Space Vehicle Launch Avoiding Space Junk

Problem Statement Requirements

(Student Work)

Abstract

On October 4, 1957, Soviet satellite[2] Sputnik, the world's first artificial satellite was launched into space. Since then mankind has been consistently sending up a large number of space vehicles on various grounds. Be it for defense , scientific study, communication, navigation or entertainment the number of launches is on the rise. This has led to a new environmental problem, termed "space junk [1]" which surrounds the earth just beyond the earth's atmosphere.

WASHINGTON (AP) - More than 9,000 pieces of space debris are orbiting the Earth, a hazard that can only be expected to get worse in the next few years. And currently there's no workable and economic way to clean up the mess.

Space debris has become a growing concern in recent years, since collisions at orbital[3] velocities[4] can be highly damaging to functioning satellites. Another problem the scientist are currently facing is during a space vehicle launch[5]. Space junk now needs to be taken into account when deciding the flight plan. Which is just the system we plan to build. A system that would factor in "space junk" into a space vehicle launch system.

Domain description :

refr: wikipedia.org

[1] Space Junk : Space debris or orbital debris, also called space junk and space waste, are the objects in orbit around Earth created by humans, that no longer serve any useful purpose. They consist of everything from entire spent rocket stages and defunct satellites to explosion fragments, paint flakes, dust, and slag from solid rocket motors, coolant released by RORSAT nuclear powered satellites, deliberate insertion of small needles, and other small particles.[1] Clouds of very small particles may cause erosive damage, like sandblasting.

Fig.1.1Fig1.2

[2]Satellites : objects which have been placed into orbit by human endeavor. We are considering only artificial satellites out here.

[3]Orbit : orbit is the path that an object makes around another object while under the influence of a source of centripetal force, such as gravity.

[4]Orbital velocity : is the speed at which a "satellite" orbits around the barycenter of a system, usually around a more massive body.

[5]Launch : is the first phase of the flight of a rocket. For orbital spaceflights, or for launches into interplanetary space, rockets are launched from a launch pad, which is usually a fixed location on the ground but may also be on a floating platform such as the San Marco platform, or the Sea Launch vessel.

Fig 3 : DataFlow Diagram

[Figure:4 Block Diagram of System]

Description of the program:

1. The details about all the satellites launched till date is available in central database that needs to permit launches to a particular co-ordinate in space. [the name you found out would come here, Jignesh]

2. A catalog of the current "space junk" is also available to query.

3. Not all the "junk" has been cataloged so the chances of collision still occurs.

4. In case a space vehicle does collide with a "space junk" , then new space junk could be created.

5. Space junk exists only with in a particular range from earth surface.

6. Given their usually small size, space junks are considered as points [not 3-D]

7. Central database will permit launch if the final destination is not occupied by any other previously launched satellite.

What our program aims to achieve:

1. We plan to create a global system such that it can be used by any country in the world for its launch purposes.

2. Input to the system : final destination in space , country / area to launch from.

3. The system would query a central database and find out if the final destination is permitted given the previous launches.

4. If permitted, the system would query the catalog to check which of the flight paths [launch points to final destination ] would cause a collision.

5. Output from the system : A result set of the feasible [no collision] flight paths from the various launch points within the area would be returned. This data is time sensitive.

6. This output is provided to a space vehicle launch system that launches the space shuttle.

7. If after launch a collision does occur, our monitoring system would capture the new space junk [if created] and update the catalog.

Thus our system is a real time system that keeps learning and updating itself.

Entities & Attributes:

Constraint entities:

Sr.No / ENTITY / ATTRIBUTES / CONSTRAINTS
1 / LaunchCountry / countryNumber / 1 < x < number of participating countries
countryName
numberOfLaunches
2 / LaunchLocation / countryIndex
launchCoordinateXY / Max(x) < Area of corresponding country
locationName
hieghtOfLaunchPad
3 / SpaceLocation / altitudeOfLocation / The range of altitude above earth surface that we are considering is restricted:
600 km < x < 1000 km
spaceCoordinateXY
spaceLocationDescription
4 / SpaceJunk / spaceJunkId
spaceJunkSize / We are considering space junk only of
x > 0.5m diameter
spaceJunkAltitude / We are considering the space junk present in the range
600 km < x < 1000 km above earth's surface
5 / SpaceJunkImpact / spaceJunkVelocity
spaceJunkDensity / We are considering the space junk of density that of fiber
6 / SpaceVehicle / spaceVehicleVelocity / x >= 3.07 km/hr
spaceVehicleName
spaceVehicleLife
7 / Collision / collisionTime
collisionAltitude
collisionCoordinateXY
collisionNumber
8 / MonitorSystem / sensorRange / We are considering the area scanned on collision by the sensors to be within the range of
0 < x < 1km
impactTime
numberOfSensors / 1 < x < 3 depending on mission criticality
9 / SystemReport / systemReportIndex
timeOfLaunch / timeOfLaunch range is
0.001 s < x < 60 s
10 / WeatherReport / reportIndex
rainSpeed
windSpeed / Wind speed for launch to take place is within the range :
10 mile/hour < x < 40mile/hour

Non – constraint entities: -

Entity / Attribute
Person / name
title
department
Scientist / name
qualification
country
DataAdministrator / name
qualification
country
Department / name
country
description
WeatherDepartment / name
country
MonitoringSystem / trackingItem
systemIndex
country
DataAdminReport / reportName
reportIndex
result
LaunchReport / reportName
reportIndex
flightPath
time

Use Cases :

Actors:

Actor / Role
Person / Scientist
Person / Data Administrator
Person / Space Junk catalog Administrator
Person / WeatherScientist
Launch System / Launch System

Description of the Users:

  1. DataAdministrator : His role is to grant / revoke permission for a particular satellite launch. Given a final destination for a new space vehicle , he would like to know if there is any previous satellite in that location in space.
  2. WeatherScientist : His role is to decide if the weather is suitable for space vehicle launch for a given set of flight paths and time range. He would like to consider the parameters of wind speed , rain , temperature , humidity etc.
  3. Launch system: Its role is to launch the satellite. For that it would like the system to provide it with

a)Non collision flight paths [with reference to space junk]

b)Feasible launch locations.

c)Time range in which launch should take place.

Our use cases:-

Actor / Use cases
Person (Scientist) /
  1. List existing launch locations for a given country
  2. Update participating launch countries.

Person(Data Administrator) /
  1. Permit / Revoke permission for launch
  2. Check existing space vehicle in a space location

Launch System /
  1. Scan space junk in required range
  2. Extract the high impact space junk details
  3. Compute non collision flight path

Person(Weather Scientist) /
  1. Forecast weather for launch date / time
  2. Shortlist suitable time for launch

Person(Space Junk catalog Administrator) /
  1. Monitor space vehicle for collisions
  2. Sense required range on collision
  3. Update Space Junk catalog

References:

refr :