First Flight Experiment with the NERVA-1 Inertial Platform

Constantinescu, Cristian Emil; Rugescu, Radu D.; Ciochină, Silviu; Cacoveanu, Remus

doi:10.4028/www.scientific.net/amm.325-326.990

Cited by 3 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 1 publication

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“…The other components of the chain of the autopilot are less restrictive. The present determinations show that a feasible solution to the guidance accuracy was found, that must be proved however along the series of flight tests that began last year with the NERVA-1 experiment [7].…”

Section: The Black Sea Area and Existing Facilitiesmentioning

confidence: 70%

“…See for example that the main launching pad of the last generation space center in southern China is located 800 meters from the seashore. When the first stage of the RT-759-01_NERVA-1 rocket vehicle was tested last year at Cape Midia, the terminal point of the flight was well in the seawater, 20-km east [7]. Equations of motion used to assess the deviations for defining the admissible flight corridor are based on the three dimensional geometry in Fig.…”

Section: The Black Sea Area and Existing Facilitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Surface Corridor Requirements for Space Launches over the Black Sea

Rugescu

Monea

2013

AMM

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Romanian space project NERVA develops the small rocket launcher for injecting nanosatellites into a very LEO. The launching area security first requires establishing a safe launch corridor on the ground. The first candidate for the experiments with the orbital rocket prototype is the western coast of the Black Sea in Romania. Optimal flight considerations immediately show that the best launch azimuth is on west-east direction, which defines a launching corridor along the Black Sea with the similar orientation. Do to the dense population of the sea shore area and to the rather agglomerated condition on the Black Sea, serious concerns arise regarding the safety measures to be solved, before any space activity above the Black Sea should begin. The main challenge is the safe prediction of the impact point of the space launcher in every moment of the atmospheric ascent, in case of unavoidable failure of the propulsion system. This task is assumed and presented as developed within a recent research activity of the NERVA team.

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Section: The Black Sea Area and Existing Facilitiesmentioning

confidence: 70%

Section: The Black Sea Area and Existing Facilitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Surface Corridor Requirements for Space Launches over the Black Sea

Rugescu

Monea

2013

AMM

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“…Recovery of the basic inertial information with an inexpensive and reliable inertial platform was already tested by the present team of investigators during the RT-759-NERVA-1 rocket flight on June 15, 2010 [19]. The sensors used proved highly adequate for such a low cost mission and are intended to be developed further.…”

Section: Optirob 2013mentioning

confidence: 99%

Reentry Design Solution for a Hypersonic Small Capsule

Rugescu¹

2013

AMM

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Restriction and selection criteria of inertial guidance sensors and system for a small recoverable capsule from onboard a hypersonic, atmospheric reentering rocket vehicle have attracted a specific research on the reentry design and challenges, with emphasize on the overall cost reduction and an optimal balance between the performances and costs under the given exploitation constraints. A simplified method for attitude control is derived that shows an easy accommodation in the capsule, given its high mass constraints, and convenient applicability for the class of small payloads under investigation. The palled experiments and investigating methodology is shown, as the result of the ORVEAL contract research team of ADDA-Association Dedicated to Development in Astronautics research organization, under the sponsorship of Romanian UEFISCDI authority for scientific research.

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“…Means for securing the stable and accurate ascent trajectory consist of a sound method of noise removal from the tracking data of the inertial sensors and prepare a flawless input for the executive autopilot. The first flight test of the NERVA inertial platform, built along a proprietary scheme by the team of authors, has reviled a high level of elastic noise due to the interaction of the internal IMU plate with the supporting medium [6]. The regular approach is the spectral analysis by Fourier transform with identification of major eigen frequencies of the phenomenon and the eventual filtering of high frequencies, specific to the elastic behavior of the rocket structure [7], [8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Orbital Injection Errors and Sensor Requirements for NERVA Space Launchers

Rugescu

Constantinescu

Barbelian

et al. 2013

AMM

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The input module of the NERVA space launcher guidance system consisting of the inertial and sensor platform is responsible for the basic accuracy if the ascent trajectory and injection efficiency. The sample rate magnitude and data filtering along the real time trajectory are the only tools available for improving the guidance accuracy up to the level of requirements to secure admissible orbital injection error and the subsequent flight corridor during the orbital ascent. Analysis of the NERVA-1 flight telemetry flow from the onboard inertial platform raises the problem of the optimal selection of the onboard sample rate and of the rate of telemetry, which are not identical. The orbit injection errors are chosen from the orbit altitude constraints and subsequent accuracy requirements for the inertial sensors are derived. They show that the accuracy requirements are moderate and may be covered with almost conventional sensors. To improve the flight guidance accuracy the rocket motor chamber pressure and thrust are measured and observation of the preflight zero drift, recording noise and of the high level of embedded noise during both powered and coast atmospheric flight is performed. Simple filtering based on frequency Fourier analysis is delivered with conclusions regarding the intelligent algorithm enhancement that are developed and implemented on the next generation of flight research drone missiles RT-759M NERVA-2, right in preparation. The main rationale of that algorithm stands in the method of discriminating between false and true information on each measuring point immediately after the data are delivered by the sensors. Learning procedure from previous preflight recordings and from gradual accumulation of concurrent data streams subjected to FF spectral analysis are combined to improve data filtering, for immediate release to the next module of the autopilot. The rate of sampling is optimized from the analysis of the previous flight, inertial data records and test stand pressure and thrust records that show the level of noise. The behavior of the electronics under the dynamical loads of the rocket flight, involving overloads of more than 20 g-s and the level of vibration during the real flight and other sources of measuring errors are also focused in the research. During simulated work of the sensor platform the algorithm has been acceptably validated and prepared for real flight test performance. Information important for the NERVA autopilot design activity is structured through the multiple variance approach.

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First Flight Experiment with the NERVA-1 Inertial Platform

Cited by 3 publications

References 1 publication

Surface Corridor Requirements for Space Launches over the Black Sea

Surface Corridor Requirements for Space Launches over the Black Sea

Reentry Design Solution for a Hypersonic Small Capsule

Orbital Injection Errors and Sensor Requirements for NERVA Space Launchers

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