RU2626788C2 - Descent tow vehicle for retrieving space objects from orbits - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: aviation.

SUBSTANCE: descent tow vehicle for removing objects from the orbits of artificial earth satellites contains a cargo container having a free volume for placing the object to be retrieved, an inflatable braking device with a flexible hermetic heat-resistant shell, adapted to obtain an aerodynamic shape when it is filled with gas. In this case, the inflatable braking device has outer contours in the form of a truncated cone and is made in the form of a set of torus-shaped elements. The device also contains a device for capturing the object to be retrieved, a navigation system for searching for the object to be retrieved from the orbit and a propulsion system for maneuvering the vehicle. The device for capturing the object to be retrieved is made in the form of truncated cone sectors, and the free volume for placing the object to be retrieved is in the form of a conical flare.

EFFECT: expansion of the arsenal of space technology by introducing a simple descent tow veihicle for the rapid retrieval of objects from the orbits of artificial Earth satellites.

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Description

The invention relates to the field of space technology and is a means for transporting objects located in the orbits of artificial Earth satellites (AES), and immersing them in the atmosphere. This tool is a towing descent vehicle (SAB) for capturing objects in orbit and launching them in the Earth’s atmosphere.

Such a towing descent vehicle can be used to remove man-made “debris” from near-Earth space: satellites that have spent their life, debris from destroyed satellites, dismantled large-sized structural elements from manned orbital stations, etc. Staying at such objects for a long time poses a collision threat with functioning objects created by human hands. With the increase in the number of objects launched into satellite orbits, the accumulation of technogenic “garbage” is becoming catastrophic, and cleaning up this space becomes an urgent problem.

The simplest means is known for removing a satellite from orbit and immersing it in the Earth’s atmosphere. To do this, the object removed from orbit is equipped with a jet brake engine, which generates a brake impulse at the right time, and the object is sent for descent to a given area of the Earth’s surface (SP Korolev RSC Energia Collection edited by Yu.P. Semenov, 1996, p. 342-345 [1]). However, such a technical solution is implemented in isolated cases. Distributing it to all launched objects is impractical due to a sharp increase (regardless of the mass and dimensions of the object) of their cost caused by the installation of a propulsion system. Also, the problem of removing the spent satellites or fragments of their destruction during emergency launches is not being solved.

A means is also known for launching a satellite from an orbit by attaching to it a sphere packed into a compact volume, deployed in space when gas is supplied into its sealed cavity (Gossamor Orbit Lowering Device (GOLD); a Lightweight, Low-cost, and Simple De-orbit Sistem Global Aerospace Corporation. April 16, 2003, 25 pp. [2]). This tool was proposed for descent from the orbit of the Russian manned station "Mir" weighing 140 tons with the help of a sphere connected with it with a diameter of 176 m, made of heat-resistant film with a thickness of 9 microns. Due to the deceleration of this sphere in rarefied layers of the atmosphere, a gradual decrease in the station, entry into the dense layers of the atmosphere in an arbitrary region, and its complete or partial combustion should occur. Since this tool was developed exclusively for withdrawal from orbit and flooding of the manned Mir station, it does not allow the capture, removal from orbit and transportation of space objects for their removal from orbit and immersion in the atmosphere.

A system is also known, which is a tool that ensures the removal of an object from the satellite’s orbit and its delivery to the Earth’s surface. This system includes the Shuttle reusable transport spacecraft (MTKK) with a propulsion system, a navigation system for searching for an object taken from orbit and approaching it, a manipulator for capturing an object and placing it in free space on board the MTKK, and also a surface providing effective aerodynamic braking of the system (Zh. Aviation and Cosmonautics No. 7, 1988, pp. 46-47, and the Space Shuttle website, section "Design" [3]). The Shuttle MTCC of this system performs a maneuver on approaching the flight path of the object being shot up and approaching it, after which the MTCC onboard manipulator captures and places the object on board the ship, which then makes descent in the atmosphere and lands on the Earth’s surface. However, this system, on the one hand, is a rather expensive and complicated device for removing objects from orbit, and on the other hand, the Shuttle MTCC as a vehicle from the arsenal of space technology, which excludes the possibility of its use for the purpose in question.

The closest set of features is a descent vehicle (RF Patent No. 2381967, Finchenko BC, Pichkhadze K.M., Ivankov A.A. Method for delivering cargo from manned orbital stations to the Earth’s surface [4]), which has a sealed inflatable compartment with flexible heat-resistant a shell made with the possibility of acquiring a spherical shape when filling it with gas. A cargo container and a gas source are placed inside this compartment, attaching the cargo container to a flexible shell. After separation of the descent vehicle from the orbital station, the indicated compartment is pressurized with gas and the dimensions of its flexible shell are increased until a spherical shape is achieved. The braking of the descent vehicle for descent from orbit and the transition to the trajectory of its decline in a dense atmosphere is carried out only due to the aerodynamic force that occurs during flight in rarefied layers of the atmosphere.

When implementing the aforementioned known methods for approaching and capturing a space object, ensuring appropriate orientation and braking to the speed of descent from the orbit of the descent vehicle with a cargo container, a rocket propulsion system of a transport spacecraft (TKA) is used - respectively, the Shuttle orbit orbit station. As a result of the fact that these spacecraft are involved in the delivery of cargo, the delivery of goods to the Earth's surface is extremely expensive.

The present invention is simpler in structure and cheaper than the above-described technical means for the operational removal of satellites from orbits and for cleaning near-Earth space from man-made “debris”. At the same time, the simplicity of the device of the proposed tool is due to its intended purpose - only to remove objects from their orbits, whereas in the prototype this function is performed by a transport spacecraft. From the simplicity follows the lower cost of the proposed tool.

In addition, lower costs when using the present invention may be due to the possibility of delivering SAB into orbit as a passing load during launches of various spacecraft.

It is also obvious that the descent vehicle, used only in conjunction with the Shuttle’s spacecraft or a manned orbital station, is not suitable for the operational solution of the problem of delivering goods to the Earth’s surface without regard to the flight times of this type of vehicles.

The known system for removing objects from satellite orbits, described in [4], is closest to the proposed invention.

The present invention is aimed at obtaining a technical result, which consists in expanding the arsenal of space technology by introducing a simple and cheap descent tug vehicle for the rapid removal of objects from the orbits of artificial Earth satellites.

The claimed technical result is achieved by the fact that the descent towing vehicle for removing objects from the orbits of artificial Earth satellites contains a cargo container, an inflatable brake device with a flexible sealed heat-resistant shell made with the possibility of acquiring an aerodynamic form when filling it with gas, a gas source, a shell pressurization system, moreover, according to the invention, the freight container has a free volume for accommodating a removable object and comprises a device for capturing a removable object, systems navigation to find the object taken from orbit and propulsion system for maneuvering the machine.

The claimed technical result is also achieved by the fact that the inflatable brake device has external contours in the form of a truncated cone and is made in the form of a set of elements in the form of a torus.

The claimed technical result is also achieved by the fact that the device for capturing a removable object is made in the form of sectors of a truncated cone, and the free volume for placing the removable object is in the form of a conical bell.

The claimed technical result is also achieved by the fact that the device for capturing a removable object is made in the form of elements of an inflatable structure.

The use of a towing descent vehicle with an inflatable brake device and placement of a removable object in a cargo container allows you to have the required number of such vehicles on board a transport spacecraft due to the insignificance of their mass and volume, which they occupy in a state prior to boosting. In combination with the braking of such an apparatus in a rarefied atmosphere only through the use of aerodynamic force, this makes it possible to plan the descent of cargo to the Earth and carry out it expeditiously, i.e. completely independent of the TCA flight program. The incomparability of material costs when using the proposed technical solution is also obvious in comparison with the delivery of goods to the Earth using returned vehicles with a rigid aerodynamic surface.

The use of a towing descent vehicle, the inflatable braking device of which is made with the possibility of acquiring an aerodynamic shape, ensures its self-orientation in the stream in only one direction and a stable flight to the Earth’s surface without hesitation. This is achieved due to the aerodynamic properties of the descent vehicle, which has external contours in the shape of a truncated cone and whose center of mass is shifted forward with respect to the direction of flight relative to the center of pressure due to the attachment of the flexible shell of the inflatable brake device to the cargo container placed inside it.

Equipping a towing descent vehicle with a device for capturing a captured object, a navigation system for searching, taken from the orbit of an object, and a propulsion system for maneuvering the apparatus allows you to solve the whole range of problems associated with the operations of removing a space object from orbit.

The cargo container has free volume to accommodate the removed object, it allows you to place the object within the NTU payload zone. Since the free volume for accommodating the removed object is formed in the form of a conical bell, the inflated airtight shell smoothly fits the cargo container, providing a conical aerodynamic shape of the inflatable brake device.

Since the device for capturing a removable object is made in the form of sectors of a truncated cone, and the free volume for accommodating a removable object is in the form of a conical bell, the contours of the device for capturing a removable object in working condition in combination with the internal contours of the cargo container form a payload zone.

The implementation of the device for capturing a removable object in the form of elements of an inflatable structure allows you to form the geometry of the device necessary for capturing a space object in the working position and ensures its compact laying in the transport position.

The design features of the towing descent vehicle and its flight scheme described above allow you to quickly remove space objects from orbit, provide controlled entry into the atmosphere and aerodynamic drag on the atmospheric portion of the trajectory, predict the landing site and ensure timely evacuation of the delivered cargo.

The invention is illustrated by drawings:

- in FIG. 1 shows the proposed lander-tug (SAB) with an inflatable brake device (NTU) in the open operating position - side view;

- in FIG. 2 shows the SAB with NTU in the open position - top view;

- in FIG. 3 shows an SAB with NTU in the folded transport position.

The main supporting structure of the towing descent vehicle for removing objects from satellite orbits and descent into the Earth’s atmosphere is a composite platform (1), which has a cylindrical shape, on which one propulsion system (DU) (2) is placed, and on the other (opposite) one container (3) with instrumentation and navigation equipment. An inflatable brake device (4) assembled from separate elements (5) made, for example, in the form of hollow tori, is attached to the circular contour of the second part of the platform (1). Elements (5) are placed in a cover (6) with formation; when gas is supplied to the cavity of these elements, NTU (4) of a given shape is opened in space, for example, in the form of a truncated cone with a hollow volume between its small and large bases. Tanks (7) with compressed gas from the NTU supercharging system and fuel tanks (8) ДУ (2) are also located on the platform (1). A towing descent vehicle for gripping a transported object (9) comprises a device (10) holding the object inside the hollow volume of the NTU cone (4). To keep NTU (4) in the folded position during transportation of the SAB from unauthorized disclosure, a compression system (11) is used.

The proposed lander-tug in the system for removing objects from the orbits of an artificial satellite works as follows.

Preliminarily, using ground observation stations for objects located in the satellites orbits, the object to be removed is selected. Further, using the ground-based measuring points (NPC), the orbit parameters and geometric dimensions of this object are determined. From the assortment of SABs of various thrust-weight ratio and dimensions, the appropriate apparatus is selected, the remote control of which will ensure its output from the reference orbit to the orbit of the object, and the geometric parameters of the NTU will allow the object to be placed within the free volume of the NTU.

The selected NTU SAB in the folded position shown in FIG. 3, is located under the LV head fairing, either as a passing load to the launched spacecraft, or as an independent medium or small class LV payload.

After the SAB is put into the reference orbit, the ballistic parameters of the trajectory of the SAB output into the orbit of the transported object are calculated. At the right time, at the command of the Earth, the remote control (2) is turned on and the device is launched into this orbit. A navigation system located in the instrument container (3), by radar or optical means, detects the necessary object, after which the proximity of the SAB with the object is automatically controlled using remote control (2). At a moment close to the contact of the SAB with the object, the signal of the corresponding sensor automatically turns on the gas filling system of the ATU elements (5) (4). At the moment the object contacts the SAB, gas is supplied to pressurize the holding device (10). After this, the SAB and the object make a joint flight in orbit. Then, using the remote control (2), the “SAB + object” link is oriented to the standby position for issuing a braking impulse for descent from orbit. Then, the moment of switching on and the value of the engine brake impulse are determined in the NPC to ensure that the ligament hits the given point of the atmospheric boundary. After issuing a brake impulse, if it is necessary to save the transported object, it may be provided that the part of the platform (1) containing the remote control is disconnected from the ligament. In this case, the outer surfaces of the remaining second part of the platform (1), NTU (4) and the holding device (10) are covered with thermal protection. If it is planned to flood the entire ligament in a given area, the thermal protection of the SAB is not performed.

Information sources

1. Collection of RSC Energia named after S.P. Queen edited by Yu.P. Semenova, 1996, p. 342-345.

2. Gossamor Orbit Lowering Device (GOLD); a Lightweight, Low-cost, and Simple De-orbit Sistem. Global Aerospace Corporation. April 16, 2003, 25 c.

3. Aviation and astronautics No. 7, 1988, p. 46-47, and the Space Shuttl Web site, Design Section.

4. RF patent No. 2381967, Finchenko B.C., Pichkhadze K.M., Ivankov A.A. A method of delivering cargo from manned orbital stations to the surface of the Earth.

Claims (2)

1. A descent vehicle-tug for removing space objects from orbit, containing a cargo container, an inflatable brake device with a flexible sealed heat-resistant shell made with the possibility of acquiring an aerodynamic form when filling it with gas, a gas source, a pressurization system of the shell, characterized in that the cargo container has a free volume to accommodate a removable object and contains a device for capturing a removable object, and the inflatable brake device has external contours in the form of a truncated con ca and executed as a set of elements in the form of a torus. 2. A descent tug vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that the device for capturing a removable object is made in the form of sectors of a truncated cone, the free volume for placing the removable object is in the form of a conical bell.

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