Formation Flying: QinetiQ Enabling Technologies

1
(No Transcript)
2
Formation Flying-QinetiQ Enabling Technologies
Hollow Wave Guides
MELACOM
5cm Gridded Ion Engine

• BNSC Workshop at RCDS-
• Technologies for Satellite formation Flying
  Opportunities for the UK
• Chris Dorn, QinetiQ Space Division
• 23 February 2006

3
Overview

• A brief review of key technologies for formation
  flying missions
• EP and micro thrusters
• FF GNC communications
• Ranging and Metrology

4
Electric Propulsion

• Investigation into several options
• Miniature gridded ion engine systems
• Conventional scaled thruster (5cm diameter grids)
• Total impulse capability gt 0.5x106 Ns
• Specific impulse gt 3000s _at_ 5mN
• 5?N 5mN thrust range (5cm diameter)
• Wide and controllable trust range provides
  significant mission design options
• TRL 3
• Supporting sub-systems also at TRL3, require
  optimisation and development.

Breadboard model of 5cm GIE (front rear views)
5
FF GNC Communications

• Requirements
• Provide an extremely high QoS physical layer to
  facilitate data exchange between distributed
  architectures for processing and control.
• Minimise spacecraft resource demands (mass power
  etc)
• Candidate Solutions
• Proximity-1
• A reliable, interoperable, low-power, sub-network
  protocol for space links which can implement the
  physical layer of constellation GNC architecture.
• As implemented on MELACOM
• CCSDS File Deliver Protocol CFDP
• A protocol for robust file delivery between
  spacecraft and/or spacecraft and ground segment.
• Development
• TRL 5 for existing systems
• TRL 3 for development technologies
• Development required to improve latency and QoS.

6
Ranging and Metrology

• Requirements
• Mission dependant, nanometres meters -
  kilometres
• Current baselined techniques rely upon
  multi-wavelength interferometric techniques
• QinetiQ is offering optical methods, which when
  combined with technologies such as hollow
  waveguides and photonic crystal fibres, offers
  alternative space-capable precision ranging
  systems.
• Time correlated single photon counting
• Low Coherence Optical Reflectometry (Femtosecond
  laser pulse) range finding
• Other technologies to enable loose formation
  flying
• DALOMIS RF relative location monitoring (75m and
  0.5?). Uses code autocorrelation combined with
  radio direction finding to determine range and
  position. TRL 4.

7
Time-correlated single photon ranging

• Capable of micron level range measurement
  accuracy
• Low laser power
• It is possible to detect a single photon
  reflected from a corner cube at range 10mltRlt17km.
  In principle R??
• Accuracy is proportional to the number of photons
  received for N106 counts, range resolution is
  45mm achievable in 1s _at_ 1MHz
• TRL 3, development required to build
  space-capable demonstrators.

8
Low Coherence Optical Reflectometry

• A femtosecond laser pulse range-finding technique
  offering potential 1mm range precision
• Exploits interferometry and optical vernier
  principle
• Broadband pulse generated with non-linear
  photonic crystal fibres
• Exploits integrated optics hollow waveguides
• TRL 3 development required for space
  qualification and application

9
(No Transcript)