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EP-4480832-B1 - SPACE OBJECT BEACON

EP4480832B1EP 4480832 B1EP4480832 B1EP 4480832B1EP-4480832-B1

Inventors

  • VIVES VALLDURIOLA, Gerard

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20240624

Claims (11)

  1. A space object beacon (100) to be placed on a space object (200), comprising a power supply (101), a microprocessor (102), a memory (103) and an antenna (104), further comprising at least one rotational movement detecting sensor (110) delivering orientation data for determining the current tumble rate of said space object (200), close-range detection sensors and/or receiving means for position and movement data in relation to an incoming further space object (600) possibly approaching on a collision course, characterised in that the space object beacon comprises at least one propulsion unit (112) to alter either orientation, tumbling rate, orbit or a combination thereof, of the space object attached to, wherein the space object beacon (100) is configured to determine if such a collision between the space object (200) and the further space object (600) is to be expected and to calculate a collision avoiding path for the space object (200) where it is attached to and to control the at least one propulsion unit (112) to navigate the space object (200) on said collision avoiding path.
  2. The space object beacon (100) according to claim 1, wherein the microprocessor (102) is configured to calculate the current tumble rate of said space object (200) based on the orientation data from the rotational movement detecting sensor (110) and wherein the space object beacon (100) comprises a transmitter (122) configured to transmit the determined tumble rate of said space object (200) to a ground station (300; 301, 302).
  3. The space object beacon (100) according to claim 1, wherein the microprocessor is configured to compile the orientation data of the at least one rotational movement detecting sensor (110) and wherein the space object beacon (100) comprises a transmitter (122) configured to transmit the compiled orientation data relating to said tumble rate of said space object (200) to a ground station (300; 301, 302).
  4. The space object beacon (100) according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the measurements of the rotational movement detecting sensor (110) are commandable through a receiver (121).
  5. The space object beacon (100) according to claim 4, wherein the receiver (121) and transmitter (122) of the transceiver (120) are RF-based or transfer based on light signals.
  6. The space object beacon (100) according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the rotational movement detecting sensor (110) is configured to make periodical measurements and the microprocessor is configured to receive signals relating to said measurements from the rotational movement detecting sensor (110) to either transmit them to a ground station (300) upon request through a request signal received from a ground station (300) or store them for a periodically intended later transmission to a ground station (300).
  7. The space object beacon (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the space object beacon (100) is configured to carry out communication with a ground station (300) via a relay satellite (303).
  8. The space object beacon (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising a camera (111) and wherein the microprocessor (102) and memory (103) are configured as a star tracker for determining the position and orientation of the space object beacon (100) in space.
  9. The space object beacon (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, comprising an accelerometer sensor (113) for determining deceleration information relating to the space object beacon (100), especially to calculate air drag deceleration data on the space object (200) the space object beacon (100) is attached to.
  10. The space object beacon (100) according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the microprocessor is configured to determine speed, position and orientation of the space object beacon over time.
  11. The space object beacon (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 10, comprising an GNSS receiver and wherein the microprocessor (102) is configured for determining the position and orientation of the space object beacon (100) in space based on received GNSS signals.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates a space object beacon according to the preamble of claim 1. Such a space object beacon comprises a computer program for identifying, determining, and tracking positions of a space object to which it is attached. PRIOR ART Such a space object beacon is disclosed in US2019/210746A1 and starts from the assumption that there are more and more space objects in orbits above earth which create increasing space traffic issues. Such space objects can be space capsules, spaceplanes, space stations, satellites, rocket stages, engines, probes, drones, etc. It is noted that existing approaches to solve these issues rely on remote sensing techniques that require pre-existing object information (e.g., launch, customer/owner, spacecraft features, orbit and the like) which is problematic in view of the limited number of active sensor stations located around the world, which limits the ability of these systems to provide frequently updated space object positions. The method according to US 2019/210746 A1 uses an independent, self-powered, commandable beacon that is placed upon a space object and transmits a signal composed of a unique identification code, along with meta-data generated by the beacon and data messages provided by the host space object. Such meta-data can be receive time, frequency and duration as well as sensor data, such as body rates, accelerations, and like, which may aid in space object position determination and provide more in-depth characterization of the host space object, which may not be obtained by remote sensing. US2010/228480A1 discloses a similar satellite-tracking system comprising: a plurality of beacon devices located on a corresponding plurality of space objects, each beacon device including a location sensor and configured to transmit location information, a database that includes a plurality of sets of customer parameters, each customer being associated with a corresponding space object, each set of customer parameters including one or more intended recipient of messages associated with the corresponding space object, a processing centre that is configured to receive the location information from the plurality of beacon devices to determine the location of each corresponding space object, and a message generator that is configured to selectively generate messages based on the set of customer parameters associated with each corresponding space object, and to send the generated messages to the corresponding intended recipients of the messages. JP 2000/128095 A discloses a highly reliable and low-cost attitude control device for an artificial satellite. It provides control signals for thrusters to influence a detected angular error in the X-axis and Y-axis of the attitude ov the artificial satellite. This control is always achieved in connection with a ground station and computer on the ground providing a necessary feedback to the control unit at the artificial satellite. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Based on this prior art it is an object of the invention to provide a space object beacon allowing for obtaining more precise information for the prediction of the further flight path without continuous supervision of the space object connected with the beacon. This object is solved with a space object beacon to be placed on a space object comprising a power supply, a microprocessor, a memory and an antenna and which further comprises at least one rotational movement detecting sensor delivering orientation data for determining the current tumble rate of said space object with the features of claim 1. Such a beacon incorporates inter alia a sensor configured to determine the rotation axis of a possibly tumbling space object to which the beacon is attached. The space object beacon comprises close-range detection sensors and/or receiving means for position and movement data in relation to an incoming further space object, possibly approaching on a collision course. These means allow the microprocessor of the space beacon to determine if such a collision between the space object and the further space object is to be expected. Additionally, the space beacon is equipped with at least one propulsion unit and is configured to calculate a collision avoiding path for the space object where it is attached to and to control the propulsion units to navigate the space object on said collision avoiding path. It is possible that as long as the space object where the beacon is attached to is functional, that the propulsion unit(s) mentioned are units originally attached to the space object and at least now controlled by the space beacon. It is a further advantage of the invention that the space object with the beacon according to the invention attached to it is capable and suited to gather direct information on collisions of said space object with other space objects in connection with the growing relevance of the Kessler syndrome. Space objects which are not stabilized o