论文标题
通过太阳能航行的小沙质在快速横向轨迹和飞行中自主组装上的高级科学有效载荷探索外部太阳能系统
Exploring the Outer Solar System with Solar Sailing Smallsats on Fast-Transit Trajectories and In-Flight Autonomous Assembly of Advanced Science Payloads
论文作者
论文摘要
我们讨论了机上自主组装，作为建立先进的行星科学有效载荷以探索太阳系外部区域的手段。这些有效载荷是由由一组小萨特（<20 kg）传递的模块化零件来构建的，这些零件被放置在快速太阳系传输轨迹上，同时被太阳帆推进加速至〜10 au/yr的速度。这个概念为行星科学界提供了廉价，频繁的访问太阳系的遥远地区，并具有灵活的可重构仪器和在飞行中组装的系统。它允许更快的重新访问时间，快速补充和技术插入，更长的任务能力，成本较低。它还通过使用模块化冗余体系结构来提高SmallSats的科学能力，并允许在整个太阳系中增殖感测仪器。
We discuss the in-flight autonomous assembly as the means to build advanced planetary science payloads to explore the outer regions of the solar system. These payloads are robotically constructed from modular parts delivered by a group of smallsats (< 20 kg) which are placed on fast solar system transfer trajectories while being accelerated by solar sail propulsion to velocities of ~10 AU/yr. This concept provides the planetary science community with inexpensive, frequent access to distant regions of the solar system with flexible, reconfigurable instruments and systems that are assembled in flight. It permits faster revisit times, rapid replenishment and technology insertions, longer mission capability with lower costs. It also increases the science capabilities of smallsats via the use of modular, redundant architectures and allows for proliferation of sensing instrumentation throughout the solar system.
