Assembly of the International Space Station (the space station) has begun and will continue for several years, resulting in the creation of an advanced orbiting platform for scientific experiments and for observations of the Earth, the solar system, the galaxy, and the universe beyond. Scientific experiments will be performed in what is termed a microgravity environment, and this will allow for a unique set of research and development efforts that are precluded in the 1-g environment found on the surface of the Earth. As will be shown presently, the gravitational acceleration found at the Earth's surface (1 g = 9.8 m/s2) is diminished by six orders of magnitude in orbit, so that natural levels (that is, excluding artificial sources such as thruster firings and induced vibrations) are at the level of a micro-g, where 1 micro-g = 10-6 g. Note, however, that the micro-g environment is not a zero-g environment because true zero-g will occur only at the center of mass of the space station and only if there is no atmospheric drag or other induced accelerations. In general, there will be a small residual acceleration field within the space station due to vibration, drag, and gravity gradient (which is the small residual force remaining when gravitational and centrifugal forces have nearly cancelled close to the center of mass). Vibration will not be considered here, but drag and gravity gradient will be. Atmospheric drag has often been considered, for example, in its effect on satellite orbits' and space craft reentry dynamics.' Here, we consider the effect of atmospheric drag on motion inside the space station during one orbital period (T nearly equal 5400 s). A mathematical description of atmospheric drag and gravity gradient effects on internal motion in the space station is the purpose of this paper. The development here should be of use to future space station principal investigators in understanding the space station microgravity environment.
Motion in a microgravity environment
Bewegung in einem nahezu schwerelosen Umfeld
AIAA Journal ; 38 , 9 ; 1656-1658
2000
3 Seiten, 3 Bilder, 12 Quellen
Article (Journal)
English
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