■ in Figure 1. In Figure 1, (1) is the rotation axis, (2) is one point of contact where a straight line passing through the center of gravity touches the outer circumference of the spacecraft, and (3) is the other point of contact where the line passing through the center of gravity touches the outer circumference of the spacecraft.

(4) is the ceiling of the spacecraft living room, and the floor of the f51i-i spacecraft living room.

(6) is the spacecraft accommodation room, (7) is the center of gravity of the spacecraft, (8)
is the direction of rotation of the spacecraft, (9) αQ is the rotating rocket),
(Litu is a rotating spacecraft.

Next, the operation will be explained. In outer space.

When the thrusters, which are symmetrically placed and facing in opposite directions, are firing at the same time, the ring-shaped spacecraft begins to rotate out-of-plane on its rotating axis, and when the thrusters' thrust force is cut off, it rotates at a constant speed.

If this angular velocity is ω, and the distance between the spacecraft living room and the center of rotation is r, then an acceleration of a=rω2 is obtained in the living room.

If rω2 is set approximately equal to the gravitational acceleration g on the ground, the environment on the ground can be simulated with respect to gravity.

[Problems where the invention is about to disappear]

Conventional artificial gravity spacecraft are configured as described above, so the parts that can be effectively used are limited to the mlJl tongue, where the acceleration due to centrifugal force is almost equal to the acceleration on the ground, and especially the area surrounded by the ring. can't be used effectively.

The entire spacecraft had to be built into a large, ring-shaped monolithic structure, which was a difficult problem in terms of construction method.

This invention was made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to obtain a spacecraft with artificial gravity by combining a relatively small-scale habitation module and a blanket structure.

[Means for solving problems]

In the artificial gravity spacecraft according to the present invention, the habitation module is divided, each is connected to the apex part of a polygonal membrane structure blanket on which solar cells are attached, and a thruster for rotation of each module is provided. It is something.

[Effect]

The artificial gravity spacecraft according to this invention generates artificial gravity in the habitation module using centrifugal force obtained by in-plane rotation by thruster injection, and also generates tension in the membrane structure to stabilize it, making it effective as a support structure. used.

〔Example〕

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1st
In the figure, a blanket with a film structure in the shape of an α-squared polygon, (I3 is a multi-needle solar cell stuck on this blanket, +141 is a manned or uninhabited residence placed at each vertex of the blanket) module, αS
is attached to this module and rotates the entire spacecraft in the plane, a reinforcing tether connects the mating modules (IS falls along the periphery of the blanket), and αη is the direction of rotation of the spacecraft. show.

Using a space manipulator or a manned extravehicular activity, the blanket A to which the solar cells α, which have been folded and transported into orbit, is affixed is unfolded into a flat shape, and the module α, which is also transported into orbit, is expanded into a flat shape. When the module connecting points are connected along the periphery of the blanket with zero reinforcing tethers, the state shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is realized. here.

The thruster a (for example, an ion engine is preferable considering the abundant power that can be generated by solar cells) attached to the module 0 is injected to rotate the module (I41) uniformly clockwise or counterclockwise. .

When the thrust of thruster α is cut off when the rotational angular velocity reaches a predetermined value, module 0 receives centrifugal force from the center of rotation in the radial direction. When viewed from the coordinate system fixed to module I, this centrifugal force becomes an object force that always acts in one direction, that is, artificial gravity. In addition, due to the centrifugal force acting on this module α and the centrifugal force acting on the blanket itself, in-plane tension is generated in the blanket α, resulting in an apparent out-of-plane stiffness, resulting in a membrane structure that does not originally have out-of-plane rigidity. is stabilized as a structure. This makes it possible to control the attitude of the four modules I by making them into an integrated structure. If the mechanical strength of the blanket α to receive the tension is insufficient, by connecting the modules using a reinforcing tether a, a part of the centrifugal force of the module I will be applied to the tether, and the load applied to the blanket a will be reduced. You can relax while you're at it.

The ratio of the loads applied to the tether and the blanket can be freely controlled by changing the initial dimensions of the blanket and tether, the in-plane stiffness of the blanket, and the axial stiffness of the tether.

In the above embodiment, a blanket having a rectangular membrane structure was used, but the same effect can be obtained by using other polygonal shapes. Further, although an ion engine has been shown as a thruster, a chemical engine or other thruster may be used.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, a plurality of relatively small-scale modules are arranged around each other and connected by a large polygonal membrane structure blanket to which a large number of solar cells are attached. Because of this structure, it is easy to construct it in space, and the blanket section, which occupies most of the structure, can be effectively used for power generation.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIGS. 1 and 2 are a partially cutaway front view and b) front view showing an artificial gravity spacecraft according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 3, 4, and 5 are respectively FIG. 3 is a front view, a side view, and a sectional view taken along the line v-v in FIG. 3, showing a conventional artificial gravity spacecraft. 0z is a blanket, 0 is a colon battery cell,
a41 is a module, 0ri is a thruster, and αυ is a reinforcement buzzer. In addition, in FIG. 9, the same reference numerals indicate the same or equivalent parts.

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A polygonal membrane blanket with a plurality of solar cells pasted on its surface, a plurality of habitation modules placed at each vertex of this blanket, and a plurality of habitation modules placed in each of these habitation modules, each of which is placed on the blanket. and an artificial gravity spacecraft equipped with a thruster that rotates the habitation module on a membrane surface. (2) The artificial gravity spacecraft according to claim 1, characterized in that the accommodation modules are connected by a reinforcing material along the periphery of a polygonal membrane blanket.