A new orbit for the global observation of Phobos, the first satellite of Mars, is presented in this paper. It is shown that the global survey of Phobos with both the high resolution of about 1m and various solar phase angles can be made during the period of one Martian year from this new orbit. That orbit is named here as “Phobos-Rendezvous Orbit.” The gravity from Phobos plays a significant role for the global observation with almost no fuel. This orbit, however, is adjacent to an instable one. Increment of the inclination of the rendezvous orbit puts the orbit into the instable region. Simulation of the stabilization maneuvers indicates that the Phobos-Rendezvous Orbit can be maintained with small amount of fuel.
The effect of inner swirl flow on behaviors of arc spots on an anode at the starting of an arcjet was experimentally investigated. The anode was divided into several parts along axial or tangential direction to detect the position of arc attachment on the anode. Typical experimental results with nitrogen and argon are presented. The arc spot of nitrogen was forced to be blown away to the downstream and to be tangentially rotated by the swirl flow. In addition, there was an optimum swirl intensity for the arc spot to move smoothly to the downstream. On the other hand, the arc spot of argon moved slightly to the downstream. The arc plasma extended over the wide area of constrictor wall.
Thermal design verification of large deployable reflectors was estimated by using flight data. The temperatures were recorded from ETS-VI, which was launched on August 28, 1994 using H-II vehicle. The reflector surfaces were coated with white paint which had low absorptivity 0.23 at begin of life (BOL) as well as high emissivity 0.87 at BOL. The back structure of the surface was covered with multi-layer insulation (MLI) blankets to shield the solar energy to the trusses. The maximum and minimum temperatures of the large reflectors were fell within the allowable temperature range. The analysis results obtained by a mathematical model agreed well with the flight data. The maximum temperature difference in the surface of the reflector using the analysis model was also evaluated within the allowable temperature.