• Journal of Advanced Navigation Technology
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.337-345
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• 2023

This study analyzes considerations for satellite orbit elements for the national micro-satellite system to effectively perform its mission in accordance with the operational concept, and compares the conventionally used Walker method to improve the performance of the satellite constellation method of the repeating ground track orbit. In satellite orbit element analysis, altitude candidate values of micro-satellite system, use of eccentricity and argument of perigee through frozen orbit, necessity of selection of appropriate orbit inclination, and satellite phasing rules for flying the same repeating ground track orbit are proposed. Based on these analysis results, the superiority of the constellation method of the repeating ground track orbit compared to the Walker method is verified in terms of revisit performance analysis, global coverage characteristics, and orbit consistency.

• Journal of Aerospace System Engineering
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.105-114
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• 2022

The purpose of this study was to present a conceptual design of the 6U micro-satellite system for optical image of 3 m GSD. An optical camera system with a payload of 3 m GSD image was designed and optimized. The optical system has a diameter of Ø78 mm, length 250 mm, and 1400 mm focal length. The requirement and constraints were configured for the 6U micro-satellite bus system with the payload. Satisfying the requirement and constraints, the subsystems of the 6U bus were designed such as attitude and orbit control, propulsion, command and data handling, electrical power, communication, structures and mechanisms, and thermal control subsystem. The mass budget, power budget, and communication link budget were also confirmed for the 6U micro-satellite comprising the optical payload and the subsystems of bus. To take optical images, a mission operation concept is proposed for the 6U micro-satellite in a low-Earth orbit. A constellation comprising many 6U micro-satellites studied in this paper, can provide with various data for reconnaissance and disaster tracking.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2004.04a
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• pp.1280-1285
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• 2004

Microsystem technology has been applied to space technology and became one of the enabling technology by which low cost and high efficiency are achievable. Micro propulsion system is a key technology in the miniature satellite because micro satellite requires very small and precise thrust force for maneuvering and attitude control. In this paper research on micro solid propellant thruster is reported. Micro solid propellant thruster has four basic components; micro combustion chamber, micro nozzle, solid propellant and micro igniter. In this research igniter, solid propellant and combustion chamber are focused. Micro igniter was fabricated through typical micromachining and evaluated. The characteristic of solid propellant was investigated to observe burning characteristic and to obtain burning velocity. Change of thrust force and the amount of energy loss following scale down at micro combustion chamber were estimated by numerical simulation based on empirical data and through the calculation normalized specific impulses were compared to figure out the efficiency of combustion chamber.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers Conference
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• 2006.11a
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• pp.67-70
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• 2006

In this study micro-thrust measurement method in high vacuum chamber is introduced. This is important for the development of micro-thruster for micro-satellite applications. At Chungnam national University, high-vacuum experimental facility has been constructed to simulate space environment. And strain gauge besed micro-thrust measurement in vacuum chamber has been studied and discussed.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.64-70
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• 2008

Thanks to the breakthroughs in micro fabrication technology, numerous concepts of micro aerospace systems including micro aerial vehicle, nano satellite and micro robot have been proposed. In order to activate these mobile micro systems, high density power in a small scale power source is required. However, we still do not have micro power source that has energy density that can support these systems. In the present article, status of micro power sources are described and alternatives that have been derived from the past experience are proposed.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Military Science and Technology
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.125-138
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• 2020

One of the most important steps to consider in utilizing micro-satellites for surveillance or reconnaissance operations is the design of the satellite constellation. The Walker-Delta constellation which is commonly used in designing satellite constellations is not ideal for this operation in which military satellites are required to monitor specific regions continuously in a stable manner. This study aims to discuss the methodology for designing a satellite constellation that is capable of monitoring the fixed region at the fixed time each day by using the Sun synchronous Orbit. The BB(Beach Ball) constellation that we propose outperforms the Walker-Delta constellation in terms of robustness and it holds the merit of being simple in its design, thereby making future expansions more convenient. We expect the BB constellation will have a high applicability as the operational concept of military surveillance satellites is established in the near future.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers Conference
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• 2004.03a
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• pp.601-604
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• 2004

Precise position and attitude control of pico-satellite requires huge number of impulses of the order of 10$^{-6}$ Ns. MEMS solid rocket array is a promising propulsion system but the higher degree of miniaturization causes unreliable operation mainly due to quenching. In order to breakthrough this situation, a novel design of solid micro-rocket is proposed, which generates tiny impulses repetitively from a single rocket not from array. This unique micro-rocket is based on the utilization of quenching, which causes propellant reaction to sustain only in a small area. A test chip of a micro solid propellant tank and micro heater array is fabricated and ignition test is conducted. Obtained results show the feasibility of this concept and future direction of this quenching-based propulsion is discussed.

• Transactions of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.313-320
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• 2015

A 2-axis gimbal-type X-band antenna has been widely used to effectively transmit the high resolution image data from the observation satellite to the desired ground station. However, a discontinuous stepper motor activation for rotating the pointing mechanism in azimuth and elevation directions induces undesirable micro-vibration disturbances which can result in the image quality degradation of a high-resolution observation satellite. To enhance the image quality of the observation satellite, attenuating the micro-vibration induced by an activation of the stepper motor for rotational movements of the antenna is important task. In this study, we proposed a low-rotational-stiffness blade gear applied to the output shaft of the stepper motor to obtain the micro-vibration isolation performance. The design of the blade gear was performed through the structure analysis such that this gear is satisfied with the margin of safety rule under the derived torque budget. In addition, the micro-vibration isolation performance of the blade gear was verified through the micro-vibration measurement test using the dedicated micro-vibration measurement device proposed in this study.

• Transactions of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering
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• v.22 no.11
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• pp.1042-1048
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• 2012

A 2-axis gimbal system is one of main disturbance sources affecting image jitter response of a satellite. The gimbal system comprises azimuth stage and elevation stage, and these pointing mechanism can be rotated by stepping motors about its azimuth and elevation axes simultaneously. Because of the complex and coupled dynamic motion of the gimbal system, its moment of inertia and structural modes can be changed according to the system configuration, and thus the gimbal system generates complicated and non-linear disturbance characteristics. In order to improve the jitter response of a spacecraft, it is an indispensable process to reduce the micro-vibration disturbance level of the antenna system. In the present research, a 2-axis gimbal system was manufactured and then its micro-vibration test was performed in terms of two types of stepping motors(2-phase and 5-phase). The test results show that the disturbance level of the gimbal system can be reduced by replacing the 2-phase stepping motor with the 5-phase one, and the average disturbance attenuation ratio is 56 % in peak level and 48 % in standard deviation level. The experimental results confirm that it is an efficient jitter reduction method to adopt a high-phase stepping motor.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers Conference
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• 2007.04a
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• pp.25-29
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• 2007

Minimization of conventional propulsion device has been studied for altitude control of micro satellite. We studied micro nozzle performance and found higher significant loss for a micro nozzle with smaller nozzle throat diameter. To overcome this loss, we proposed thermal transpiration based micro propulsion system. This new system has no moving parts and can control flow by temperature gradient, and this can be an option for potential new micro propulsion system.